Cry. Do Not Whine | Rabbi Haggai Lundin | Beit Midrash

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The three weeks of "Between the Straits" in general and Tisha B'Av in particular were implemented so that we would mourn the destruction of the Temples and the troubles that befell the people of Israel from then to the present day. The problem is that these days, which are meant for crying, can easily spill over into whining; that is, despair and discouragement (we were abandoned, we went through a second Holocaust, we are in the last quarter of the State's existence, etc.). This year we went through a terrible disaster, but it is wrong to lament it as a third destruction. Because it's not!

The verse in the Book of Lamentations summarizes the purpose of the scroll: "What shall a living person bemoan? For their sins!" (3,39). A living person, unlike the dead, is supposed to complain about only one thing: "For their sins!". The purpose of mourning is to take responsibility for past sins and to mend the future. A position of faith and hope.

There are two stances when taking responsibility; crying and whining. The gauge is very simple: whether one is preoccupied with their own personal responsibility or busy placing responsibility on the other ("You are the head. You are guilty").

We have no certainty whether the actual Temple will be built on Tisha B'Av 2024, but we are certain that every personal and public correction, every tear and every prayer builds another stone in the Temple in our heart; and from all these stones, the Temple will be built.

Have a healing fast. Have a consoling fast.

The bad will pass
The good will prevail
With God's help.