Mourning for Jerusalem on 3 Levels: Past, Future, and Present by Rabbi Yossi Goldin

good morning everybody I'm just going to stand back a little bit so that I can try to get to both sides of to the to the to the entire room um I hope everybody's having a meaningful a meaningful fast and everyone should uh have an easy and meaningful rest of the day um what I wanted to do today was to do something as well connected to um to sh and and the three weeks and what I wanted to do is really take a step back and talk a little bit about the the nature of the morning morning as in m the aute that we have during these during these three weeks because there is a there's a lot that we start to do over the next few weeks um beginning with until but the truth is that the way that we commemorate the bet mikdash is not simply during these three weeks we focus and we and we highlight and we um Ram up the type of of morning that we have but the truth is that the way that we Rel to the mdash and to is something that we do throughout the entire year and what I wanted to do today was to discuss the brilliant what I believe is the Brilliance of kazal in creating a very very multi-tiered and yet comprehensive while not so intense model of how to commemorate and how to properly mourn for the bdash we'll start with Source Number One Source number one is a is a from the and the says this is in the very very beginning in Sim the first of the says it is appropriate for every person who fears Heaven the person should be distressed and be bothered by the destruction of this is an actual again remember the is a is a book not just and and the is is that we as human beings as Jewish people are meant to on some level feel a pain and feel a certain sense of distress over the loss and over the destruction of the BET mikdash and the question is exactly how we do that and obviously now as we enter sh and the three weeks we're much more aware of the intensity and of theban and of the and of the of the the type of mourning that we're meant to do but as I mention it doesn't really begin now it just gets intensified now and what I would like to do is really as I said step back and take a more of a bird's eye view on the multi-tiered model that kazal have created for how we are meant to mourn the B mikdash and mourn can mean different things at different points during the year and what we see is that kazal and their Brilliance really created something that enables us to be aware of the destruction throughout the year but not necessarily be overwhelmed with it at certain times intensify that morning different ways that we intensify that morning different ways that we commemorate it commemorate it versus MN it uh and and as I said I think it's really really amazing to see that balance when you step back and see and see the whole picture there's really four tiers to the to the model that kazal have created for how we relate to the BET mikdash and to its destruction throughout the year in general and I want to start with um what I called here section number one mourning the past and in order to understand mourning the past we have to understand there's there's a there's a relatively well-known gamar in Baba Basra Source number two I'd like to go through it with you I brought the the English translation for those who to follow along we're going to read it in Hebrew and I'll translate um and this gar really sets the stage for understanding this first level of commemoration which we call mourning the past our rabis taught Source number two the when the second was destroyed there was a group of people they were called the Pim the Pim for our purposes now were the the more intense the more the more religious the more observant and more Zealot type of group of people who wanted to commemorate the loss of the betam midash and they decided that in order to commemorate the loss of the betam midash we were going to stop eating meat and drinking winea went to them and he said to them my children why are you not drinking wine or eating meat what's the reason all of a sudden because of the destruction of thees you've abstained from eating and drinking wine and meat Amo they responded how could we possibly eat meat every time we see the meat reminds us of the cor the which we no longer have and therefore how could we how could we eat meat how could we drink wine wine reminds us of the the wine Libations that were brought with each of the of the Corban note and now it's B so to them the best way to commemorate the loss of was to abstain from drinking wine and eating meat he responded to them so then he responded to them and said wait a second if that's the logic that you're going to take then we could take that logic much further you shouldn't eat bread why because there was a time when there were Corban there are certain Corban note that were came from bread the Corb came from bread and if you're anything which remind you mikash you're not you're going to abstain from then you shouldn't then you shouldn't eat bread F perro they responded okay maybe you're right we'll eat fruit and he said you shouldn't eatro why because there was there there was something that was brought to the that was made of fruit namely the so they said they said oh fine so we won't eat that we'll eat we won't eat from the we'll eat from other fruits then he said you shouldn't drink water why because there was a water liation that was brought on and according to your logic you shouldn't you shouldn't drink water either sh he got them and they got quiet continues Ru and he says the following thing my children I want to tell you something to not mourn at all is impossible we obviously have to commemorate and mourn the destruction of the mdash the decree has been has occurred it's been decreed and we have to make sure to commemorate that but if you're gonna mourn too much it's impossible there's a principle that in general will not Institute a decree that is too hard for the people for the masses to to to keep the says it has to be something that the entire nation can sustained and therefore saysa the rabbis actually Institute a different way to commemorate the loss of the what is that what you do is when a person is Plastering their house he should leave a little area that isn't fully finished that isn't fully finished many people have the mean hug to do this in their homes in their homes today where they leave a certain area of the home not fully painted not fully plastered to commemorate another thing that was instituted was that when a person prepares a meal he doesn't he doesn't serve everything they leave something from not preparing everything I want to just mention practically many of the things that this is going to mention we we don't necessarily do some of them we do and some of them we don't do but it's interesting to see at least at one point these were decre that were that were that were established by to commemorate the loss of the mdash one was leaving a certain area of your home that you don't finish the other one was when you prepare a meal leaving something off from the meal sorry when a woman would Adorn herself with jewelry she would leave a certain amount that she wouldn't put on that she normally would have wanted to that she wouldn't do and therefore uh and that those are the three things that are established number one leing of aspect of your home number two certain part of the meal not instituting that or not including that not breaking everything out and when a woman adorns herself with her jewelry she would leave something off continues continues the there's one more thing that we do what does it mean when we say in the right that's the the the ashes that we place on the head of the at the time of the wedding which again is something that many of us many most of us have have the have the mid hug to do where do we put it we put it in the place where he usually puts puts his okay so we'll stop we'll stop here now from this gar and just understand this fascinating conversation because it's a very very important conversation to understanding what was initially thought to be established and what ultimately what ultimately was established according to this gar you had the the Pim were very very anxious to commemorate the destruction of the bash in the proper way and what did they do they said they weren't going to eat they weren't going to eat any meat or drink any wine comes rosu and he challenges them he says that logic is a little bit too far A little bit too strong if you take that logic too far you're GNA end up not eating or drinking anything and therefore he ends up suggesting or or or elaborating and bringing kaz's understanding of what we should do which is four things that we should do number one you shouldn't you shouldn't F you shouldn't finish your house entirely you should leave a little area of your house when you prepare a meal make sure that the meal leaves something off of the meal when a woman um adorns herself she leaves something off and at the at at the moment of a wedding to put to put ashes on the on the on the head of thean what's going on in this conversation what how how do you understand this conversation between the pusim what were the pusim what were the pushim trying to basically do keep the whole keep it alive the P the p were very very I would say reactive okay they were reactive they were dealing with loss and they came up with a very very strong and very intensive type of commemoration and what's Rua's response what's Rua Rua's response happens to be interestingly enough very nuanced because on the one hand he limits the observance but he also expands the observance why because on the one and he says to them guys if if your logic not eating meat not drinking wine that's too much that's no one's going to be able to do that that you're asking too much that was for a whole no that's this was meant to be until until mdash mdash this was what they were going to do to commemorate the loss of the mdash they weren't going to eat it they weren so he basically said to them that's too much the people can't handle that so on the one hand he limits it and says guys we can't do that on the other hand the perian reaction was only limited to one area what was that one area food and now comes rhua and says on the one hand we can't do something so intense it's going to be too much on the other hand it can only be that our observance is limited to food it needs to be something much more encompassing so on the one hand it can't be as intensive it can't be as as as big as not eating meat for the rest of my life like most of us know that that would be a big challenge not eating meat right as as it is nine days and not eating meat is hard enough right everyone's everyone's making a seum because we can't eat meat for 9 days but imagine what we not to eat meat not to drink wine that's too much says Rua on the other hand we need to expand it it's not just going to be in food it's also going to be in our home it's also going to be at our celebrations it's also going to be in the things we wear where we have to be able to touch upon remembering the loss of the bet mdash in in in all the different areas of what we do but it's not going to be as intensive the question I I I would love to hear I'm curious to hear why do you think they chose those four let's go to those for at a wedding food home and and and a woman and dress what's what's what's common why do you think why do you think they chose those four areas occasion happy occasions excellent good any other ideas those are areas where you can go to exess what do you mean excess excess okay so so terms of proportion although although you should know that the way that they're describing it is more describing it as whatever you would normally do do a little bit less it's almost as if it's saying even for those who don't necessarily uh do too much you should still do um I I think I think I think I think the the point of the of the is an important one and it very much is connected to meaning if you think about it building a home is one of the happiest moments in a family in a couple in a couple's life having a home building a home meal time is a celebratory time when do people Adorn themselves during times of of happiness and it's D at those moments the muscle that I always like to use which I'm sure many of us can relate to is whenever you get to a family Sim and the and and inevitably the person who gets up to speak talks not just about who's there but those who are not there and you have to mention them and remember that that it's only on off of their shoulders and everything that's happening here is here it's the same idea it's like whatever we're we're going to have a celebration we have to recognize at that same time that whenever we're at a moment of celebration at my moment of happiness that is when I have to make sure to Remember to Remember the other thing that I think I would point out is I think each of these are except the wedding being the one the one exception are moments of constancy they come up all the time the home is something when a person has an area of their home that they leave usually the men gets to leave it by the door it's something hopefully that you're that is is constant meals are things that we have all the time so this is an opportunity to incorporate not in an intense way to incorporate in a meaningful but not too intense way to incorporate the thinking about the destruction of mdash yes think about these for uh having to pass away that excellent we're going to get we're going to get to that we're going to get to that she said she said that the what's common about them is that all four are not just about the past but we looking towards the future and therefore the idea is not to just be weighed back by the past but to also be thinking for the and we're going to get to that because I think kazal are very deliberate about how they about how they do that so we have this first this first tier this first part of the model this first part of the model of how kazal want us to commemorate and it's what's known as in kazal as commemorating the destruction we want to commemorate the destruction we want to mourn the destruction and as we see very deliberate in how they do that how they do it it was it can't be too intense but it has to be um think yeah meaningful I'm thinking of the word um big sorry expans expansive enough thank you all-encompassing expansive enough excuse me expansive enough to also be be meaningful and something that we think about on a on a relatively consistent basis now again also just as I mentioned not everything that we mentioned Hally nowadays L is something that that we all do very often the ashes and the and specifically leaving the area of the of the home are things that technically uh generally many people do nowadays the other two with the meals and with the and with and with the with the jewelry is not is less commonly uh observed um and we don't necessarily pin like that but it is interesting to know that that was part of the initial model that kazal that kazal established so we have one tier one tier is called what I call mning the past but there's a totally different model that is very very that is I would call a parallel opposite parallel to and it is known as in not but we call what's the difference between very on the one hand they're very parallel but they're almost opposit is where we commemorate the destruction of the bet mikdash is where we commemorate the beauty of what was we commemorate the mikdash in all of its Glory we think about it we try to remember what it was like and we commemorate the the the the incredible edifice of the bash and everything that represented and that is section number two section number two are a number of examples where in the will dictate that we do something and the reason we do it is not to commemorate the destruction of the bash but to remember how things were done in the times of the mikash look at source number three Source number three the gamar is discussing um is discussing the um how we're supposed to eat the matah on P okay so the gamar talks about whether many of us are familiar with the with with with the opinion of H H we say when do we when do we when do we eat the H sandwich H and the ra had as to how the matah and the mar and the meat were eaten on PES night according to Hill they were all eaten together and according to the they were eaten separately so says the in Source number three since the has not yet established whether the is like or it's like the ran how we're supposed to eat the matah and the mar um so what do we do we do both right we make a and we eat it and then we make a on the and eat that separately and then we eat the matah and the mar together we don't make a special bra because we already made a on the mat on the mar separately why do we do this what we're doing is we're commemorating according to H what was done during the times of the mikash in order to remember it in order to commemorate in order to celebrate what was done that's one example another example is actually the taking of the lul on during the times of the the mishna the mishna and Source number four most people don't know this but in the times of the they used to take the lulav the shaking of the lulav was done seven days in only in The Bash According to some opinions in all of and outside of Yim we only took it on the first day the shaking of the Lula we do every day now on on suot used to only be done in yush every day and it was done one day outside of yush once the was destroyed once was destroyed established that the lul should be taken seven days why seven days that we do nowadays with they used to do only in the mikdash OR according to the Rab in all of yush to commemorate what was done that's so that also is another example of where we're changing what we do nowadays to commemorate what was done based the time of the BET mikdash and one one final example um this is now discussing the uh discussing spat om I just want to sorry for make sure that I yeah okay this gar is discussing om goof there's a question whether we're supposed to count weeks or count days what do we do both very good right we're good Jews we try to whenever there's we not sure what to do just do both abay says MIT says there's a Mitzvah to count weeks and there's also a Mitzvah to count days they agre sorry they agreed with and they used to count both days and weeks Mayar counted only days and not weeks AAR thought that nowadays Our obligation is much of a lower level than it was based in the back of the time of we're only doing it and therefore he said we only need to count days and not weeks without getting into the different opinions here we see another example of where at least according to one opinion we change what we do we do it a little bit differently in order to commemorate what was done in the times in the times of the B mikash so this is what I called celebrating the past okay as opposed to we're mourning the destruction we're not here we're not mour here the focus isn't on the destruction the focus is on the incredible M that was we want to remember what it was like remind ourselves of that beauty and hopefully incorporate that into our observance of the of what we're doing it's interesting to know they all three examples and these aren't the only examples but what's common about all these examples what are they connected to holidays the right one was the discussion on P one was on one was which is very much connected to PES and and here you have another example of again during those moments where we want to tap into the mikdash we want to tap into Z theik but there's but there's another element toik which needs to be stressed because when we talk about mikash we're not just celebrating the past there's another step look at source number six Source number six the gamarra says the following this is gamar in Suka how do we know that we're supposed to do what's our source for this idea that we're supposed to do certain actions to commemorate the mikdash says the says in I will I will heal you from your because you you have been pushed away they call you nobody is seeking it says continues the G there is no one who is seeking it who's it it's referring to says the that implies that we we need to be a part of What's called the D for what does it mean to be a what does it mean to be a d d is the name of the early early Zionist what's a D in this context anyone know what does d meand to seek demand exactly demand to seek meaning what what what what's being what's being referenced here is that part of our Z mikash is a certain seeking for what to have it again to have it again exactly so we're not simply when we say what we're saying is the purpose ofik the goal of commemorating the past is not to be like oh that was nice good times it's to be like that was nice we want to see it again to create a sense of what we call drisha a yearning that's probably even the better word drisha is yearning a yearning for that once again and look at this look at this beautiful passage that I brought for you in Source number Source number seven from Reon in a magazine a couple of years ago says remon why do we need a verse to teach us that we must make a mikdash shouldn't it be obvious meaning again what's the what's this gamar the gamar telling us to commemorate the mikdash you it was a be it was the center of everything why why do we need apos to teach us that we should commemorate it it seems that the verse is not simply allowing us to create a it is defining what actually is the simple understanding ofik is that we remember what we once had in the past but with remembering there's a great danger in general most people remember things that existed in the past and can no longer exist in the present and future the most prominent example of such remembering is a Remembrance Day for someone who has died of course we look forward to the Revival of the dead but in the simplest most immediate sense it is a day of remembering the past when you remember somebody you remember what was and you think about the fond days you're not necessarily thinking anything towards the future the verse clarifies that remembering Jerusalem is not a remembering of the past I would say not just a remembering of the past but rather a looking ahead to the Future yush requires seeking out we remember in order to seek out and to demand to remember at all times that Jerusalem is ours that she will God willing in the future be returned to entirely to us this is not merely remembering the past but yearning and seeking out a cry of May the mikdash soon be rebuilt and so this second category we have the first category called Z mourning the past the second category is not simply remembering the past but I called it if you look back at the title I gave to it it was remembering the past and anticipating or looking towards looking towards the future now these two models that have created the first two models that we've said so farik and as we've noted are on some level almost opposites but they also work together in very very beautiful ways if you think about it the the idea of remembering the destruction versus remembering what was is very very common in many other ways whenever we talk about whenever we talk about commemorating any kind of loss think about for a second there's a big debate regarding how to the best way to commemorate the Holocaust or the best way for Holocaust i' I've been on a number of Holocaust trips and there's always a tension that any hoca trip has to have which is how much do you focus on the destruction and how much do you focus on visiting the communities and remembering and learning about what was how much do you focus on on just going and trying to elicit emotion from seeing the death the concentration camps and the death camps and understanding everything and how much do you need to want do you want to go to gor do you want to go to Katka did you want to go to all these places and understand what was those are both very important and it's always about finding that balance and different people and different trips will find I I vividly remember that I went I went on one trip when I was a senior it was called March of the living and their focus is very much on on the destruction a couple years later I went with my Yeshiva here in Israel and and the focus was much much more on both had both but it was much more focusing on understanding the communities that were and and and of and and so both of them are very very important and in fact if you look here Source number eight by by Norman lamb references both of these models when discussing the big debate regarding how to properly commemorate 911 and specifically commemorating Ground Zero the area of where of where the destruction happened we'll we'll read it quickly just because I think I and I his words are are much better than mine and he has a very beautiful way of describing it Source number eight let me now turn to the question of what we shall we remember and how do we remember there's a great debate that is still raging as recently as this morning's newspapers and it has been raging for the past year here in New York City how and what shall we do to remember the tragic events of September 11th 2001 there are two opinions about the story one of them is at the place should be left as it is destitute except for a museum or a monument an everlasting reminder of the cruelty that struck Us in an everlasting tribute to those to the close to 3,000 people who were killed the 300 who are still alive but who who were wounded for life and the thousands upon thousands of relatives and friends who will never forget this day of infamy infamy excuse me and who are wounded psychologically and emotionally there is an opposing attitude and that is just the reverse they are saying yes it is important to remember the tragedy but we Americans are optimistic and we have to go ahead and Forge our own future and not allow ourselves to be dragged down by this one terrorist strike and if we have to rebuild then let us rebuild if this was Financial IAL capital of the world it must again become the financial capital of the world we must show that we are not only going to survive we are going to thrive and that we will not allow the terrorist to determine our future so which one ought we to emphasize the recollection of the tragedy or the overcoming of the tragedy historically we Jews have experienced both each in its own context these two themes are called in memory of theban and the other one isik in memory of the temple itself emphasize the pessimistic the netive thinking we remember the pain the shame the national anguish we must never forget we owe it to the people who were destroyed we owe it to the people that was ravished we owe it to the people of Israel who had had to suffer through this National cataclysm the other memory was we will never forget the beauty of the temple we remember vanish from our Collective memory the glory the sanctity the Holiness of the temple the service that took place and how it United our people and therefore our hope that it will be reestablished rebuilt and re resur and and and resurrected excuse me hence we have these two diverg theme struggling with each other on the one hand we remember the negative the destruction on the other hand we recall the beauty the glory and our unrepressed and eternal hope to overcome the destruction and relive our ancient Glory so the arguments both talmudic and contemporary are reflections of the deeper ambivalence of the universal human psyche the universal human mind and heart concerning catastrophes whether natural or man-made as a result we have paradoxical reactions on the one hand deep grief mourning bordering on despair a sense of defeat on the other hand Defiance struggle healing hope and the striving to overcome and reattain the glory that once was this morning's New York Times puted something that in that mayor mayor in New York mayor's Mayor Michael blueberg excuse me said and which is similar to what we have been saying we'll mourn in the morning and in the afternoon or in the evening excuse me we we'll rededicate ourselves to rebuild I agree with him almost completely about both themes but they are not separate with one period of morning and then forgetting the morning and going on to the rebuilding rather both Tendencies must coexist simultaneously and we cannot afford to dispense with either of them as we mourn those who did not survive the World Trade Center attacks our hearts go out to those who are injured and who lost precious relatives we keep both tendencies in mind we realize that we Americans are a proud people we must determine that this awful and Dreadful anti-human event must be preserved in Collective consciousness of America but the memory of the destruction must not dominate us for all of the future indeed the as we go on must be transformed dialectically into its opposite into and theik can never afford to express itself without always having at its side the that is the way of maturity that is the way of the sages the Guardians of our heritage uh understood the reaction to the destruction of the BAM mikdash and how we must understand the reactions to any and all such catastrophes and so my lamb beautifully captures the the relationship between these two that whereas as he quotes Mayor Bloomberg suggested we start with one and then we shift to the other as R Lan points out it's not about one or the other it's about finding a way to integrate the two of them together and we shift from one to the other sometimes our emotions are more and sometimes our emotions are more and I'm sure as many of you have probably thought about it the more that we think about and how great the was the greater the sadness will be when we transition or when we shift into the because if we remember and better remember what was then the destruction itself takes on takes takes on deeper meaning and so you have these two emotions that I think are are ever present and really kind of playing off each other and as I said kazal created these things to be ever present throughout the year these are two models that aren't limited to the 3 weeks they're not limited to specific time they're always there but they're subtle they're meant to be there in ways that don't that aren't overbearing but that are constantly able to remind us of that lack that is there and one other model that I would bring for this which is just you know bringing it more to to Modern days there's many discussions uh specifically today following the horrors of October 7 many I've heard about this many kib specifically ones that are down south I mean in terms of a national way of commemorating things I think we're still very much in it and no one's really ready to talk about how to commemorate it but I know and I've read about how many of the Kim some of them have gone down south and some of them have started to go back and some of them are discussing how do you rebuild do we leave the areas of Destruction do we create a museum to commemorate what happened or do we just put everything to the side and and just rebuild and show they're not we won't let them get to us we're going to rebuild and we're going to build new communities and and each kibuts that was impacted is going to have to find that right balance but it's always going to be the balance between these two between the the destruction itself and the meaning reminding remembering what their what what they had before and looking to rebuild that in in in in Greater ways so anytime we deal with tragedy these two things these two things are there um those are the two the first two parts of our model but there are two more major parts to this model that have beautifully uh created the third I call anticipating the future now this tier in our model is is is very very much muted we don't we don't practically we don't find ourselves commemorating it in many active ways but at the same time the vision that it creates is something that's incredibly inspiring and and and I'll explain what I mean just to get a background before we get to the to to Source number um I just realiz are the sour is a little bit off or they I forgive they are I apologize it looks like there's uh I I apologize if the numbering is a little bit off we're going to eight I don't know if it's a second eight or third Eight Second Eight Second eight the second eight okay if if it works good it's it's basically the gamar and Su I apologize if the numbering might be a little might be a little or it could just be on my copy it's all just just to understand just to to get some background it's it's the gamar right after Rabbi lamb Lamb's uh uh piece the gamarra is discussing the Mitzvah of the OM the Corban om as many of us are are aware there is there is a there is a called ceg of andash and according to the we are only allowed to eat from the new grain which is called kadash only when the corbon OM the the Corb the sacrifice of the OM was brought which was generally brought on the second day of pesak and it was brought sometime during the day on the second day of PES the question becomes what happens when the bet is destroyed and there's no long any Corban om so at what point Are We Now allowed to eat from the new grain that's the debate in the in the gamar and what and the gamar debates and initially it says maybe we should be able to eat from the morning of the 16th normally we had to wait on the 16th of Nissan which is the second until the middle of the day when the corbon was brought now that there's no corbon let's start from the middle from the morning of the 16th and then the gar says no you have to wait until the end of the 16th which means we can now only start eating from the new grains at the end of this day the end of the day of the 16th the end of the second day of pesak says the gamar this is Source number eight which means the day of the which was when the carbon over used to be brought that whole day is user to eat to eat the new grain asks the G my why why not let us eat it from the morning of the 16th why do you have to wait till the end of the 16th says the gamar something astounding says the G we're afraid that not afraid but afraid and not afraid that the mikdash will be rebuilt and once the Bas is rebuilt when are we then allowed to start eating from the new grain again only from when the carbon is brought which is in the middle of the day so if we're used to eating from the morning of the 16th and then the Big M is rebuild let's say let's say comes a week before PES everyone's going to still think they can start eating kadash when from the morning of the 16th because that's what we've been doing for years and years and years and years but really once the mdash is rebuilt we can only start eating it from the middle of the day when the carbon is brought and we're afraid and therefore in anticipation that the betam mdda should be rebuilt Babu in our days we instead say you have to wait until the end of the 17th because that will ensure that no one's going to eat the kadash the new grain early if you didn't get the details of that don't worry about it but here's the here's the most important part of it which I think is incredibly inspiring and also potentially dangerous here you have an example where K have instituted a in not just perhaps in anticipation of what of the bash being rebuilt we are changing the changing I we're establishing the in a way where any given Year we're expecting this year will be here that's amazing it's not remembering the past it's not remembering the structure it's not remembering the past and hoping for the future it's what I would call anticipating the future the is now basically saying because we are concerned that next p there will be aash we have to we have to be to Define our terms and say only start eating kades at the end of the 17th because we were afraid that people are going to get confused already this coming year on the second day of P so here you have an example where are already embedding within the this vision for not just yearning for the future but anticipating it's going to happen it reminds me of the famous story they say about the they used to have a a bag packed in his closet right he has to have a suitcase all ready to go because he was wait ready right as as as the phrase as the gar said Yeshua he was he was anticipating anticipating yearning anticipating I've even heard and again I don't know if this is true and this isn't this is interesting H question I have heard that there are some shs that when they get Kos they only get paper back Kos and they and and and and they and they don't keep them from year to year why maybe next year out of the hope and the belief and the anticipation that we're not going to need it next year now I've even I have even heard again I'm going to quote this I don't know if this is actual true Hal but I have even heard that there are some halic authorities that say that there's no Mitzvah to fast for moves why because our hope is that by the time those children become of age now I'm I hav my children did Fast in anticipation of but but the but the vision there is incredibly inspiring because already the third tier of our model is not just remembering the past and remembering what was and and hoping it's saying we have to constantly be aware in our minds it might be coming soon now I mentioned this is not just inspiring this is dangerous why is this dangerous because if you take this too far you know you become very Messianic and becoming Messianic on the one hand is very inspiring but if you do certain things or you say certain things or you that it's it's interesting to note that it's a very limited application in like this is a very one specific example where kazal will institute this idea of anticipating the future but they don't do it in other areas they don't do it in many other areas because it's a dangerous type of approach because on the one hand we anticipate it's going to happen but until it comes we have to keep working and we have to keep assuming that it's our respons ability to work hard to make sure that it comes and so anticipation is a fine line where on the one hand kazal establish it it's there it's part of our model of commemorating and thinking about the mikdash but in a very very limited way because it's a dangerous potential model that we have to be very very careful of which now brings us to the fourth model the fourth or the fourth tier of our of our of our of our model and that that is what I called mourning the present and that actually gets into what we're the period of time that we're that that we're now is starting right now which is the period of the 3 weeks and the and the and the N9 days into shaba because until now the the three parts of our M that we've been discussing were things that exist all year round they were at specific times but they weren't limited to the three weeks and the nine days which is when the morning for mdash tends to be on our minds but here we have a new level of mourning because we're no longer mourning the past we're now mourning the present and I'll explain what I mean look at a war now we're all Ming absolutely absolutely I want to clarify yes absolutely meaning I would say that you know there's a reason why kazal say that Tish is not just a day to mourn the destruction of the bashash was the was the initial destruction we mourn all types of tragedies and of course the question of whether you should have other days where you mourn those tragedies is an important question and there's no question that for many of us um I think tab will have new meaning to this year than it will in the past because of what's going on and that's that 100% 100% there's no question about that there's no question about that and I think that's that's healthy healthy meaning that's appropriate it's appropriate because whenever we try to connect to the to to to tragedy it's much easier to connect to tragedy that you've experienced than tragedy that happened that happened long ago but but I want to just just to highlight this piece look at the the gamar and Source number 10 the gamar in Source number 10 makes the following very interesting uh comment it discusses the act of Kaa The Act of Crea is the act of tearing that that that a that an ail normally does when they have a close relative that passes away and the gamarra says that the following these are the following reasons why a person should tear K and should not reso it afterwards certain types of time there were certain times where it was appropriate to tear Crea but you were allowed to reso it afterwards but these categories that we're we're about to discuss right now are categories where you should tear Kaa but you should not reso it and what are theya horea aliv somebody who tears Korea for their father the Alo or for their mother t for their for their who taught them a lot of Torah Al for for a president Al again these are referring to specific types of rules that it's hard to know whether nowadays these are the rules that that still apply atin was the head of the bad events that they that that we hear about if somebody curses God's name the aler Tora is and a safer Torah that gets burnt the and about the seeing the destruction of the AR the area of of around okay this is a list now without getting into some of the other details of this list there's something very interesting about this list and we're going to play a game which one of these is not like the other okay there's there's two there's a group of three that are D dramatically different from the rest of this list I'll give you a hint it's the last three but let's see why what what is different about those last three that are drastically different from the rest of the list what's they're in the past excellent excellent what is the act of Korea normally about something just normally the act of Korea is an emotive response to a tragedy that has just occurred right a person tears Kaa when a when a close relative has just passed away or a tragedy has just happened a rebi just passed away that is when a person normally tears Kaa is an emotive response to an event that has just occurred and yet kazal say we're supposed to teare Kaa for Yim and the mikdash now again without getting into the Practical ramifications of this and whether you should tear Korea normally the only time that people the only place that people tear Korea nowadays is at the cotel and depending on how often you've been there you should ask your local Orthodox Rabbi when and where you should be doing this but there's something incredibly important here that the kazal are teaching us here you have an act which is usually only expressive of an emotional response to an event that has just happened and yetal tell us that that same act we should be doing for something that happened thousands of years ago the question is why why is it why would kazal be expecting us or expecting asking of us meaning it sounds almost funny I should sit there and te Kaa that it's almost Kaa is is is is an expression of my of my intense pain what what are Kaz teaching us they might forget about that kazal are teaching us on some level that that the the destruction of the betam mikdash well there's actually two I would say it this way there's two ways to answer this question let me take take a step back there's two ways that we can explain this one way is to suggest that you know what you're right normally that type of reaction that action is only done for events that happen right now but there are certain events that are so great so tragic so exactly that changed our reality in such drastic ways that even though it's been thousands of years we still take that reaction in order to show how important it is that would probably be the simplest approach to explaining this that the destruction of b d was such a cat cataclysmic event that even 2,000 years later we're supposed to try to create or elicit that sense of loss by doing an act of career that's normally reserved for an emotive reaction to to an event that happened just now that's one way of understanding it but there's another way to understand it and then in order to understand that we have to see next the the next source source number 11 the says the following famous idea that many of you have heard any any generation where the has not yet been rebuilt it is as if he has destroyed the mikash every generation where we have not me merited or caused and and been active in rebuilding the mdash is if we have destroyed the B mdash so now let's get back to that to that mishna to the to the to the gar sour why why are we tearing Kaa taking an act which is normally reserved for immediate response to an event that just happened if this is an event that happened 2,000 years ago according to this Kamar why are we doing it it didn't just happen 2,000 years ago it's right now this is called what I call morning the present the fourth part of this multi-tiered system is what we're going through now the next three weeks the next three weeks we are shifting from mourning the past celebrating the past thinking about what was maybe even anticipating the future we're now meant to sit with the reality is the reality of there is no bet mikdash and that is meant to create a sense of mourning in a different way the next 3 weeks we you know now as if we were in in the world in the words ofal there's usually some there are two different types of a they call a and a reference is a reference to people who have had recent loss usually refers to the loss of a relative that's called it's new a a refers to the a the old a the old morning that we usually have during the time for the during these three weeks we are now transitioning from what used to be a it's now turning into during these three weeks we are thinking about and and mourning the reality that we're spent and and by the way it's not so easy this isn't an easy thing to do okay because as we know is much easier to elicit that reaction because it it feels very intense we feel it in our bones when it comes to the morning the bet mikdash that feeling is not necessarily there one second and then I'll take your question um in fact there's a famous idea about raal ra salic not that the way that the three weeks continue the Continuum of the three weeks is the exact opposite of the way that a person normally Mourns for their family what's called usually starts with the most intensive type of experience which is and followed by the follow which in which you lessen some of it then theim where you lessen even more and then the year where you lessen even more when it comes to the three weeks we start with type of of besides from the fast today we take on certain restrictions now than the nine days we take on more restrictions than the than the the week of TSH we take out even more restrictions and then is meant to be similar to the the day of the burial itself why is it why is it the exact opposite of salvic notes be because of the nature of the the difference between these two types of experiences when a person experiences that loss the most intense moment is the time when he experienced that that loss and then over time although the although the the the person does is not forgotten God forbid but the loss itself is meant to dissipate a certain amount over time when it comes to mourning the mikash it's not an automatic response there's no emotive response many of us have towards the we need to in the words of we need to learn it we need to build it we need to create it and that's what these three weeks are meant to are meant to do they're meant to help us on that path as we begin the path towards morning on on on shabab yes a question or a comment first of all thank you no I I was going to say this is probably the source of Jewish guilt that we all this is this is definitely example a a good example of Jewish guilt there's no question this is an example of Jewish guilt but another way to say it is I think that and there's always a fine line between guilt and accountability and I think that's the fine line that we have to right we all have I'm sure I'm sure most of our we talk about you know the the the guilt from the mom it was never meant to be guilt it was meant to be accountability but sometimes there's a fine line between accountability and uh and guil so just to just to bring it together what we've seen so far ladies and gentlemen is we have we've seen here really in brilliant fashion the multi-tiered model that kazal had put together for how to commemorate and relate to the BET mikdash and it really if you think about it it really transcends time because we have the past the present and the future we have well we said the first two are the two different ways that we that we relate to the past is remembering the destruction mourning the destruction as well as remembering what was as we also look towards the future those were the first two Ms that's the past we talked about the third the third tier was anticipating the future where we have even that encourages us to think that tomorrow in two weeks right is going to come and there's even a that is that is created to represent to reflect that and the fourth is what I would call the present where we're more the present the time that we're in right now is where we begin to really sit and take a few weeks to beginning with shuz to mourn the present to think about it and recognize our role in the destruction and hopefully our role be in the in the continued rebuilding beem have a great day everybody and a meaningful uh meaningful fast