Tisha B’Av – 5784
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites
At sunset on Monday, the Jewish people will enter the saddest day on the calendar—Tisha B’Av, the national day of mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple. On this day, both Temples were set ablaze: the first, built by King Solomon, and the second, constructed during the Return to Zion and destroyed in the year 70 CE. Both Temples stood on the same site—the sacred Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Since their destruction, a day of mourning and fasting has been established to remember the immense national tragedy that struck the people of Israel.
When discussing the causes of the destruction, one could focus on the political events. In the first destruction, it was King Jehoiakim of Judah, and later King Zedekiah of Judah, who rebelled against the Babylonian Empire. This rebellion resulted in the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah, the exile of the people to Babylon, and the destruction of the Temple. In the second destruction, it was the “Great Revolt” of the Jews in the Land of Israel against the Roman Empire, a rebellion that also ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, mass murder, and the exile of hundreds of thousands of Jews.
Alongside the political reasons, we can also consider the spiritual causes that led to the moral and spiritual decline of the people, ultimately resulting in the destruction. The background to the first destruction is described in the books of the prophets. Isaiah rebuked the people for idolatry, social corruption, sexual immorality, and bloodshed. Jeremiah, who lived during the time of the destruction, also rebuked the people for idolatry and corruption, adding a direct warning about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Jeremiah—who, according to tradition, also wrote the Book of Lamentations, which is read on Tisha B’Av—addressed the people and rebuked them fearlessly:
“Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are they!’ If you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you deal justly with one another; if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place; and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place…
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury… and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My name, and say, ‘We are saved’…? Has this house, which bears My name, become a den of profligate men to you?!
(Jeremiah 7:4-11)
The common belief in Jerusalem at that time was that a person could commit acts of injustice and oppression and then come to the Temple, pray, or offer a sacrifice, and thereby “atone” for his actions. Jeremiah fought against this belief, a struggle that nearly cost him his life—but he was unable to prevent the disaster.
When we read the Book of Lamentations on Tisha B’Av, one motif stands out: loneliness. The author of the book frequently describes the loneliness of Jerusalem and the Jewish people after the destruction. The book opens with:
O how has the city that was once so populous remained lonely! She has become like a widow! She that was great among the nations, a princess among the provinces, has become tributary. She weeps, yea, she weeps in the night, and her tears are on her cheek; she has no comforter among all her lovers; all her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies…
My children are desolate…
It is possible that the use of the image of the lonely widow is connected to Jeremiah’s rebuke about the oppression of widows. In ancient times, and sometimes even today, a young widow might find herself in distress and exploitation, feeling unprotected. When Jeremiah cried out, “Do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow!” he was speaking of a social reality where the oppression of a stranger, an orphan, and a lonely widow was not considered a crime. The punishment that the people received for oppressing widows was that the entire nation became a “widow” without protection.
And from here, hope also springs. If we internalize that what is required of us is to improve our relationships with the weaker segments of society, to recognize the distress of others, to acknowledge the loneliness of our fellow human beings, and to view our surroundings with a benevolent eye—we, too, will merit that God will look upon us with a benevolent eye and bring us complete redemption. May we merit to see the rebuilding of the Holy Temple soon in our days, Amen.
