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Torah From Zion
Mourning Over the Beis Hamikdash
February 9th, 2025 / 11th of Kisleiv 5785
The Great Loss of the Korban Tamid
The story is told of a chassid [pious Jew] who visited his Rebbe, a prominent tzaddik [righteous person], to pour out his troubles. He related tearfully how his business dealings went sour, and he cannot afford to pay for medical needs of his family, or to marry off his children…
Responded the Rebbe, “And what else?” The petitioner continued his tales of woe, that creditors want to possess his house… “And what else?” The man listed off problems with his grandchildren… “And what else?” Finally, he concluded his complaints. The Rebbe gazed at him sharply. “And why aren’t you bothered that the Tamid sacrifice was not offered today?”
This scenario could take place today, with the tragedies and worries of our generation: terrorists, economic worries, chinuch [education]. “And why aren’t you disturbed that the Tamid wasn’t brought today?” The Tamid was an especially important part of the Temple services, and its loss is a reason for our fast day of the 17th of Tammuz.
Even Yehoshua [Joshua] was censured for negligence in offering the Tamid. The Gemara [Talmud] (Megillah 3a) relates that an angel appeared to him while they were besieging Yericho [Jericho], scolding him: “Yesterday you missed the Tamid of the evening, and now you wasted time from learning Torah.” The rebuke was that their nights weren’t properly utilized, even though at night they did not engage in warfare. We see from here that the lack of the Tamid was equal in severity to bitul Torah [neglect of Torah study].
If so, we must take ourselves to task that the absence of this crucial part of service of Hashem [G-d] doesn’t bother us! We may complain about all our problems, but this doesn’t even make the list. It’s as if it’s perfectly fine that there is no Korban Tamid today! Some people insist that they want Mashiach [Messiah] now, but are they really bothered that we are missing Mashiach, along with the Beis Hamikdash [Holy Temple] and its holy sacrifices?
Mourning over the churban
It is recorded [1] that the philosopher Plato, who came to Yerushalayim [Jerusalem] with Nebuchadnezzar, went to view the Temple Mount after the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed. There he met the prophet Yirmiyahu [Jeremiah], who was weeping loudly and lamenting the churban. Plato asked him two questions. “You are the sage of Israel, so why are you crying over mere wood and stones? And anyway, it is gone, so why bother crying over the past?”
Yirmiyahu replied, “You’re a philosopher, so you certainly have many thorny analytical conundrums you are stumped by.”
“Indeed I do, and I doubt that anyone in the world could resolve them.”
“Tell me them, and I will answer them all.”
So Plato offered his toughest queries – and the prophet explained everything immediately! Plato was floored; was this a man before him or an angel? Yirmiyahu concluded, “All the knowledge I have acquired derived from these ‘wood and stones.’ That is why I cry. As to your second question, I cannot answer you, for you would not understand.”
What is the response to his second question? It seems quite logical that wailing over past history doesn’t help. And why should Yirmiyahu have been so emotional about it; everything in the world is transitory, so the Beis Hamikdash also came to its end?
The Alter of Kelm explained this beautifully. The answer is simple – Yirmiyahu wasn’t crying over the past, but for the future! The Heavenly gates of tears never close, and Yirmiyahu was beseeching for the return of the Beis Hamikdash, may it be soon. This concept was impossible for that gentile to comprehend. The Alter remarked that here is a display of the tremendous sanctity of a Jewish soul. Any simple Jew can relate to this idea, but one of the biggest scholars of the non-Jews could not fathom it!
Crying over the temple: a cry of loss and hope
This, then, answers Plato’s second question. We are not merely lamenting the vanished past, but recognizing the void in our existence today, and the loss of our former connection with Hashem. Inherent in this cry is hope for the future, as we implore Hashem to bring back that precious life, enjoying G-dly light and a close bond with Him.
This is reflected in the episode with Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues, recorded at the end of Maseches Makkos. They saw a fox crawling out from the destroyed Holy of Holies, and the others burst out weeping. R’ Akiva, though, began laughing! Not just a small smile, but he actually laughed. Why? As he told them, this was fulfillment of prophecy, and thus verified the prophecy of a future redemption and rebuilding. He saw the hope of the future in the very depth of loss.
Indeed, we have a tradition that Mashiach will be born on Tisha B’Av, to strengthen our hope and desire for the promised renewal of spiritual elevation. And many communities have a custom to replace their bedding and put away their Kinnos books on Tisha B’Av afternoon, to show their confidence that the Beis Hamikdash will soon be rebuilt.
Pondering the past inspires yearning for the future
Truly, we should do as Dovid Hamelech [King David] and beseech Hashem, “My soul thirsts for You.” Why don’t we? Because we don’t feel the need for a Beis Hamikdash, we don’t feel what we are missing. We like to sing, “We want Mashiach now,” but without thinking about what we’re saying! I like to tell people when they sing this, “Do you know what will happen when Mashiach comes? You will all have to sit and learn Torah day and night! If that’s what you really want, you should start practicing now, already!”
In order to comprehend what we are missing now, we must ponder what we had during the time of the Beis Hamikdash. The incredible G-dly light that was revealed, the holy Temple services, the Sanhedrin… Gevald! We lost all this! We must cry out to Hashem: Please, return all this to us, right away, we’re lacking so much. Please help us! This is the true crying of Tisha B’Av, a cry of hope, of realizing that only Hashem can give it to us. We are not interested in a democratic government, in housing developments, and a free world. We want the holiness and spirituality of the Holy Land of the past.
We cry over the past, which shows us what we can attain in the future, and which reveals the true depth of Yerushalayim. The Holy City will again come alive with spirituality, and this is the mindset with which we should approach the Three Weeks and Tisha B’Av.
Excerpted with permission from Imrei Mordechai, Vol. 2, A Collection of Inspirational Insights from the “Mussar Shmoozes” of HaGaon Rabbi Mordechai Goldstein Ztzvk”l, The Imrei Mordechai Institute, Diaspora Yeshiva Toras Yisrael, Mount Zion, Jerusalem, Kislev 5779.
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