The Ninth of Av

When the Holy Temple was destroyed, the loss was of a whole way of life.

A survey recently published reveals that a third of American Jewry has completely disconnected from the Jewish people. Another weighty survey reveals that a quarter of American Jews have become addicted to the anti-Semitic belief that Israel commits genocide against Palestinians, just as the Germans did to the Jewish people during the Holocaust.

If we all strive to see the positive qualities of the land of Israel and its spiritual value; if we feel happy to live in Israel, we will be able to rectify the Sin of the Spies which delayed our forefathers' entrance into the land.

How were the Nazis able to carry out the Holocaust - something extremely complex - without a computer?

Have you ever noticed that from the Earth, the Sun and the Moon look exactly the same size? Is it just a coincidence? Maybe there's a deeper meaning to this?

When half of the People of Israel reside in the Land of Israel, Jerusalem is continually being built, the birth-rate increases, our enemies destroy themselves, the Land gives of her fruit luxuriously, and anti-Semitism becomes less frequent, it is incumbent on us to define for ourselves what we mourn on the 9th of Av, and what we lament during the weeks of "between the straits".

For many generations we were unable to take practical steps toward hastening the redemption of Israel. We were in exile and simply could not change our plight. Today, God has removed foreign rule from the land and created a Jewish state in its stead.

Just before the somewhat sorrowful Tachanun prayer in our prayerbooks appears a small notation saying that we are not to say it on Tisha B'Av – because this day is a mo'ed, a festive day. How can it be that a day commemorating such a grave national calamity as the destruction of the Holy Temples and the exile of the nation could actually be considered, in any way, a festival?

Many people focus on the physical loss we suffered, as the magnificent Bet HaMikdash went up in flames. But long after the fires died down, we were left with the burning question: “Where did we go wrong?”