Rabbi's Blog

Baruch Hashem I have had the opportunity to make numerous trips to Israel over the past thirty-four years, but I have not had the opportunity to stay for more than ten day visits within the last fifteen years. Usually my trips are so short that by the time I adjust it is time to go back. Living in an apartment, driving a car, shopping in small grocery stores, supermarkets, and new, modern malls gives one a different perspective than that of the tourist who stays in a hotel, dines in restaurants and gets chauffeured around from place to place. Besides the food, lodging, and travel, there is the rarity in having the pleasure (and challenge) to spend time with our parents, children, siblings, and their extended families as well.  

For only the second time in my life, I am now experiencing the ‘nine days’ and Tish’a B’Av in Eretz Yisrael. Everyone who has visited Israel over the years has seen the incredible difference in the country in all areas of development from a fledgling state to a thriving country. There is no doubt the Almighty has been in the forefront as well as in the background of the miraculous growth of the land of Israel. I feel there is a difference in the golus/exile from one hundred years ago until today both in Israel and in the United States. It is important to note that there is no clear, all agreed-upon definition of what the term ‘galus’ means or stands for.

Some groups define and explain Galus/Exile only in the spiritual sense while others define it in physical terms. Some conclude that galus is a combination of not having complete sovereignty over the land of Israel while others link it to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, implying that as long as there is no Temple we remain in exile despite the fact we live in Israel. Others contend that if we have spiritual freedom and the ability to return to Israel, we are not technically living in exile. I am not going to give a definition to the word Galus/exile, but I will share a feeling and challenge in today’s world regarding the exile.    

Growing up only one generation after the Holocaust, I saw the religious and physical challenges of being an observant Jew in New York. The Jewish infrastructure and incredible amenities of Jewish life that we see today in New York was only just beginning throughout my childhood. Religious life struggled for its identity in the early years, rebuilding the Orthodox communities of Yeshivas, Chasidic dynasties and the religious Zionist movements.  I perceived as well as openly encountered anti-Semitism even after the Holocaust and, ironically, along side the civil rights movement came along many rights for Jews, enabling all of us to feel as equals in mainstream society. Fast forward forty years and America has become the greatest, most welcoming country for Jews in history. Jewish life is teeming with religious observance.  This applies to the observant and non-religious Jews alike; all feel the greatness of America. With all that we have in America, who actually feels like we are still in Golus/Exile? Do we really feel that we are missing something?

Ironically, Eretz Yisrael is very similar, if not worse than America, with regard to  recognizing the exile that we still need to feel and experience. As I mentioned earlier, the land of Israel, Bli Ayin Hora, is thriving in most categories that are used to measure success. Even the holy places, destroyed by our enemies hundreds of years ago, are currently undergoing extensive beautification and modernization, leaving very little for the body and soul to feel lacking.  The nine days has become a challenge with regard to figuring out how many different varieties of dairy and pareve dishes we can come up with. The suffering of Tish’a B’Av dreaded by many, entails sitting on a carpeted floor in an air conditioned room at night, and in the morning and watching entertaining and, yes, inspiring videos of our leaders speaking to us on the ills of society and how to mend our ways.

Let’s not forget that Tish’a B’Av is not only about doing Teshuva -  mending our ways of Bein Adam LaChaveiro (although it hopefully helps in bringing about a change in order to rebuild the Beis HaMigdash). It is aboutmourning over the loss of something so beloved and precious. We all feel the challenge of mourning a loss, especially when we feel and have so much.

The test and trial we collectively face today is the length of the exile and its seemingly endless time. We are so far removed in time from the destruction, it is difficult to relate. In this week’s Parsha Devarim, the fifth Gerrer Rebbe, Reb Yisrael Alter, in his sefer Beis Yisroel, introduces a question from the very first verse of sefer Devarim: “Eileh HaDevarim Asher Diber Moshe El Kal Yisrael,”-  “These are the words that Moshe spoke to the entire Israel…”. These ‘words’ are meant to be a rebuke of the Jewish people for the sin of the golden calf. This speech that Moshe is giving takes place during the last days of Moshe’s life, immediately prior to the Jewish people entering the land of Israel.  It is the time of the completion of the forty-year
trek the Jews made through the desert. At this point all of the people who sinned at the Eigel HaZahav have died out. Who, then, is Moshe speaking to? The answer is that immediately following the sin of the golden calf, Moshe Rabbeinu rebuked the Jewish people. The Jews who did not participate in the sin should have rebuked their fellow Jews who did, but they did not want to engage in any disputes, so therefore all but three thousand were spared. But when it came to the Machlokes of Korach against Moshe and Aharon, no one spoke up to give rebuke against the sinners. No one even attempted to rebuke and then wiggle out with the excuse to avoid machlokes.  The original sin of the golden calf was aroused and were combined to Korach’s time. The original punishment for not rebuking the sin of the Eigel when they should have was now combined, setting up a devastating combination. This explanation is applied to the destruction of the first and the second Beis Hamikdash. The Gemara Shabbos 119b states: “Yerushalayim was destroyed because they did not rebuke one another when necessary. But in the time of the first Beis HaMikdash the people said, “We don’t want to rebuke in order to avoid divisiveness.” Hashem accepted that and therefore the exile was only seventy years. Unfortunately, the second time around the cause of the second Temple was baseless hatred and the original punishment from the first Temple was aroused and combined. This has lead to the lengthy exile that we are currently experiencing.   

As we come to the conclusion of the nine days of Av this Shabbos, let us realize how much we have and yet how much we are still lacking. May our actions speak louder than our words in truly desiring the coming of Moshiach and end the long empty golus/exile of our time.

Ah Gut Shabbos (and if necessary) a meaningful fast

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky