Seeing Beyond the Problems

The Talmud in Gittin tells us that the Second Temple was destroyed due to the baseless hatred exemplified in the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtzah. In short, Bar Kamtzah was publicly humiliated by his enemy and felt that the Rabbis should have done more in his defense. Bar Kamtzah wanted to get the Rabbis in trouble with Rome. He approached the Roman Governor of Jerusalem and said that the Jews were rebelling. To prove his point, he told the governor to send a korban to the Beit Hamikdash and see whether the Jews accepted it. The governor sent a perfect animal that was worthy of being offered on the Mizbeiach. In transit, Bar Kamtza created a slight blemish in the animal which although overlooked by non-Jews is problematic according to Halacha. Upon receiving the animal, the Rabbis understood the gravity of the situation and were inclined to accept the Governor’s gift and offer it on the mizbeiach. Rabbi Zecharya ben Avkules vehemently objected on the grounds of Halachic integrity: people will say that such an animal is really OK for the altar when it in fact is not. In the end, the Rabbis headed this alarmist call and did not offer the governor’s sacrifice. Concerning this story Rabbi Yochanan said, “The hesitance of Rabbi Zecharya ben Avkules caused the destruction of the Temple and caused us to be exiled from our Land.” Rav Zecharya ben Avkules’ hesitance and his inability to see beyond the problems can be attributed to a fixation on perfection. The blemishes need not be overlooked, but they must never paralyze us or cause us to overlook the bigger picture.

This year we will add a layer of mourning to Tisha B’Av due to October 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza. While it is important to mourn the tragedy and to honor those who have been murdered for being Jewish, we must also appreciate the fundamental difference that exists when Tisha B’Av is being observed at a time when there is Jewish sovereignty over the Land of Israel.

I once heard a story from a colleague who went to visit his neighbor in Israel, a contractor, who was sitting shiva for his father in the days leading up to Tisha B’Av. During the shiva visit another neighborhood friend came to visit who was also a contractor. The contractor sitting shiva shared that on Tisha B’av he was going to go to his father’s senior residence in Petach Tikva to spend some time with his father’s friends who could not come during shiva due to the distance to Jerusalem The neighbor shared, “I always go to a 6 a.m. minyan on Tisha B’Av and then go to work.” The man sitting shiva was surprised that his friend worked on Tisha B’Av, as common custom is to avoid work (at least until midday), and tradition teaches that no Siman Bracha emerges from work performed on Tisha B’Av. The neighbor responded: “I actually work double on Tisha B’av because I am building buildings in Jerusalem.

The destroyed Jerusalem is being rebuilt by me. What better way to observe Tisha B’av than to rebuild the broken Jerusalem? I tell my workers, ‘take off the day before, the day after, I don’t care. But on Tisha B’Av we work double, rebuilding Jerusalem.” It is not easy, and we do not live in simple times. But fortunate is a generation like ours that, while we still have much to mourn over nonetheless, has the special zechut to be a part of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the strengthening of the Jewish People in our homeland.