This Shabbat we read Parashat Devarim, the first Parasha in the last book of the Torah, also called Devarim. Parashat Devarim is always read on the Shabbat before Tisha b’Av and known also by its name Shabbat Hazon.
Tisha b’Av is a day of fasting and mourning in remembrance for the destruction of the First Temple and the Second Temples in Jerusalem. The first temple was destroyed and burned by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the month of Av in 586 BC. The Second Temple was destroyed and set on fire by the Roman general Titus in the month of Av in 70 AD. Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning for the national destruction, which includes various disasters that happened to the Jewish people in the same date in different periods in history, such as the expulsion from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1942.
Even today, when we live in a generation that renews and recreates the new state of Israel and achieves such great accomplishments, we do not throw our legacy of the generations into the trash… it revives an ancient tradition that should feed the soul of the new generation.
Our personal identity is centered on different identities: family, professional, social, cultural, national, and religious roots as well. If we give up one of the elements of our personal identity, we cut off a certain personality root and create internal conflict and restlessness. The nation of Israel is a Jewish nation that has a culture and history of many years. To maintain and strengthen these personal roots we must invest in them and act in their light. Tisha b’Av is an important opportunity for deepening the Jewish cultural identity.
The Talmud mentioned the reason for the destruction of both temples.
The first temple was destroyed because of the sins of idolatry (which is addiction), open sexual relationships (which is the destruction of the family structure), and bloodshed (the nullification of human value). The second temple was destroyed because of hatred between people for nothing! We are learning from that, that hatred between people is worse than the other three major crimes combined (idolatry, incest, and bloodshed).
From Tisha b’Av we can learn that avoiding addictions, destroying the family, and harming human dignity will reduce the chance of destruction. And we can also learn that the answer to gratuitous hatred is to add gratuitous love.
Free love is the willingness to do the best for the other person without judgment and without expectations to receive something back or something in return.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Refael Cohen