Tisha B’Av as Teshuvah: Reuniting with Hashem to Rebuild the Beis Hamikdash

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. As we approach Tisha B'Av, the day on the calendar that we mourn the Beis Hamikdash, we mourn the loss of Beis Kocheinu Usfarteinu. We mourn the glory, the splendor of Beis Hamikdash, sheboi hishra HaKadosh Baruch Hu Shechinaso, that the Ribono Shel Olam bestowed His Shechinah to rest in that place. On Tisha B'Av we fast. What is the reason for fasting? What is the point in the taanis, in the fast of Tisha B'Av? Simply, it has to do with aveilus. It's a form, it's an expression of our mourning, as is all the halachos that we do on the day of Tisha B'Av. We mourn, and in mourning, in aveilus, we have many halachos. We don't sit on a chair, we sit on the floor, as an avel, someone who mourns the death of a loved one. The Beis Hamikdash is our love. Every Jew, his heart, his love is in the Beis Hamikdash. And by losing the Beis Hamikdash, we need to feel that we lost a loved one. The Gemara says that Tisha B'Av in the morning, one must sit on the floor and feel, Meisoi mutal lefanav. Aninus. Aninus means when the person, the loved one, is laying in front of you, laying on the floor, so to speak, in front of you, meisoi mutal lefanav. There's a din of aninus. We don't wear tefillin. An oinen does not wear tefillin. Many of the halachos that we have on Tisha B'Av are expressions of aveilus, the mourning for the Beis Hamikdash. Rabosai, does an avel fast? Do we find anywhere in halacha that an avel is supposed to fast? We don't see it anywhere. All the halachos of Tisha B'Av somewhat resemble the halachos of hilchos aveilus for a meis. Fasting is not one of them. On the contrary, when a person is an avel, he comes back from his levaya, leviyas hameis, what do we do the first thing? We, seudas havra'ah, we feed him. Very interesting, huh? As a matter of fact, we do have the seudah hamafsekes. And what is this, sudas hamafsekes, somewhat a form of seudas havra'ah? It's the egg, the same concept of seudas havra'ah, me'isoi mutal lefanav, yet we don't find fasting. Rabosai, why do we fast on Tisha B'Av? Yes, many Acharonim explain that we fast on Tisha B'Av also because of aveilus. Yet the Rambam is clear that the fasting on Tisha B'Av takes on a whole different meaning, a whole different reason for the fasting on Tisha B'Av. Let me quote you the Rambam. You fast, that's a good point. You do fast on a yahrzeit, but I don't believe that the fasting on the yahrzeit is an aveilus. The fasting on a yahrzeit is, like we're going to learn in the Rambam, the same point of fasting on Tisha B'Av. Good point. Let us learn. Open, clear Rambam. Perek hei, halacha aleph in Hilchos Taanis: יש שם ימים שכל ישראל מתענים בהם. There are days set aside in the calendar, in the Jewish calendar, that we must fast. And the reason why we fast: מפני הצרות שאירעו בהם, because of the bad things that happened on that day.

And the reason for the fasting, k'dei l'orer halevavos, to awaken the heart, u'liftoach darkei hateshuva, and to begin the teshuva process. V'yeh ze zikaron l'maaseinu hara'im, that this will remind us of our bad actions, our aveiros, as well as the aveiros of our forefathers, which are the same, that caused these tzaros. K'maaseinu ata shegaram lahem v'lo anu al eison hatzaros. Shebizchron devarim eilu, noshiv l'heitiv, because when we do teshuva, we'll fix, amend our ways, like it says, v'shavu Hashem Elokecha v'shav Hashem Elokecha. So actually, the fasting is to, what? To open teshuva. It's to start. It's to bring about. It's to be me'orer, to awaken in us teshuva. Yom Kippur we fast. Huh? Interesting. We fast on Yom Kippur. There's chamesh inuyim on Yom Kippur. Does that have anything to do with aveilus? Do we fast on Yom Kippur aveilus? No. Why are we fasting on Yom Kippur? Yes, we're like malachim. That's a medrash. The medrash says we need to be domeh to malachim who don't eat and don't drink. We are on such a high level as an angel. Yes, that's a medrash. But the simple halachic point in fasting Yom Kippur is, no? Teshuva. Teshuva. Fasting leads a person to teshuva. Eating leads a person to happy, holilus, and therefore teshuva, teshuva, the teshuva of Yom Kippur, with the chamesh inuyim on Yom Kippur, which is a day of slichah umechilah, is the essence of why we really fast on Tisha B'Av. According to the Rambam, not so much the aveilus, but rather what? The teshuva. Now it's interesting, we don't even say Tachanun. There's no Tachanun. It's an interesting thing. On Tisha B'Av, we don't even say Tachanun. And the reason we don't say Tachanun, everybody knows, Kara alai moed. The pasuk in Eichah says that the goyim called on us a holiday. What's the holiday? The holiday is that they were happy, rejoicing in our demise, in our fall. Yet Chazal saw in that that actually Tisha B'Av is a holiday. Tisha B'Av is a holiday. Kara alai moed. Chazal tell us that when Mashiach comes, Tisha B'Av will be a Yom Tov. So then what about now? How is Tisha B'Av a Yom Tov now if in the future it'll be a Yom Tov? Mashiach will come, and as a matter of fact, I think people mostly know this, Mashiach is born. On Tisha B'Av. So Tisha B'Av is an interesting day. I would say a day that's very not understood properly. It's very confusing. Mixed messages. Tisha B'Av is about, on one hand, we're crying. We're crying, aveilus. And it's interesting, the aveilus usually means that the person has passed on. The bechiyah, the crying, the aveilus on Tisha B'Av is maybe a little bit different of a cry, because at the same time, within that cry, lays the cry of hope, Mashiach rebuilding. It's an interesting—it's something that needs to be defined, the mixed emotions of Tisha B'Av. On one hand, we call it a Yom Tov, a Yom Tov, mamash a Yom Tov. And because of this, we don't say Tachanun. Yet at the same time, it's a day where we cry in mourning, and at the same time, it's a day of teshuva, and yet we don't say Tachanun.

Tell me, could you imagine on Yom Kippur, we wouldn't say slach lanu, we wouldn't say any tachanun whatsoever? Could you have a Yom Mechilah, a day of repentance, without acts of teshuva? What is the day of Tisha B'Av, the repentance? I want to tell you something interesting, rabosai. Yerushalmi, in Yoma, perek aleph: Kol shelo nivneh Beis HaMikdash b'yamav, ki'ilu nechrav b'yamav. Every year, if we don't have the Beis HaMikdash rebuilt, we are somewhat, somewhat responsible that we destroyed the Beis HaMikdash. What does that mean? What does it mean, Kol shelo nivneh Beis HaMikdash b'yamav, ki'ilu nechrav b'yamav? Each Jew carries the responsibility that if the Beis HaMikdash is not rebuilt in my time, they hold me responsible. How come the Beis HaMikdash was not rebuilt? It's as if you were part of the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. The Beis HaMikdash was destroyed for certain sins. So what is it? What is it that we could do, and that because we don't do, it's our responsibility? And the answer is, nu, rabosai, what's the answer? We need to do teshuva. If we do teshuva... We would have the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. I don't know why it's not so emphasized. With all the speech and talk about Tisha B'Av, you know what they talk about? Mourning and mourning the loss and the hope of the future. It's very important, rabboisai, to talk about teshuva. Teshuva. It's a day of teshuva. It's a day of teshuva, Tisha B'Av. You're going to walk out of this shiur, you'll say, What was the theme of Rabbi Walkin's shmues? What is the theme of Rabbi Walkin's speech? And the answer is, Tisha B'Av is not only a day of mourning. What is it? A day of teshuva. If I didn't believe in how important this yesod, this concept is, I wouldn't repeat it, and I wouldn't put so much emphasis on it. I believe there's a very small emphasis put on it, but this is really the essence of the day of Tisha B'Av: to do teshuva, to do teshuva, and through the teshuva, to return the Beis HaMikdash, to bring it back. Yes, it's a day of mourning. That's true. But normal mourning, normal aveilus, you're not going to bring back the person. This is a different type of aveilus. It's an aveilus of what? To be me'orer to do teshuva, to bring back what we lost. It's a different type of aveilus. It's a different concept. It's to be misabel, to recognize what we lost and why we lost it. And to rectify, kol shelo nivneh Beis Hamikdash b'yamav. It's not just mourning the past. It's about responsibility of fixing the present. You know, after Tisha B'Av, there's a custom, a custom. Chassidim have this custom that they take the kinos and they put it in sheimos. They don't keep it year after year. Why? After Tisha B'Av, we're done. We believe that the Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt because we're supposed to rectify. We're supposed to be misaken. We're supposed to fix the reasons why the Beis Hamikdash was nechrav. Tell me, rabosai, what is the translation and meaning of the word eichah? You're going to be saying the word eichah so many times on Tisha B'Av, both in the Eichah reading and as well as in the kinos. What does the word eichah mean? Many different pshatim in the Midrashim. Many. There's many different translations.

One of the pshatim in the Medrash is Eichah. It's in the beginning of the Medrash, Eichah Rabbah. Eichah is a lashon tochachah. It's a lashon of tochachah. Eichah, tochachah. Actually, who got rebuked with the word Eichah? Adam Harishon. Adam Harishon. When HaKadosh Baruch Hu comes to him in Gan Eden and He confronts him for eating from the eitz hadaas, what does He tell him? Ayekah. Where are you? How have you fallen? What happened of you? Tochachah. Ayekah. Eichah. Medrash, lashon tochachah. It's a lashon of giving rebuke. Eichah is there to rebuke us. And in Eichah, we read, and according to the interpretations of Chazal, all the different things that caused the Churban Habayis. Who could tell me what Eichah ends? What's the final, finale theme of Eichah? Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha v'nashuvah, chadeish yameinu kekedem. I've hereby finished my shiur. I think I pretty much proved the point. What is the theme of Eichah? And the answer is Hashiveinu. Hashem eilecha, teshuva. Chadeish yameinu, bring us back to the way it was. Everybody on with me? Does everybody agree? I've hereby clearly stated my case. Eicha begins with Tochacha, and it ends with Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha v'nashuva, chadeish yameinu kekedem. But we don't do teshuva. We're not allowed to say tachanun. So what type of teshuva could there be without tachanun, without saying slach lanu, without speaking out? Tell me, does everyone know how one does teshuva? What is the requirement of teshuva? You need to do what? Vidui, Rambam, vidu u'vesavoinom. Not a regular fast day. We say lots of selichos on Tisha B'Av. We don't say any selichos. So what kind of teshuva are we supposed to do on Tisha B'Av? Rabosai, let me tell you. Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. Does everyone know that? Are you allowed to mention one word of aveirah on Rosh Hashanah? And the answer is chas v'shalom. Do you realize that in halacha it's brought that one may not and one should not eat nuts, egozim? Why? Because egoz is gematria chet. And you can't—don't mention the word, don't say the word chet, don't say the word chet. The Kotzker, Rabbi Zechut Tzadik livrachah, zchuso yagen aleinu, used to say, Egoz is gematria chet. Chet is definitely gematria chet. Be careful. You have people that are very careful not to eat nuts. Yeah, okay, nuts reminds you of—yeah, but chet is definitely not, right? That you definitely have to be careful from. Chet is definitely gematria chet. I hereby was mekayem the chiyuv of giving a shiur and mentioning a gematria. No? Okay. In every sefardik shiur, I need to mention at least one, v'chol hamosif harei zeh meshubach. So we've done one, okay? We have the gematria of egoz is chet. So you hear how you have to cover chet, no mention.

Mishnah of chet. So how can you do teshuva on Rosh Hashanah? I don't say it's aseres yemei... It's not adding up. Not adding up, rabosai. On one hand we say you can't mention chet, but you said that it's a time of doing teshuva. It's the beginning of Aseres Yemei Teshuva. And the answer is, rabosai, there's different types. There's different yesodos of teshuva. There's teshuva which you need to be mechaper. You need to rectify the sin in order not to get the punishment for the sin. That's Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur we're busy mentioning all the aveiros, and we're begging Hashem to clean the aveiros and to wipe the slate clean. But there's a part of teshuva which is about the distance between the Jew and the Shechinah, the Ribono Shel Olam. The Jew, through his sins, becomes further from the Ribono Shel Olam, from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Rosh Hashanah is the re-unification. A whole year, man is distant, and as time goes on through the year, gets more and more distant. If you'll notice, when is Tishah B'Av that the Churban took place? It's at the end of the year. You know, there's a Gemara, a machloikes in Yoma, how Yom Kippur works. We know that Yom Kippur needs teshuva. Rebbe's shita is Yom Kippur is mechaper, no, even without teshuva. Etzemo shel yom mechaper. The day itself has the power to be mechaper. Es the tosefes Yishonim. So then why was there a churban habayis? Why didn't Yom Kippur just come and clean the sins? Why didn't Yom Kippur come? So if you need teshuva, the answer is what? No, that they didn't do teshuva. But if you don't need teshuva, so the Tosafos Yeshonim and the Rishonim give interesting answers. The first answer is that Yom Kippur is mechaper without teshuva, but you can't do the aveiros on Yom Kippur. You need Yom Kippur. If you didn't do teshuva, what you did all year, so Yom Kippur could clean the slate even without teshuva. But if you do those aveiros on Yom Kippur, you don't have Yom Kippur either. So could you imagine they were doing these aveiros on Yom Kippur? That's one answer. Another answer: Yom Kippur is only mechaper on bein adam la— if it's bein adam l'chaveiro, no, Yom Kippur is not mechaper. A lot of the aveiros of the churban habayis were what? Bein adam l'chaveiro that we'll soon speak about. It's the chomer, the stringency of the aveiros of bein adam lamakom that caused— I'm sorry, bein adam l'chaveiro. That caused Churban Habayis. The third answer, if you notice, it was at the end of the year that the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed. And yes, say the Rishonim, Yom Kippur cleaned the slate. But could you imagine how much it got filled up through the year? By the time the year was up, there was enough to destroy the Beis Hamikdash. Yes, Yom Kippur is mechaper, but Tisha B'Av is a way off time. It's towards the end of the year. A whole year passed. Enough was accumulated to cause the Churban Habayis. So by the time the year is up, rabosai, including the summer, what's there to ask on what I said? It's so clear and simple. Yes, what's your question? No problem. What does one have to do with the other if we know from our sefarim Chazal that Yom Kippur doesn't mechaper bein adam l'makom, so if even the day itself is mechaper for— That's one answer. There's three different answers. One and two. Okay, well, we could talk about it. Yeah, okay, okay. You know, let me tell you, I'm not trying to get into the nitty-gritty of the detail. I'm trying to bring out a point, and that is, and that is—

Throughout the year, throughout the year, as the time, especially as the summer passes, man gets further and further because of his aveiros, because of where he's holding. Rosh Hashanah is reunification, and that's a different yesod, a different chelek, a different part of the teshuva process. Notice what we say on Tisha B'Av: Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha v'nashuva. We'll do teshuva, but we're actually asking for what? The teshuva before the teshuva. Hashiveinu, Hashem. Hashem, we're far. The Churban Habayis is an expression of the distance between us and the Shechinah. We're far. We're very far away from the Shechinah. V'nashuva, we'll do teshuva. Maybe not on Tisha B'Av, slach lanu. We won't mention the aveiros. And maybe even deeper, Hashem doesn't want us to mention the aveiros. Hashem wants us to feel, Hashiveinu Hashem. Hashem wants to see inside the teshuva of we wanting to come back and reunite. You know, rabosai, there's a ma'amardik pshat from the Kozhnitzer Maggid. Everyone says it over, but it's gedai to repeat it. Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha v'nashuva. There's another pasuk: Shuva eilai v'ashuva aleichem. Hashiveinu Hashem, Hashem should bring us back. There's a pasuk in Tanach, Shuva eilai. You come to me, vashuv aleichem. So who does the first step in the teshuva process? Hashiveinu Hashem. We're asking Hashem to what? We're asking Hashem to bring us back. Yet the pasuk says, Hashem tells us in return, shuvu eilai. You come to me. You know, I always say, pshat, Elul is ani l'dodi, v'dodi li. The Mishnah Berurah adds one word: ani l'dodi v'oz. Everybody repeat after me quietly, as they say, v'oz. Dodi li. Did everyone repeat it? I didn't hear everybody. Ani l'dodi v'oz. Who does the first step in Elul? Ani l'dodi, and then v'oz dodi li. One word in the Mishnah Berurah. Everybody knows, ani l'dodi v'dodi li. Elul, you got your second, right? You got your second one, right? Yeah? Ani l'dodi, Elul. Ani l'dodi v'dodi li. Okay, now we got two? Okay. Here's the third one. You ready? U'ma Hashem Elokecha es levavcha v'es levav zar'echa. You remember that one? That's the sofei teivos of Elul. Now I feel very upset because I told you Mishnah Berurah that everybody knows ani l'dodi. It's in the same Mishnah Berurah. It's the next line in the Mishnah Berurah. The sofei teivos is u'ma Hashem Elokecha es levavcha v'es levav zar'echa. Sofei teivos. Why is the roshei teivos Elul and the sofei teivos umal, Hashem Elokecha es levavcha v'es levav zar'echa? Ani l'dodi, who does the first step? I do. Umal Hashem Elokecha es levavcha, who's taking over to finish the process? Who? Hashem. Sofei teivos. The roshei teivos, the beginning is Elul, ani l'dodi v'dodi li. Sofei teivos, then the Ribbono Shel Olam says, okay, I'm taking over. Says the Koshen Tzemach, this is an old, old debate. Who does the first step? Who flinches first? Who bends to who? Hashiveinu Hashem. Hashem, You bring us back. Hashem says, Shuvu elai v'ashuva aleichem. Shuvu elai v'ashuva aleichem. You first come to Me, and then I'll come to you. Says the Koshen Tzemach, what do we tell the Ribbono Shel Olam? You're right. Maybe we should be doing the first step. We're broken.

We're in Galus. Eicha. Lamah lonetzach tishkacheinu, taazveinu l'orech yamim. That's the continuation of the pasuk. Says the Koshnitzer Maggid, you know what the word lonetzach means? Netzach means forever. So why forever should you forget us and forsake us? Says Koshnitzer Maggid, netzach could also mean menatzeach, winning. You know, whenever there's always a debate, who does the first step, and nobody wants to be the one to compromise, to bend and flinch, so it goes on forever for the sake of what? Of who wins. Says Koshnitzer Maggid, lamah lonetzach. Why for the sake of netzach, who wins, tishkacheinu? The stalemate continues. The stalemate continues. Lamah lonetzach. Ribono Shel Olam, You're the Father. You're the Father. And if You're the Father, You understand that we're broken. You got to take us back. Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha. It's a different teshuva, rabosai. It's the teshuva of avinu, of a father, when the child is lost. It's a whole different. In Eicha we speak about yesomim hayinu v'ein av. Yesomim hayinu v'ein av. What does it mean, v'ein av? Ribono Shel Olam, we're lost. You know, I want to tell you something, a pshat that I always say. What does it mean, yesomim, yetomim hayinu v'ein av? Every yasom, l'chaireh, he's a yatom. If he's a yasom, does he have a father? Of course not. That's the translation of the word yasom. He doesn't have a father. Every yasom lives with the memory of his father. He carries pictures of it, of his father, and this brings him close. This gives him some connection. But what happens if the child is a yasom, that he never saw his father? He's a yasom, has no idea who his father ever was. It's very painful. A yasom could have the memories. Yesomim hayinu v'ein av, we're so far, we're so removed from what it meant to have the hashra'as haShechinah, that we are yesomim v'ein av. We don't have even a glimpse of the love, of the dveikus, the kesher that we once had with the Father, that we could live off that. This is the Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha. It's a different type of teshuvah. V'nashuvah, we'll do real teshuvah. But Tisha B'Av is teshuvah without tachanun. It's not about tachanun. Tell me, when you have reunification, the moment of reunification is the result. You're reunified. Now there's a lot of catching up to do, a lot of fixing to do. Tisha B'Av is a very interesting day. The reunification. And at the same moment, we feel the connection to HaKadosh Baruch Hu. It's a mo'ed. You know what the translation of the word mo'ed means? Who knows what the word mo'ed means? According to many mefarshim, the word mo'ed means vad. It's reunification. Vad is to reunify. The Jew reunifies his neshama together with the Shechinah that he loses. And therefore, Tisha B'Av inherently is a very interesting day. Why? Because we accomplish. I see the oilam is already looking at the clock. Don't look at the clock. Maybe look out the window. We're zocheh to the Beis HaMikdash. Hear, rabosai, hear, my friends, listen. The fact that we're misabel and the fact we reconnect with the Ribono Shel Olam on Tisha B'Av is in itself the correction of the whole problem. The problem is that our aveiros separate us from HaKadosh Baruch Hu. So the moment we come back and we're mekayem Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha v'nashuva, so then it's chadesh yameinu kekedem. The Gemara tells us, kol hamis...

Al Yerushalayim, zoiche, zoiche, zoiche, v'ro'eh b'nechamosa. Does everyone know this Gemara? It's a very famous Gemara. Kol hamisabel al Yerushalayim zoiche v'ro'eh. Ask the Chasam Sofer, zoiche? Yizkeh. He will. What's the translation of the Gemara? He will merit the zechus to see the rebuilding of Yerushalayim. Why does it say zoiche? Says the Chasam Sofer, zoiche now, as he's being misabel, while he's being misabel, while he's mourning the Beis HaMikdash, at that moment, he is meriting the zechus of what? Of ro'eh b'nechamosa. What nechama? But I thought we don't have the Beis HaMikdash. I don't understand. Yeah? Again, rabosai, understand what I'm trying to tell you about the day of Tisha B'Av. It's an interesting day. It begins with mourning, which turns into happiness. Why? Because it's zoiche as he's being misabel. He is zoiche to ro'eh b'nechamosa. Tell me, does it say zoiche v'ro'eh b'binyana? Does he see the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash? Tell me, in the afternoon, you walk outside, you'll see the Beis HaMikdash? No. But you know what you might see? Nechamosa, the consolation. What is the consolation? Nachamu, nachamu, ami. You know what the nechama is? Like it says, like a person, she'imo yitnachamenu. What is the nechama? The nechama is that you're not a yasom anymore. You're still connected to the Ribono Shel Olam. He does not say you'll be zoche that on that moment you'll walk outside and you'll see a Beis Hamikdash. That's not what it says in the Chazal. What does it say? Zoche! Nu, zoche v'ro'eh. Repeat after me: zoche v'ro'eh b'nechemasa. In the nechama, in the consolation. What's the consolation? Yeshov, yeshov. You see, this is how we're rebuilding the Beis Hamikdash. You want to see how we rebuild the Beis Hamikdash? Sometimes actions speak louder than words. This is how we rebuild the Beis Hamikdash. Noagu kavod zeh bazeh. You love talmidei chachamim, you love one another. So the whole shiur was talk and talk. You want to see halacha l'maaseh? This is halacha l'maaseh, okay? This is how we rebuild the Beis Hamikdash. The point that I want to end with, rabosai, all the things that the Gemara tells us were the reasons why we don't have the Beis Hamikdash. We're based on the fact that these aveiros cause siluk Shechina, that the Shechina left us. Reb Chaim Volozhin explains the moment the Shechina left us from within, the bayis crumbled. The bayis crumbled on its own. That's how the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed. It was just a binyan. It was just a building. One of the main yesodos of Shechina is, as Chachamim tell us, is bitul Torah, sinas chinam. These are all things that the hashraas haShechina that's within us becomes null and void, and then the Beis Hamikdash gets destroyed. So how do we rebuild the Beis Hamikdash? By fixing what? The hashraas haShechina within ourselves. Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha, zocheh v'ro'eh b'nechamosa. On Tisha B'Av, yes, Tisha B'Av proper, what we do to fix. So remember, rabosai, it's a Yom Teshuva, it's a day of atonement, of fixing. But what are we supposed to fix? Hashraas haShechina. We're supposed to fix the fact that we have siluk Shechina b'soich...

Pain from within us, and the moment we fix that, automatically the Beis Hamikdash is what? The Beis Hamikdash is rebuilt. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.