Tisha B'Av: It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

okay good afternoon friends sh to the Monday afternoon National she so now we've entered a time of the year which is traditionally historically a difficult time for the Jewish people the N says about this time Yia per B we read it this past shab as in her month they will find her in her month the difficulties will find her writes in yahu there that bad things have a way of happening to US during this month of the year was anyone surprised when Iran first threatened to attack the Jewish people on Tish and then they well maybe tomorrow not that they know the dates but just like in 1492 that barbano writes Ferdinand and Isabella didn't know the significance of a or Tish but their masle understood so what goes around comes around in our times as well the enemies of the Jewish people they instinctively know that if there's a month it's the month of a and if there's a day there's a Tish there's uh it's Tish want to learn a little bit about the character of the month of a and how it's an ominous time for the Jewish people and what does that mean for us in general do we believe that there are auspicious or ominous times in our calendar so we're going to talk about good times and bad times the mishna says at the end ofus that when the month of comes in we diminish our Joy the says the son in the name of RA that just like when the month of comes in we decrease our joy when the month of AD comes in we increase our joy so there are ominous times and there are are auspicious times R papa says therefore if somebody has a court case with a gentile he should try to wiggle out of it in the month of and he should schedule it for why one's masle is strong so there is a concept in Jewish thought there are times when our Mazel is weak and there are times when our mael is strong you may have thought God runs the world and if we do the right thing then we'll have good times we do the wrong thing there'll be bad times there's no concept perhaps one might say of better mle or worse masle and yet the gar says no that's not true there are definitive times when the Jewish people have good maszle and there are times when we have bad masle and the gamar even says if you have a court case try to get out of it in a now what part of a should you try to get out of is the home month of ominous is it only certain part of comes the entire month the whole month is bad not just the first nine days not just until Tu the whole month is bad the whole month is rle the month of a is R masle but as we're going to see that not everybody agrees the whole month is r teaches us in the old print that yobu and as they so to speak divied up the year and they each took months for themselves and Yu took for himself Nissan and and he Incorporated it in the month of Sian which is the month of twins and asov took two months he took Tam and he took a and even though he took tamas and a he was not able to incorporate it in l l does not belong to as and even the month of a says the Zar kades he only took nine days and not anym he was not able to get more than nine days of a it's interesting that even though the mag says to try to avoid a court case in the whole month of wres inim number four on your sheet says that we don't Rejoice at all and a Jew who has a a court case with a gentile he should try to slip out of it because his muzzle is bad says at best try to slip out the whole month but at the very least the first nine days M also says try to slip out the whole month but at least the first nine days so it's a little bit different than the says slip out into and he makes no differentiation between the first n days and after that nevertheless the and maybe it's sourced in the Z that as was only able to take nine of the first days of the month of it's very interesting the questions what is's source that the whole month of a is bad he says that the m is basically equating ad and and just like the whole month of a the whole month of Ador is good just like the entire Ador is fortuitous is auspicious is a time of good masle the whole a is a time of bad masle and theer challenges that analogy says just because the whole month of of ad is good it does not necessarily mean the whole month of Ador is bad why says there the days between p and p are sandwiched between two so not only are the days leading up to PM good but the days after PM between pm and Pak are also good furthermore but but when it comes to a once Tish passed and thear passed certainly after which was a great ands so therefore the month of a is not entirely bad F furthermore says after and on it's almost like a completely different month after TSH it's called so you can't say just like the whole Ador is good the whole a is bad it's only until Tish the whole Ador is good because it's in between per P but the whole is not bad after Tish the S has ended furthermore after T it's like a new month we call it and moreover says in the whole month is good because the days after we begin the so therefore it comes out p and p are almost embracing each other and the days between our days of in in the month of the whole month is not considered uh ominous be it as it may we're introduced to a very interesting concept by the way according to the and this is what I did in when we're I do not say no that's not the name of the month the name of the month is a begins after t although the does uh write that there's basis to call the whole month in the world of is only after so we're introduced to this very interesting concept there are good times and there bad times there are times when if you want to embark on something it's a it's a advisable time to embark on something there are times that if you want to begin a project it's a good idea and there are times that if you want to embark on something it's not a good idea you have something you're being scrutinized you're being judged avoid the month of a instead schedule it for Adar there are other examples of this phenomenon as well for example there's a concept of by the way the gumar says how do we know the second B mikdash was destroyed on Tish we're going to be fasting next Tuesday on tish how do we know the B MDES was destroyed on tshb there's no historic record that the second B MDES was destroyed on tshb we know the first one was destroyed on tshb we have no record the second B was destroyed on so the says you're right we roll good times we roll Merit for a meritorious day we Merit and we roll inauspicious times ominous times for ominous days therefore when the first B mdash was destroyed on Tish we could only assume that the that Tish became a lightning rod for tragedy so it's safe to assume the second M was destroyed on that day as well we have no evidence to it we have no record of it we don't need evidence we don't need a record that's the way Hashem runs the world that there are ominous times and when when when they're ominous times ominous things happen on them here's another example of an omous time the nowadays people love to bring people love to bring in schnaps and pastries for a yard site really Hally a yard site is a day of fasting says you need to fast on the day that a father or mother passed away why says aush really you need to do Chua because on that day if a loved one passed away it's a dangerous time for the mishak why because if something bad happened on that day a person's masle is bad on that day a person's a masle is bad on the day their father mother passed away therefore we fast because we have to do chuva in a time that our masle is bad now for this reason one the says one should fast on the Y of a parent not on the yur even if the yur was a different day and it's year one nevertheless the Tinus should be on the Y not on the yur and the reason is because on the day that a person's parent passes away the maszle is weak one's mule is weak on the day that a parent passes away so that's another example that there's another idea another illustration of the concept of Rea masle there are months of the year that a person's masle is weak namely the month of a there are days of in life when a person's masle is weak on a yard site there are months of the year when a person's masle is strong the month of Adar let me give you another illustration um of this in the converse there are are times when a person's masle is strong on a yard site the masle is weak there are other times that in fact the masle is strong you know the gar tells us in the story of RA Anda when ra gam was demoted and they appointed rear aarya in his stad and thear on that day he was 18 years old so the benay is troubled why does it say on that day he was 18 years old why doesn't it say at the time he was 18 years old says it could be it's because he conjectures that it was his birthday and he had turned 18 on that very day and that's why he he was and he became the and he merited a miracle because we know that on a person's birthday a person's Mas is strong and successful therefore a person should be no that on their birthday they should make a yam fors and that's the reason why am miracle happened that 18 rows of white hair grew because he had turned 18 and he had lived 18 wholesome righteous years so the Ben Y is saying that there are days in one's life where one's masle is strong namely on one's birthday so on a yard side re the Mas is weak on a birthday the Mas is strong right likewise writes has a of different that came to him in a Dream It's called it was he says that the day that a person is born he's in the summit and the Pinnacle of his mael and he has nothing to be afraid of on that day I the K says that sadik can pass away on the day they were born no because for sikim death is an elevation of their masle it's an elevation for them they're able to take off the sackcloth of the body and be dawned in the superal mystical spiritual Garb that will cloak his Nish so for the sadic does pass away on the day that he was born because for the sadic passing away is not is not a bad uh is not reflection of bad mael but in fact for a Russia to pass away that is detrimental to the rasia so therefore the rasia will not pass away on his birthday because on a birthday a person's mule is strong so again we're seeing that in life there are months that are auspicious the month of Ador there are months that are ominous the month of a there are days that are ominous on a yard side there are days that are officious on one's birthday and we're going to see that this has practical ramifications as well the tells us that if you see a Russia who's being successful don't start up with him like it says Altis and not only that if you see the wicked being successful his way ways will be successful like it says his M his ways will be uh successful at all times and not only that if you take him to court even if you're right he'll win and not only that he will stare down his opponents so gar asks really you shouldn't start up with rash but said in the name of the rash you're allowed to start up with rasham in this world like it says Those Who forsake the T will praise the Russ and those who preserve the T will quarrel with them in other words you should start off start up with r said it's to instigate against R and if you if you are if you're not confident in that it's because you have a guilty conscience conscience so therefore it's a s should you start off start up with rasham or not soar says it depends regarding personal things you should not start up with ram regarding spiritual matters you could answer number two even regarding personal things if you're a you could start up with him you're not g don't and the third answer is sh if it's his hour in the sun it's different really you should not start up with the wicked in this world I'm sorry really you can start up with the wicked in this world after all you have to show who's right you have to put the rush in his place but not at his moment in the sun when things are going well for him when the sun is shining on him when everything he does is touching uh turns to gold when he has his moment leave him alone because at that time he's Invincible there's a concept that at a time that a person is successful his masle is strong everything's going to go his way everything he does will turn to gold and therefore you should keep away from him this din this idea so thear gives three answers one answer is don't start up with him in personal matters one answer is it can only start up with him if you're a sadic and the third answer is no specifically don't start up with him when he has his moment in the sun amazingly rabar in the on the gar in we're going to read that Kamar soon he quotes in the beginning of sim the quotes many and he tells us how to Accord oursel and Incredibly the he quotes this gar and he quotes specifically the third answer of the gamar namely that when a Russia is having his moment in the sun stay away from him don't start up with him so the is p don't start up with a Russ when things are going his way when the momentum turns when the maszle seems to be on his side when things seem to be going on his way going his way so then don't start up with the Russia so that this is not just a general idea but it's according to the it's interesting the says anyone who pushes the hour the hour will push him anyone who yields to the hour the hour will yield from before him and the gar gives an example this is like the story of R and RAB what's the story R was aai R had a broad ranging knowledge of the whole Tah the RAB rabba uprooted mountains rabba was someone who had deep profundity and analytical ability and he could uproot mountains with his sharp analysis they needed a rashash Shiva so they asked what's greater sini what Raba is what excuse me what RAB was someone with broad-ranging knowledge or har or what Raba was who is analytical so they concluded sini is greater because everybody needs the information nevertheless even though they offered the job to RAB who is the CI RAB didn't accept the job why because rph heard from the stargazers that he would only rule as rashash for two years so what happened he let rabba go ahead of him rabba what became Ina for 22 years and then RAB ruled for 2 and A2 years what would have happened had R pushed his way to become the rashash he would have been rashash for two and a half years and then he would have died because he was only supposed to rule for two years but because he yielded the hour and he gave in he gave Raba the job so Raba ruled for 22 years and then rabf ruled for 2 and a half years and RAB gave gain from it an additional 22 years of life so from this gamar we learn that don't push the hour but let the hour push you now Reb on this gar cites the M who the like the third answer in the Z that we saw before that when a Rasha is having his moment in the sun just get out of get out of the way don't start up with him then the Benes there's a collection of stories that are found in the writings of the Ben it's called and the Ben wrote a on the a called Ben he also wrote a parish called Ben in B the benai says that this idea that there are auspicious times in life and that there are omous times in life this idea is not only a general idea this is not just when it comes to spiritual matters but it it refers to not only political matters but it also refers to parasa because originally the example the gar brought is a he wanted to be king if he would have waited patiently maybe ultimately would have happened naturally but because he tried to take the throne by force so he he was not successful now the Ben tells the following story so a man passes away he leaves a big inheritance and he leaves inheritance to two sons each one received a very big share and they start investing the money and they were not being successful they both lost a lot of money one each son started to lose all of the fortune so the son figures to himself you know what the best way to gain Security is to diversify so he would put whatever little money he had left into different areas different Arenas different markets and it doesn't matter wherever he turned he was a failure and he ended up continuously losing money and sinking further into debt the other brother sees that things are not going well and he really almost lost all of his money so he said you know what let me cut my losses he took whatever little money he had left and he just he put it under his mattress and whatever he bought and whatever property he had he liquidated it he took a menial job and he made a few bucks barely eing out a living one day he was advised about a certain purchase to make and on going home that day he found a piece of jewelry and he bought a code for his wife and in this used code he found a diamond and one after another things started to turn for him and he decided this is the right time to invest his money and he struck it rich says the Benes from here we learn that this is the difference between someone who's pushing ahead when his masle is not ideal and somebody who basically bides his time and waits until his masle improves if you push at a time that your masle is not strong nothing you do will be successful you push the hour even though it's not a fortuitous hour you'll be pushed back but if you yield then ultimately you will be successful by the way there's amazing gamar in rashishana where the gar tells us that Hashem judges the world different times of the year and were judged on grain what does that mean says basically on P the world is judged that whatever will be planted after PES it's judged how that crop will fare so therefore recommends as follows look at number 14 three lines on the end therefore if a person sees [Music] that a person sees his slow maturing crop is being successful he should quickly plant a fast maturing crop so before it is judged it will have grown because every year on pem judges the grain if you see that your slow planting your slow growing crop is being successful that means it was planted under the influence of a pesak that had a good din because if whatever is growing now in this coming year is being successful that means on pesak when the crap was judged it was judg F ably so now it's a good idea to quickly plant another crop because if you're going to wait until after next PES you don't know that the judgment on next PES will be equally fortuitous basically what AB is encouraging us to do is strike while the iron is hot you know you got a good judgment that's evidenced by the fact that the crop that was planted is being successful soar plant another crop don't wait until next year you don't know what next year's pesak din will fare and amazingly this is seen in some really interesting in in thei tells us that David H when he send the throne the king kiram the king of tyam sent to David Cedarwood and all kinds of raw materials to build the B mikdash he sends him Carpenters Masons and they build a home for recognized that established him as the king hasem elevated his kingdom for the sake of Cl is so when David saw that Hashem was solidifying his power you know what David did took more concubines more wives after he came from it was born to DAV more Sons and Daughters says the these are the names of those who were born to D in Jerusalem Shar Al why is the toah why is the n reporting to us that when David took to office and the King ofam sent to David raw materials so that David went ahead and he took more wives and he had more children what is the fact that King kiram sent to David raw material have to do with David marrying more women and having more children through in his approach to Nim he doesn't he doesn't just comment on the meaning of the narrative but the RAB tells us the to the benefits that we could learn from the stories in the Nai and the RAB says that from this episode we learn a very important toas David saw hasem was smiling on him he saw his masle was strong he saw his masle was good so he said David says to himself if I'm having good masle the navi is telling if I'm having good masle you know what I need to do if I'm having good maszle then what I need to do is Now's the Time to Now's the Time to take advantage of the masle maybe the children that D had until now were not successful maybe they were not worthy maybe they were not worthy to be his maybe they're not worthy to be his successor but never identified the right time when he should take another step and marry again and have more children but now that he sees that hashm is consolidating his power and that he's being sent raw materials by says this is a good time let me strike while the iron is hot my masle is good now now is the right time to find the successor so therefore he married more women and he took more concubines and he had more children and sure enough at this time when his mle was strong he had more children and who was born schi had D not taken the steps to take advantage when the masle was good he would never have had a successor the navi is teaching us says that there are times in life when you see things are going well that's the time to start new projects and new and new ideas and to build and to accomplish and sometimes when things are not going so well maybe that's a time to lay low in any event this is an example of what we're learning there are good days and there bad days they're good months and they're bad months this month is not one of the better months Adar is a happy month Ador is a successful month you got a parking ticket you schedule it for Adar don't schedule it for a A's not a great time definitely not the first nine days maybe even the whole month Tas isn't great either ad is a good month Nissan is a good month your birthday is a good day a yard side is not a good day you you're you have a Russia you're fighting with the Russia if he's having his moment in the sun just stay away lay low because if he's having good masle you could he could take you to court and he'll win even though he's wrong and if you see things are going well maybe that's the time to invest don't listen to your financial advisor it may not be dependent on the market it may dependent on you maybe on your birthday not on a yard side not in the month of a if you see something's being successful strike while the iron is hot he was having good times so he got married he married more women he married more concubines he had more children and sure enough lo and behold guess what he was successful [Music] now this is a wondrous going on to when he got to the following P he cried the is sometimes a person can be taken out of this world without any Judgment at all how so thear tells a story thear says that R was bothered could somebody leave this world even though it's not the time said yeah like R the Mal with good buddies with r so the Mal told his sidekick go get meam get meam bring me her meaning kill her I'm after her so the the the it was his first day on the job he got the wrong Miriam he got Miriam the school teacher you you know you poop the Satan says I told you to get the other Miram you know how do you make a mistake like that I told you to get Miriam the not mayor not Miriam the Moa so the sidekick says all right I'll put her back I'll send her back so the Satan said nah once once you took her we'll keep her no baxes once once you took her we're going to keep her so ask how's that possible she wasn't supposed to die how did the Satan sidekick take the wrong person so gar says very simply she was fiddling around in an oven she reached out to Pi pick up a coal she dropped the coal on her foot she dropped the call in her foot her mule became weak her mule became weak they brought her back they took her they took her she she made a mistake she took the coal it dropped it on her leg oh she has bad muzzle bad muzzle the Mal could get you so there is such a concept in Judaism as good times and bad times RAB calls it and days of love and days of hate and one of the important things in life to know is that they good days and bad days and let's say this morning you woke up you're not feeling well and then on your way to SCH you left your T and until and at home and things are just not going well today don't worry so lay low tomorrow will be a better day that that's the verdict of life life has different kinds of times you have good hours you have bad hours you have good days you have bad days the next nine days they're not the greatest days right now though those will change they'll be turn into days of Y but right now the maszle is not great and one has to be aware of that and it seems like it might be a good idea that if you think if you're contemplating doing something and then things start going well for you well maybe that's the right time to embark on that project and furthermore if you're having a rough patch maybe that's not the best time even though the tells us in the Jewish people are not governed by mael so it would seem that everything we're talking about should not apply to CL is but we have to look at to to says indeed there is Mas for cl a Mas means we're not locked into the mael but there are ways to break the masle how says tus with a with a great Merit you could break your masle question what is an example of a great merit with which you could break your mle so the inash reveals to us what is an example of a great Merit that you could break your masle so says that everybody in this world has a threshold told that they're willing to do the right thing as long as X Y and Z but once X Y and Z happens they can keep to it for example I'm willing to do the right thing as long as I have I'm going to be able to eat supper but if it means me not eating supper I don't know if I'm still going to be able to do the right thing so this person has made supper his boundary meaning provided that he'll still have a decent meal he'll keep us cool but if he's not going to be able to eat anything or some people they're willing to do the right thing provid it's not going to cost them more than 10 cents as soon as they have to spend 10 cents then they lose it or some people they're willing to do the right thing as long as they don't have to they're not going to lose $1,500 everyone has a border some people though they're willing to do the right thing at any cost unless it's going to cause a if it's going to cause a then they say you know what that's my threshold I don't want to cause you know how we refer to such a person one who makes peace their border many people they're willing to they have a threshold as long as it is not going to um as long as it is not as long as uh it's it's not going to hurt them or cause them harm but somebody who's on a very high level their threshold is peace and about such a person we could say he makes his border peace his reward will be he will be satiated with the fatness of wheat meaning he will have aula for parasa says even though that means we are not locked into our ma but with a great Z you could break your masle you know what that great Z that could break a person's masle is Shalom one who's willing to overlook for the sake of peace that is with which one could break their Ma and maybe we could say and apply the same thing regarding this time of the year there is no question that the masle of Cl during this time of the year is ominous there is no question that this time of the year this month and these days are a lightning rod of disaster for the Jewish people there is no question that we are influenced by the ma of but we're not locked into it we are not locked into the mael the only thing is we need a great to break the of and you know what that is the the of sh is a is the great with which we could break our Ma so even though during this time of the year we are apprehensive and we do have a level of anxiety of because of the and because of the historic significance of this time of the year nevertheless we are not locked into it we are not bogged down by it it is something we can break out of and that that says has that we could break our teaches is of sh so we all know that the second was destroyed because of and the Merit of shom very compellingly then is the with which we could break our masle okay R I will see you next Monday arsh for our final sh before Tish I wish everybody a good week and everyone