The Silent Tragedy: Jewish Assimilation Today - The 17th Of Tammuz - Rabbi Daniel Glatstein

In the Jewish calendar, we have fast days that commemorate tragic events that have happened throughout our history. But these fast days don't only commemorate tragedies that have pa happened in the past in the ancient times, but they commemorate tragedies that occur in our own times. For example, we've learned that the 17th of Tamas Shivas Tamas not only commemorates the five tragedies that are recorded in the Mishna Maka Tusinus, but Shivas Tamas is rooted in the day that the Jewish people worship the Ael. The Ael, the golden calf was so to speak, the first false salvation, false messiah of the Jewish people. And therefore, Shivas is a day that is dedicated to mourn the tragedy of the false Messiah that has reoccurred throughout all the generations. But it got me thinking, you know, there's a particular tragedy that might be the very worst tragedy that has occurred to the Jewish people. And we seem to almost forget about it. We don't mourn it. We don't mention it. You know what the greatest tragedy that has occurred to the Jewish people? The disappearance of the Jewish people. When I say the disappearance of the Jewish people, I mean assimilation, the assimilation of the Jewish people, the intermarriage of the Jewish people. In this country, the intermarriage rate is over 70%. It is said that more Jews have been lost in this country to assimilation than were lost in Europe during the Holocaust. That is a frightening statistic. Why don't we mourn the tragedy of assimilation? Or do we? Is there a day that could be considered designated to mourn the tragedy of assimilation? And indeed there is. And I think this could be understood in the context of a very important historical fact. And that is the establishment of the United States of America in 1776 on July 4th was Shiva Assaratamas. That is right. This country was founded on Shiva and that is very important and that is very telling. The Mishna records five tragedies that occurred on Shivas. The Mishna tells us the lit were broken. The carbonid stopped being brought. The city's walls of were breached. Aposto burnt the Torah and Salem a icon in a des erected in the there's a a there are a lot of opinions as to when these various tragedies occurred we were familiar that the lis were broken in the desert in the midbar before the Jewish people even entered Israel but when exactly was the carbent abolished and we know the walls of the city were breached only in the times of the second bas Bes mikdash on the 17th and times of the first basa mikdash it was the 9th. Aposto burnt the tora that was not necessarily in the times of the second bas mikdash. So the Mishna seems to collect five random tragedies and it does not even seem to be in chronological order that happened on the 17th of Thomas. What is the connection if any between these five tragedies? So ravy oftinger in the safer minasi in parasa's balak reveals an amazing understanding that these are not a random collection of five tragedies. Instead this is a detailed outline of the downward spiral and progression of what happens to the Jewish people when we do not dedicate ourselves to observe the tyra. It all begins with the lis are broken. The lus are broken represents when a Jew slackens off and weakens his commitment to the study of Tyra. In other words, all of Judaism is based upon commitment to the regular study of Tyra. But when the lus are broken, when that fixed commitment to Torah study breaks, the next step is our daily observance of is nullified. Maybe at first one would stop going to minion on a weekday that there's no creas like a Tuesday, a Wednesday, a Friday and after that maybe they would stop going and then even on a Monday and Thursday and then maybe on a Friday night or Shabas and then even Shabas morning and then the next thing they know they're only coming once a month and then only high holidays and then only Yom Kipper and then it's finished. At that point the city's walls are breached. In other words, the Jew is open prey to the WS of the evil inclination. At that point in time, the Tyra is burnt. He loses all connection to Tyra. He severs all ties to the observance of Tyra. And then there is assimilation and conversion. Beha. So these are not five random tragedies. This is a detailed outline of the downward spiral of what happens to the Jewish people. First they stop their commitment to Torah study. Then the daily observance of then they're open pray to the then the Tory is burnt and then they abandon their religion. In effect what the is teaching us is that Shiva Batamos is the day to mourn the greatest tragedy of all and that is the tragedy of the disappearance of the assimilation of the Jewish people throughout our history. And as great of a tragedy that is, it has been most pronounced and most acute in the United States of America. More Jews have been lost to assimilation in this country possibly than anywhere else in the world in the history of the Jewish people. So how telling and how revealing is it that this country was founded on this day the day of Shiva the day that we mourn this fivestep program of the downward spiral of the Jewish people that means the founding of this country gives us the lens to how to perceive a certain element of greatbin of the gulus that we are in today on the other hand we know that all the fast days will beha the fast of the fourth month will be which means that America also has a great potential to be a great source of braha to the Jewish people and indeed it has certainly this country has been the greatest haven for the Jewish people in our history. Tyra has been built in this country like nowhere else since the day we left you. So Shivaos both the destructive element of it and the hope for transformation letova is a good paradigm for how we could view this final gullus that we are in today. But this opens up our mind that indeed there is a tragedy. There is a tragedy that we mourn on Shivasamos that may not be enumerated exactly in the Mishna. And that is the greatest tragedy of all, the assimilation of the Jewish people. And in a certain sense, Shiva Batamos is the dedicated day to mourn the greatest tragedy that has ever happened to Cla Israel. and that is the unfortunate disappearance of the Jewish people through assimilation. So we hope through and we reverse this course because the same way it begins the downward spiral begins with abandoning Torah study. It also begins with embracing Torah study. You know the three weeks have 528 hours corresponding to the 528 praim in the shisha Mishna that is maf is gamatria 528 to indicate that this is the key of our redemption. May we all merit to seek. Wishing everyone an easy fast.