7 Menachem Av 5781
Why does Yirmiyahu refer to
Tisha B’Av as a Festival?
by Rabbi Ephraim Sprecher
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On
Tisha B'Av we mourn for the destruction of the first and second Holy
Temples. The Talmud in Trachtate Taanit (p. 30) states that all Mitzvot
that apply to a mourner during the Shiva also apply to the entire Jewish
people on Tisha B'Av.
In
other words, according to Halacha we are all sitting Shiva on Tisha
B'Av. But, how can this be? For the Halacha states that if a close
relative has died and we did not know about it until after 30 days,
there will be no formal Shiva. We would sit Shiva symbolically for only
an hour, and then get up and go about our regular routine. How then, can
we sit Shiva on Tisha B'Av for tragic events that occurred thousands of
years ago?
Rav
Soloveitchik answers this question with a statement in Talmud
Yerushalmi which states," Every generation in which the Holy Temple has
not been rebuilt is like the generation in which it was destroyed
again." Thus, we are not mourning on Tisha B'Av only for tragic events
that happened thousands of years ago, but we are also mourning for the
ongoing tragedy of not having the Temple rebuilt in our time.
Why
is the Holy Temple so important to us as Jews? The Chofets Chaim
explains that more than half of the 613 Mitzvot depend solely on the
Temple. This means that for close to 2000 years we have been unable to
fulfill the majority of Mitsvot. Therefore, we need the Holy Temple in
order to become spiritually healed and whole again.
The
Mitzvah to mourn on Tisha B' Av is only temporary, until it becomes a
permanent day of joy in the Messianic Era as stated in Zachariah 8:19.
Thus, Tisha B'Av is destined to be part of our Halachic tradition, but
not as a day of eternal mourning. In the Scroll of Eicha, which is read
on Tisha B’Av, Yirmiyahu (Eicha 1:15 and 2:22) refers to Tisha B’Av as
“Moed” (a Festival). That is why we don’t say Tachanun and Selichot on
Tisha B’Av (Shulchan Aruch 559:4).
What
are the signs of the approaching Messianic Era? And how can we hasten
Mashiach's coming? The Talmud states that the Jews returning from exile
and the greening of the land of Israel is the key sign for the beginning
of the Redemption. "There is no clearer sign then when the Land of
Israel gives its produce abundantly, then the end of the exile is near,
(Sanhedrin 98B, Rashi).
The
Vilna Gaon told his disciples that Mashiach will come after the
majority of the Jews in the Diaspora come to Israel. Thus, every Jew who
makes Aliya hastens the Mashiach’s coming, thereby transforming the
Fast of Tisha B’Av into a Feast.
For
close to 2,000 years, our land rejected all would-be conquerors and
remained desolate and barren. The Sifra explains that the Torah's curse
of the land during our long exile, "I will make the land desolate,"
(Parshat Bechukotai) is actually a blessing in disguise because we
didn't have to worry when we went into exile that our enemies would
settle our land. Therefore, the greening of Israel is a clear signal
that G-d's decree of "desolation" for the land is over and the
Redemption is near. The Land of Israel had to go into "hibernation”
waiting for us, her children, to return from exile.
The
prophet Yirmiyahu saw the coming Redemption of the Messianic Era and
its celebration as being an even greater event than the Exodus from
Egypt. As the Prophet says in Yirmiyahu 16: 14, 15 – "Days are coming,
says Hashem, when it will no longer be said, 'As Hashem lives Who took
out Israel from Egypt,' but rather 'As Hashem lives, Who took out Israel
from all the lands where Hashem dispersed them.' And Hashem will return
them to their own land, which I gave to their forefathers."
According
to HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu, זצ"ל and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, we are
presently in the dawn of the Messianic Era. If Mashiach should arrive
before Tish'a B'Av, then we will be feasting and celebrating on that
day, instead of mourning and fasting.
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