By right of our awareness, we’ve shown up. We’re one of the four. The question is, which one?
One of the big questions that constantly comes up on Tishah B’Av, maybe even more so than the actual ostensible focus of the day, is, “How do we relate?”
It’s a good question, seeing as how there isn’t anyone alive who actually saw the Beis Hamikdash, nor anyone who’s met anyone who knows anyone who did. It’s 1,900 years since it’s been gone, and none of us has any personal connection to it at all.
The speakers tell us to connect to a general sense of tragedy. Of course, there’s no shortage of that in any of our lives; some of us feel that personally, and others experience it on a more global level. Just these past few years we’ve gone through persecution, disease, and total chaos, without knowing at all what to think, what to believe, whom to trust, or even whether it’s safe to go outside. No shortage at all.
We’re told to tune in to our state of disconnection. That’s a good one, too. Do we feel like Hashem is an integral part of our lives? Can we sustain that feeling in a meaningful and consistent way? Can we say we have a real relationship with Him? Can we peel back the layers of frenzy and chaos that signify our modern day lives of rushing about, of being distracted, of trying to do what’s right on some level, but feeling like we just can’t anymore and like we want to throw in the towel?
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