Erev Tisha B'av....fox running....

The Talmud relates that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva once went to Jerusalem. Reaching the Temple Mount, they saw a fox run out of the Holy of Holies. Three of them started to cry and Rabbi Akiva laughed. They questioned each other's actions.

The three rabbis replied, "Should we not cry when foxes walk in the place about which it is written that the stranger who approaches will die."

Akiva said, "Thus I laugh, for the prophecy of Zecharyah depends on the prophecy of Uriah (see Isaiah 8:2). Now that I see the prophecy of Uriah - that Zion will be a plowed field - has been fulfilled, I know the prophecy of Zecharyah - that old men and old women will again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem - will also be fulfilled."

His three colleagues responded, "Akiva you have comforted us, Akiva you have comforted us."

But why? The Third Temple did not yet exist, the Jewish people were still in exile and the fast of Tisha B'Av was still in force.

To answer, we have to understand the inner purpose and concept of a fast. A fast day is described as "a desirable day for G-d." The spiritual content of such a day is inherently good. In fact, it contains such great goodness that all that stood on it before must be removed, so that the innate goodness can be revealed.

Rabbi Akiva saw not the surface situation but the inner reality. He saw like an architect - or perceived the plan of The Architect. Knowing that external appearances change, shift and thus have no lasting substance, Rabbi Akiva showed his colleagues how to look at a day like Tisha B'Av.

Of course one must fast and observe all the laws connected with the temporarily negative nature of the day. But primarily one must see - and thus work for - the inner purpose, the positive reality of the day. The vision of the inner truth leads through the fast - and the teshuva and mitzvos it engenders - to the realization of the prophecy that Moshiach is coming imminently and that Tisha B'Av will be a day of gladness and rejoicing - speedily in our days.

Napolean in disguise on 9 Av

One summer evening Napoleon, the French Emperor, dressed in disguise and set out for the Jews' district to learn about his citizens. The neighborhood was quieter than usual and so thinking that it may be a Jewish Holiday, Napolean went off to the Synagogue to investigate.

Expecting to see festive celebrants, Napolean was surprised to see the Jews crouching on low stools, chanting to a sorrowful tune. It was an atmosphere of mourning with sounds of lamentation filling the air.

"What happened?" Napoleon asked of a Jew."Why are you all crying like that?"

"We are mourning the destruction of our Holy Temple," explained the Jew sadly.

"The destruction of what?" he asked.

"We used to have a Holy Temple," the man continued. "A place where G-d's Divine Presence dwelt. Three times a year we made special pilgrimages to serve Him. But it was destroyed, and that is why we are in mourning."

Napoleon was confused. How could it be that he had not even heard of such a terrible event?

"And who had the audacity to destroy your Temple?" he wanted to know. "The evil Romans", was the reply.

"The Romans?!" Napoleon cried. "Do you mean to tell me that the Romans have invaded our land?"

"No, it wasn't here in France," the man answered. "It was in the Land of Israel, in the holy city of Jerusalem."

"Jerusalem? Hmmmm,. When did this all occur?"

"Eighteen hundred years ago!" he told Napolean.

"Eighteen hundred years ago?" Napoleon sputtered. "Are you saying that all these people are sitting here mourning an occurrence that happened so many hundreds of years ago?"

"We Jews see the destruction of the Temple as the beginning of all our woes". The Jew continued. "It was then that we were exiled from our land, and dispersed among the nations to be persecuted and humiliated. But we also believe," he stated with conviction, "that our Father in Heaven will one day redeem us. At that time He will rebuild the Holy Temple, gather all the Jews from exile and bring us back to our land."

Napoleon then declared, "At first I thought you Jews were peculiar, clinging to your ancient sorrows. But I now see that you are an eternal people. In the end, you will return to your land and rebuild your Holy Temple. I don't know when it will happen: this year, next year, ten years from now or even two hundred. But it will happen one day, of that I have no doubt."

Unwarranted Love

Why was the Temple destroyed?

One of the reasons given by our Sages was unwarranted hatred. The Jewish people, even during the siege of Jerusalem, remained fractionalized and divided. And on the individual level, there was a lack of concern, love, and respect for each other.

How can this be corrected?

By showing unrestrained love. By reaching out to another person - any other person - and showing him care, consideration, and concern. Do a favor for someone else, not because there is a reason to do so, but because you care for him.

Don’t spend time thinking of reasons why and whether you should help another person. Use that same time to think about how you can help him.

Do good. Don’t wait for others to start. Be an initiator, the others will respond, the heart opens to the heart. One cannot see another person shower good upon him and not be moved by that.

What is the motivating principle for this motif?

The fact that at the core of every person there lies a soul which is a G-dly spark, and that every element of existence is being maintained by G-d each moment. Knowing this inspires a person to reach out.

Every entity seeks to express its inner nature. Reaching out with love and kindness inspires and encourages the good and generosity that lie at the core of all others to come to the surface.

Such deeds affect the macrocosm as well as the microcosm, bringing closer the Era of the Redemption, when these concepts will be concrete realities, not merely abstract truths.

Today in Jewish History - PASSING OF "ARI".

		Rabbi Isaac Luria Ashkenazi, known as Ari HaKadosh ("The Holy Lion") passed away on the 5th of Av of the year 5332 from creation (1572 CE). Born in Jerusalem in 1534, he spent many years in secluded study near Cairo, Egypt. In 1570 he settled in Sefad, where he lived for two years until his passing at age 38. During that brief period, the Ari revolutionized the study of Kabbalah, and came to be universally regarded as one of the most important figures in Jewish mysticism. It was he who proclaimed, "In these times, we are allowed and duty-bound to reveal this wisdom," opening the door to the integration of the teachings of Kabbalah--until then the province of a select few in each generation--into "mainstream" Judaism.

Shabbat Chazon

Shabbat Chazon is in the midst of the Three Weeks, when we lament the Holy Temple's destruction and our subsequent exile.

Yet on this Shabbat, the Shabbat before the ninth of Av, Tisha B'Av, during the most serious time we celebrate Shabbat Chazon, literally "the Shabbat of vision". It is the day on which every Jew is afforded a spiritual glimpse, a vision, of the Third and Eternal Holy Temple, an edifice that will be infinitely superior to the two Holy Temples that preceded it.

This "vision" cannot be seen by our physical eyes, but it is perceived by our Jewish soul. The haftorah that we read on Shabbat Chazon warns of all the dire consequences to befall the Jewish people, but even as we listen, we simultaneously feel hope for and anticipation of the Messianic era.

We experience a combination of despair and joy of mourning and of faith.

The Torah provides us with a complete framework of laws that enables us to feel these two conflicting emotions. On the one hand, we engage in many practices "as a remembrance of the destruction." On the other hand, we are expected to await Moshiach's coming joyfully every day.

G-d wants us to feel the pain of the exile but we must never make peace with it, surrendering to our present condition. But G-d forbid that we should despair! Our joy is genuine in anticipation of the imminent Redemption. The Rebbe has told us that Moshiach is so close that we can sense his very presence. Is that not a reason to rejoice?
--
Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbos Chazon - Vision - Coat.

"Here" said the father as he handed his son a package. "I made it just for you." The son opened the parcel to find a beautifully tailored coat. Its size, color and design were perfect. The son was overjoyed with the gift and he wore it proudly. It always reminded him of how much his father cared for him.

Then, one day, the son ruined the coat; it could not be mended. With eyes full of tears, and a sorrowful heart, he turned to his father.

The loving father forgave him. Soon, he presented his son with a new coat which was just as beautiful as the first. The son was very grateful and careful. He did not want to ruin this coat like the first.

But time passed, and the second coat became soiled as well. The son was very troubled when he saw that it could no longer be worn. "How many times will my father forgive me?" he wondered.

"I do have a third coat for you" the father told him after he saw what happened. "But this time, I will wait. I will not give it to you until you are ready for it. In the meantime, although you may not wear the coat, I will show it to you occasionally so that you can see what I have waiting for you."

This story is a parable.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev told this parable about Shabbat Chazon, the Shabbat before Tishah B'Av. Chazon means vision. He said that every Jew is shown a vision of the third and final Temple -- a vision that, to paraphrase the Talmud, "though we do not see ourselves, our souls see." G-d, our Father, allows His son, us, the Jewish people, to catch a glimpse of the third coat, the Third Beit HaMikdash.

Like the father, G-d is waiting to see that we are ready to receive this gift. We are preparing ourselves and the world around us, and we do not want to wait any longer for Mashiach to come and to rebuild the Third Beit HaMikdash. We must try very hard to show G-d that we are ready.

R'Chodesh Av. Passing of Aharon Hakohen

Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the Hebrew month of Av, is the passing of Aaron, brother of Moses and High Priest of the Jewish people for forty years.

When a tzaddik, a righteous person, passes from this world, all his or her spiritual achievements continue to have an effect in the realm of the living. They become a powerful source of blessing for all those "who follow in his way."

This means that if we study what Aaron stood for and emulate him to the best of our ability, we will benefit from Divine blessing in his merit. And a blessing from G‑d is always a good thing...

What was Aaron's teaching?

As is expressed in the first chapter of Ethics of the Fathers: "Be amongst the disciples of Aaron—loving peace, pursuing peace, loving ordinary folk and bringing them near to Torah."

The Sages tell us that Aaron devoted himself to carrying out the command "love your fellow" to the highest degree. The Midrash relates how he attracted people to the teachings of the Torah. He never got angry if people failed to meet the expectations of Jewish law. He would meet a person who was somewhat lacking in his observance of Judaism and greet him with a smile and a warm reception. On leaving, the man would think to himself: "If Aaron the High Priest greets me so warmly he must think I am a very worthy person. I must improve myself!"

In this way, simply through pleasantness and warmth, Aaron encouraged the Jews of his generation to feel close to the ideals of the Torah.Aaron worked to bring peace between people in general, and especially between husband and wife.

The Sages tell us it is through love of one's fellow that the Temple will be restored. By striving to be disciples of the chain of Sages reaching back to Aaron and Moses in the past, we will bring the Redemption.

Feathers in the wind....

The Three Weeks between the Seventeenth of Tamuz and the Ninth of Av are Three Weeks of introspection over the destruction of the Holy Temples and yearning for the third Holy Temple, it is appropriate to increase in acts of kindness, including making sure that what we say and how we say it, is filled with love.

Lashon Hara - literally, evil talk. Gossip, rumor, hearsay. Talking behind someone's back. Revealing secrets. Betraying a confidence. However we describe it, lashon hara can be one of the most destructive, harmful things we can do. Not only if the words are true, but especially if the words are true.

There's a famous story about a villager who loved to gossip. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't help himself. It got to the point where people stopped talking to him. Even innocent remarks were turned into something scandalous.

Finally, he approached the rabbi of the town, "Rabbi," the man said, "I know it's wrong, I know it's harmful, but I just can't stop. Help me," he begged.

"Go home", said the Rabbi "and bring back a pillow stuffed with feathers".

The man did as told. The Rabbi then handed a large knife to the man and instructed him to slit open the pillow.

The man obeyed and before he knew it, feathers were flying everywhere, swirling around him, carried in all directions by the wind.

"Now," the rabbi commanded sternly, "bring back the feathers. Restuff the pillow."

The man looked around, mouth open. When he heard the rabbi's order and saw the severity on the rabbi's face, he started to cry.

"I can't," he sobbed. "There are so many feathers. They have gone so far. Who knows where they are, where they went?"

"Exactly so," said the rabbi gently. "Exactly so. Gossip, slander, rumor - even if true, especially if true, lashon hara scatters to the wind going we know not where, touching we know not who. How much easier to keep our own knife - our tongue - sheathed and not have to restuff the pillow."

Beit Hamikdash - THE GATE OF NIKANOR

When a man, by the name of Nikanor, heard about the magnificent restoration of the second Holy Temple he wanted with all his heart to join in the great work and make his own contribution to G-d's House.

He decided that he would have two huge copper gates constructed to lead from the courtyard to the Holy Temple itself. And so Nikanor traveled to Egypt, the center of copper work, to commission and oversee the job.

The gates were of gigantic dimensions and the work was slow and painstaking. Nikanor could hardly wait to see his beautiful gates become a part of the Holy Temple. At long last the gates were loaded aboard a ship and on their way to the Land of Israel. Suddenly, a terrible storm blew up. Enormous waves crashed against the sides of the ship until it was filled with water and about to sink.

The panicked captain ran to Nikanor, pleading, "You must agree to throw at least one of your gates overboard. We need to lighten the ship's load and they are the heaviest part of our cargo. If we are to have a chance to survive, they must go."

Nikanor wouldn't hear of it. He clung to the doors with all of his strength. Soon, however, even he could see that his protests were futile. Nikanor watched in horror as they cast one of the enormous doors overboard. But the waves continued and the ship began to take water once again.

There was no choice. The sailors were about to throw the second gate overboard when Nikanor cried out in anguish, "If you throw this overboard, you will have to throw me, too! I will not be parted from it!" But the sailors seized the one remaining door and with all their might they cast it into the sea. And the sea quieted.

Nikanor scanned the sea and there, floating out on the smooth waters, was the gate, sparkling like gold in the sunlight. By some miracle it had not sunk into the deep, but was floating its way to the Holy Land. Nikanor couldn't contain his great happiness. The gate arrived the same time the ship docked. A few days later the other door also made its way to the shores of Akko to join its mate.

The two doors were transported with great celebration, to Jerusalem where they were installed in a place of honor, in the eastern wall opposite the Holy of Holies. The gateway which they occupied was given the name "The Gate of Nikanor."

PARSHAT - Matot - 3 weeks

Parshat Matot tells of the war our people waged against Midian, while Parshat Masei recounts the journeys of the Jewish people from their exile in Egypt until they reached the banks of the Jordan preparing to enter Israel.

Midian stands for the spiritual counterpart of friction and strife, a person who is focused on himself. He is selfishly obsessed to the extent that he loses all proportion of the situation in which he is found.

Before entering Israel, there has to be a war with Midian. Israel is a place where G-d's presence is openly revealed. And when a person is focused on his own self, there is no way in which he can appreciate G-d. He certainly cannot sense the G-dliness which resides within other people and which exists in every element of the world around him. Before the Jews can enter Israel, the holy land, where G-dliness is to be the focus of their lives, they must rid themselves first of this type of self-concern.

How appropriate that this is read now in the Three Weeks which focus on the mourning for the destruction of the Temple. The goal of this period of mourning is not merely to shed tears over the past, but to focus on the future, to realize the spiritual faults that led to the exile, and to correct them so that the Redemption will come.

Our Sages teach that the Temple was destroyed because of unfounded hatred, the kind of bickering and strife that is associated with Midian. It follows that by ridding ourselves of this friction and conflict through self-sacrificing love, we can eradicate the cause of the exile.

The emphasis on love and unity during these three weeks should not focus merely on undoing the wrongs of the past. On the contrary, we should be future-oriented.
The Era of the Redemption will be characterized by peace and love and by expressing these emotions at the present time, we anticipate and precipitate that future era.

Shabbat Shalom!

PARSHAT - Masei

Masei means journeys, it delineates the various travels of the Jews in the desert.

When the Jews left Egypt, they were beginning one long journey. Their departure from Egypt and their travels in the desert were all so that eventually the Jews would enter the Land of Israel. It would seem, then, that each of the forty-two stops they made along the way between Egypt and Israel was not really that significant. The stops presented an opportunity for the Jewish camp, comprised of millions of people, to take care of their various needs.

Yet, each and every stop the Jews made in the desert is mentioned separately, and each one is considered its own journey. Didn't the Jews reach their freedom immediately upon leaving the borders of Egypt?

In every generation, in each individual's life, there must be an Exodus from Egypt, a departure from one's own boundaries and limitations. However, simply "leaving" Egypt is not enough. We must know that even after working on ourselves and spiritually leaving Egypt, we are not done. No matter what spiritual level we have attained, we can still go further, getting stronger and stronger as we go along.

Even when one has already attained a high level, one must never be content with what one has already achieved. Our whole purpose is to move in an upward spiritual direction -- never to stagnate and remain in the same place.

On the other hand, one must never despair of all there is left to achieve. One must remember that it is possible, through work, to leave "Egypt" immediately, with only one journey. We must never think that our toil is in vain; with one move we can elevate ourselves and reach the "good and wide land" -- the Land of Israel.

Mizbeach