Tonight we will drink wine. Tonight we will eat meat. It’s Shabbat.
But, earlier this week, we abstained from eating meat and drinking wine. That’s because we are in middle of the Nine Days, the saddest time in the Jewish calendar.
We mourn the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, in Jerusalem. Nearly two thousand years later, Jews still abstain from comforts during the days leading up to Tisha B’Av.
Together with our deep and enduring grief over the loss of our sacred Sanctuary, we face forward and wish each other, “May these days be transformed into days of gladness and joy.” This is based on a verse in Zechariah (8:19), which states that the fast days, “Shall be for the house of Judah for joy and happiness and for festivals.” When Moshiach comes, Tisha B’Av won’t be a fast day. It will be a great holiday.
How can we mourn the loss and celebrate the future all at once?
In this week’s parsha Devarim, Moshe begins a long rebuke of the Jewish people. His opening words reflect one how long the journey from Mount Sinai to the Holy Land should have taken. Eleven days.
Instead it took forty years. That huge discrepancy is due to the shortcomings of the Jewish people. Had they behaved properly, they would have entered the Promised Land immediately after the Giving of the Torah.
There’s a fascinating comment in the Talmud that seems to blame Moshe’s less-than-perfect love of his fellow Jews as the cause of their wandering in the wilderness for four decades.
In a debate with heretics, the Talmud records Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, responding to them that, “If Moses, our teacher, was a lover of the Jewish people, why did he delay them in the wilderness forty years?”
We all know that the Jews were prevented from entering the Land of Israel due to the sin of the Spies. So, why does Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai suggest that Moshe has any responsibility for this? And, how can he impugn the love that Moshe has for the Jews? Wasn’t Moshe willing to be erased from the Torah to defend his people?
The answer to this mystery lies in our perspective on punishment. Imagine a parent who wants to help their child grow. She punishes the child so that the child will learn a lesson and become a better person.
Is that love or hate?
Obviously, it’s love. But, not all love is gushing with smiles. Sometimes love is about helping someone improve or learn – despite the difficult and painful process necessary.
A truly loving leader is one who cares for his people in all ways. Ostensibly, delaying in the wilderness for forty years is only punishment and pain. But, Moshe knows that through this process the Jewish people would mature and improve themselves. The adversity and suffering would strengthen them and lift them to greater heights. This would prepare them to enter the land properly. They would not fail this time around.
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai’s rhetorical question actually has an answer. Moshe is a lover of the Jewish people. And, Moshe did indeed participate in their delayed entry into the land. Because real love is not always pretty.
As we enter the final stretch of the Nine Days, it’s important to remember that Hashem loves us. Despite the loss of the Holy Temple and the tremendous, unbearable suffering of our people, His love is unwavering.
Ultimately, our exile is not merely a punishment. It’s a preparation for great things to come.
May these days be transformed into days of gladness and joy – and festivals.