Tisha B'av: Make the Most of What You Have | Rabbi Uren Reich

My dear Vayimaen friends, There's a certain feeling, a sinking feeling in our heart when we know that Tisha B’av is coming and we look back at our success rate over previous years. What chance do we have that this Tisha B’av will be hopefully more meaningful and we’ll merit to mourn for Yerushalayim? Let me share with you an incredible Avos d’Rabbi Nosson, chapter 4. R’ Yochanan ben Zakkai and R’ Yehoshua were walking out of Yerushalayim, shortly after the destruction of Yerushalayim. Said R’ Yehoshua, Woe to us for this. He gave a groan. How terrible this is. The place where atonement was made for the sins of Israel. This is a place where we had atonement for sins and now it's lost from us. R’ Yochanan ben Zakkai said: My son, don't let this sadden you. There’s an atonement that’s just as good and what is it? Acts of loving kindness. This Avos d’Rabbi Nosson is incredible. R’ Yochanan ben Zakkai seems to be almost belittling the Avodah of mourning the destruction. Don't worry about it, אל ירע בני. Nah, we still got things going. It’s great. Is that R’ Yochanan ben Zakkai? R’ Yochanan ben Zakkai who led Klal Yisroel with difficulty and pain through the whole era of the destruction and instituted enactments to strengthen their spirits so that they would not lose heart? He was giving over an incredible message. Imagine a person who inherits a billion dollars and he just squanders and squanders and squanders. And by the time he gets his act together, he only has $15 million left. And he’s beside himself. What did I do? And a friend goes over to him and says: Yankel, you could spend the rest of your life bemoaning the money that you used to have. Do better than that. You have $15 million. Appreciate what you still have. Make the most of it. And then you can think about what you used to have. This is R’ Yochanan ben Zakkai’s message. Don't just mourn what we lost. Show how important it is to you by grabbing and holding on to whatever you still have that's similar to the atonement for sins of the Holy Temple. Rabosai, he spoke about loving kindness. I'd like, if I may, to bring a Pasuk that will have tremendous meaningful impact for us. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, God, You will not despise. What was the essence of an offering? Sacrifice. The poorer the person, the more meaningful the sacrifice, even if he just brought some wheat. Our sages say: But he's giving away his sweat, his toil. When a person brings an offering from you. It's giving away from yourself that creates the sacrifice. When a person has all kinds of desires and cravings and he gives it away for Hakadosh Baruch Hu, that's the ultimate sacrifice. But a person says, I'm embarrassed to bring such a sacrifice. This is disgusting. This is not something that I should have a desire for. A broken and contrite heart. Rabbeinu Yona says: If you break your desire for worldly pleasures, whatever it may be, however lowly it is, God, You will not despise, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will never look down on that. And if we continue on our Avodah of Vayimaen to bring this sacrifice to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, giving away our cravings, sacrificing our desires, a broken and contrite heart, God, You will not despise, we’ll merit not only to the atonement for sins of this sacrifice, but thereby we’ll merit to connect with all the sacrifices, God willing, at the rebuilding of the wall of Tzion, speedily in our days, Amen.