The mourning after.
It’s not a typo — yesterday was the saddest day on the Jewish calendar ( Tisha B’av) but today is the morning after and life, as ordained by Jewish wisdom, continues vigorously.
I walked through camp yesterday, stomach rumbling and all (it was a fast day) yet what I experienced was the antithesis to what one would think the day represents.
Rebuilding. Life. Energy. Future.
I observed a large amount of children engaged in a project with LEGO collectively building the very edifice that we were mourning the destruction of. Hardly a day of mourning — the greatest display of rebuilding!
The physical edifice of the Temples destroyed yet the heart and soul of the Jewish nation pumping stronger than ever!
Jewish life today, does have some challenges to be sure — that is the definition of Exile. The lack of revelation and dominion that exists in times of redemption.
Yet even then, the soul of the Jew can’t be extinguished. The physical edifice, perhaps — the essential core, never!
The mo(u)rning after. It’s morning. It’s fresh. Full of hope and potential. All it takes is U.
You see, Jewish life is vibrant because of all of us. We’ve survived the millennia due to the collective efforts of the entire Jewish nation. Each of us contributing another piece of LEGO on the proverbial structure of Jewish life.
Microcosmically too — each mitzvah we do, irrespective of what we don’t do — adds another piece of LEGO so to speak, to the individual quest and mission that we each individually have in this world.
It follows then, that a fitting morning after resolution is — to add one more mitzvah to our lives. Another mitzvah to our routines. Another Shabbos celebration, Mezuza or Torah podcast — each act truly rebuilding the Third Temple — may we merit the rebuilding speedily in our days, amen!
With best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yehuda & Dina Kantor