There are countless stories of Jews of all backgrounds who start sobbing uncontrollably upon first seeing the Kotel. Most don’t even know what overcame them and have difficulty articulating their feelings. Two weeks ago I went to Eretz Yisrael for the first time in 14 years. When I reached that pivotal moment of seeing the stones of the Kotel, my eyes welled up with tears. I sensed the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash at my very core.

Tears are deeply interwoven with the day of Tisha B’Av. The origin of Tisha B’Av is the tragic day when the meraglim—spies—returned from spying out the land of Eretz Yisrael and presented their slanderous report to Bnei Yisrael. The nation accepted their words and refused to enter the land. As a punishment, Hashem said, “You, Yisrael, cried tears for naught. I will designate this day (Ninth of Av) as a day of crying for generations.” (Gemara Taanis)

This is a very troubling Gemara. Just because Bnei Yisrael cried for nothing, is Hashem, our loving Father, going to make us cry generation after generation? Hashem is not interested in causing us needless pain. Furthermore, the crime of Bnei Yisrael was believing the unfavorable report of the spies, which showed their lack of trust in Hashem. Why the emphasis on crying as the reason for punishment?

Rav Hirsch notes that the word bechi—crying—has the numerical value of 32, as does the word “lev”—heart. Crying comes from something deep within us and, in effect, is the window into one’s heart. If the Bnei Yisrael cried, it means that deep down they did not have faith in Hashem to lead them into Eretz Yisrael and conquer it. Therefore, Hashem punished Bnei Yisrael measure for measure by making each generation cry.

This precise form of punishment serves to correct the area at fault. Our current tears have the ability to fix the sin of the original tears! Hashem wants us to cry not as punishment, but rather to fix the root of the problem. If we cry, it shows we really care about correcting our faults. The Hebrew word for a teardrop is “demah.” The Sfas Emes notes that if we formulate the Hebrew letters differently, it spells moed—which means a designated time or place of meeting. A teardrop represents a connection to something deep inside of ourselves.

Let’s probe even deeper. The first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because the Jews were involved in the three cardinal sins of idolatry, adultery and murder. It’s hard to imagine that while having the Beis Hamikdash they could commit such horrible crimes. In the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash, the Gemara reveals that the crime was baseless hatred. Even though there were hundreds of yeshivos and incredible chesed everywhere, that fatal flaw overshadowed it all. Why couldn’t they figure it out and correct themselves?

In the haftarah reading for Shabbos Chazon (this Shabbos), we read a section in Yeshaya, which Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk translates as follows: “If your sins will be like crimson wool, I will clean them to be white like snow. And if they’re red like a worm, I will make them white like wool like snow.” He explains that the two analogies are referring to the sins of the time periods. During the first Beis Hamikdash, the sins were like crimson wool. Crimson wool is inherently white, but is dyed red. The sins of that time period were external. The second analogy refers to the second Beis Hamikdash. A worm is white, but inside its blood is red. The people looked great on the surface; they were learning Torah and doing great acts of kindness, but their insides were different. The sins were concealed; they were not in touch with their core and therefore did not recognize their major fault.

This year on Tisha B’Av we will be sitting and eating a delicious meal, as the Ninth of Av coincides with Shabbos and the fast is pushed off to Motzei Shabbos and Sunday. How is it possible to eat, drink and act as if today is not the saddest and most tragic day of the Jewish year?

The Apter Rav says this Shabbos is really the greatest Shabbos of the year. On Shabbos, all public displays of mourning are lifted. Indeed, Shabbos can fix the relationship with Hashem even without the crying. Let’s utilize this Shabbos to review and repair our midos (character traits) so in the future we will not need to sit on the floor and cry on Motzei Shabbos. Rather, it will be within our reach to be singing and dancing in Yerushalayim, with the coming of the Moshiach.

By Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim

Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the associate rosh yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch. PTI has attracted people from all over northern New Jersey, including Teaneck, Bergenfield, Paramus, Rockaway and Fair Lawn. He initiated and continues to lead a multi-level Gemara learning program. Recently he has spread out beyond PTI to begin a weekly beis midrash program with in-depth chavrusa learning in Livingston and Springfield. This year he joined Heichal Hatorah in Teaneck as a Gemara iyun rebbe. His email is [email protected].