The three weeks between the two fast days of the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av is a period when Jews worldwide mourn the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jewish people. Is this time of mourning not by now an empty custom that has no connection to our real feelings? Many calamities have befallen the Jewish people on the 9th of Av. After the majority of the spies gave a negative report, the Jewish people became nervous and did not want to proceed into the land of Israel. G'd declared that the 9th of Av will be established as a time of weeping throughout the generations. How could the Jewish people even consider that G'd hated them, or, as our sages explain, that they feared that G'd did not have the power to conquer the land of Israel for them? The Sforno explains that because they had served idols in Egypt they feared that G'd hated them and He was going to deliver them into the hands of the Emorites as a revenge for their transgressions. Their evil inclination led the Jewish people to lose faith in G'd. There was a slight flaw in the conduct of the Jewish people by suggesting that they could not totally rely on being delivered by G'd. Had the Jewish people totally relied upon G'd to take care of them, Moses would have led them into the land of Israel and there would have been no exile at any time. We rectify the flaw by reading the Book of Lamentations and the other special prayers, and conducting ourselves as mourners. Our weeping and mourning on the 9th of Av, far from being empty customs, are very real expressions of our longing to return to the land of our forefathers, realizing that our destiny is totally in the hands of G'd, and only He can look after our needs.

Three weeks of mourning

The three weeks between the two fast days of the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av is a period when Jews worldwide mourn the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem and the exile of the Jewish people. The laws of mourning intensifies during the last nine days of this period culminating with the 9th of Av when we sit on the ground, reading the Book of Lamentations, as well as other special prayers, known as "kinnot", commemorating the exile and other calamities.

Empty custom?

This seems strange. What is the purpose and value of observing laws of mourning almost 2000 years after the destruction of the Temple? Similar laws are observed after one has lost a close relative. During the week of Shiva, one sits low, followed by 30 days of mourning, and when one has lost a parent some laws of mourning are observed for a whole year. In those instances, these laws give the mourners an opportunity to come to terms with their loss and slowly develop an understanding of the situation, helping them to return to their normal, daily routines, as life has to go on. But what is the purpose of these three weeks of yearly mourning for the Temple? Can we honestly say that we feel a loss that we need to give expression for, and the observance of these laws of mourning help us to express our true feelings? Is it not by now an empty custom that has no connection to our real feelings?

Calamities on 9th of Av

Even a superficial glance of the history of the Jewish people clearly shows us that many calamities have befallen the Jewish people on the 9th of Av. This is no coincidence. Both Temples were destroyed on that date, and our sages relate that 52 years after the destruction of the Second Temple, the rebellion of Bar Kochba was crushed with the conquest of the great city of Beitar, also on the 9th of Av. Even after the exile, this pattern appears to have continued. Both the expulsion from England and Spain, as well as the commencement of World War I happened on the 9th of Av. It is obvious that there is a deeper connection between all these calamities, and our mourning on this day relates to all of them.

Spies and a time of weeping

To understand the root of all of these calamities we must investigate the first event that took place on the 9th of Av. In this week's Torah portion, Moses starts his final speech to the Jewish people where he rebukes them for their various mistakes and shortcomings throughout the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. One of the incidents of rebuke concerned the sending of the spies. Upon their return, the majority of the spies gave a negative report. This made the Jewish people nervous, and they did not want to proceed into the land of Israel. As it says, (Devarim 1:26-28): "And you did not want to ascend, and you rebelled against the word of HASHEM your G'd. You spoke evil in your tents and you said, 'Because G'd hates us He took us out from the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Emorite to destroy us. To where shall we ascend? ... A people greater and taller than we …:"

Time of weeping

Earlier (Bamidbar 14:1) the Torah related the return of the spies and the reaction of the people: "The entire assembly raised their voice and the people wept on that night." Our sages (Taanis 29a) explain that it was the night of the 9th of Av when the Jewish people wept and G'd declared, "You were weeping without a cause. This night will be established as a time of weeping throughout the generations."

Mind-boggling

It is mind-boggling how a small group of Jewish leaders could cause a whole nation to lose their faith in G'd who had taken them out of Egypt, split the Red Sea, and revealed Himself at Mount Sinai. As Moses responded (Devarim 1:30-33) "Don't be broken and don't fear them. HASHEM your G'd, Who goes ahead of you, He will fight for you, like all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes. And as you have seen in the wilderness that HASHEM your G'd carried you as a man carries his son. And in this matter, you don't trust HASHEM your G'd?" How can people who experienced daily miracles with the Mann falling from Heaven to sustain them, and the well of Miriam following them throughout their journey in the wilderness, as well as the Clouds of Glory protecting them from their enemies and natural dangers, suddenly lose faith in the One who provided all these constant miracles? How could they even consider that G'd hated them, or, as our sages explain, that they feared that G'd did not have the power to conquer the land of Israel for them?

Served idols

A commentary by the Sforno may shed some light on this puzzle. The Sforno explains that initially the Jewish people did not lose faith in G'd at all. Rather, they feared that G'd hated them because they had served idols in Egypt and was going to deliver them into the hands of the Emorites as a revenge for their transgressions. However, this only raises additional questions. After forty years of G'd's protection and provisions, how could they even contemplate that G'd would now do such a thing to them?

Evil inclination

In order to understand this we must first analyze the ways of the evil inclination. In some instances, the evil inclination will entice a person to act haughty and be proud to bring the person to sin. At other times, the evil inclination will use the opposite tactic and make the person feel inadequate with a low self-esteem, not being good enough to deserve G'd's lovingkindness. In a time of insecurity and danger such as the time of the Holocaust, the evil inclination is well aware that it is prime time to challenge a person and influence him to lose his faith. If the person is lacking in fear of G'd, the evil inclination will encourage him to further develop the route he is already taking, and the person might question G'd's ability to look after him. On the other hand, if the person is righteous and G'd fearing, there is no way that the evil inclination can bring him to lose his faith in the ability of G'd; however, in this instance the evil inclination will cause the person to lose faith in himself and make him feel that he is not worthy of G'd's protection.

Slight flaw

When the Jewish nation approached Moses to send spies, their fear of G'd was on a very high level. However, there was a slight flaw in their conduct. By suggesting to send spies they indicated that they could not totally rely on being delivered by G'd. Rather, they felt that they should take the necessary actions themselves to prepare their entry into the land of Israel. On their high level this was considered a flaw and was sufficient to give the evil inclination an opportunity to enter their mind. This eventually brought about their major mistake, feeling that they were not worthy at all and that G'd would not be there for them.

Lower spiritual level

The sending of the spies brought the downfall of the Jewish people to the extent that their entry into the land of Israel was on a low spiritual level. Had they totally relied upon G'd to take care of them, Moses would have led them into the land and there would have been no exile at any time. There would have been no 9th of Av in Jewish history, no destruction and no expulsion from any country, no suffering in any war neither in the land of Israel or in the Diaspora. The sending of the spies that resulted in a lack of appreciation of the Holy Land, caused the Jewish people to lose their merit to stay there. This was expressed by King David even before the building of the First Temple (Tehillim 106:24-27): "And they despised the desirable land. They had no faith in His word. They spoke evil in their tents. They did not listen to the voice of G'd. And He lifted His hand against them to throw them down in the wilderness and to throw down their descendants amongst the peoples, and to disperse them in the countries." King David had a prophetic vision in which he clearly saw the connection between the exile after the destruction of the Temples and the loss of faith at the time of the sending of the spies.

Rectify the flaw

On the night of the return of the spies, G'd said that since the Jewish people had cried for no reason therefore this night would be designated as a "night of weeping". Obviously, G'd was not taking revenge. Rather this would be the way how the Jewish people would be able to rectify the flaw that had taken place then. By reading the Book of Lamentations and the other special prayers, and conducting ourselves as mourners, we express our loss of the Temples and the spirituality of the Holy Land. Each of the calamities that took place on the 9th of Av throughout Jewish history reminds us of the original calamity with the return of the spies and their negative report. Rav Dessler quotes a famous historian who said, "Had King Ferdinand of Spain realized how much faith and trust he implanted in the hearts of the Jewish population by expelling them on the 9th of Av, as this was a clear sign to them that it was a Divine decree, he would have regretted his acts."

Real expression

Our weeping and mourning on the 9th of Av are far from being empty customs. They are very real expressions of our longing to return to the land of our forefathers, realizing that our destiny is totally in the hands of G'd, and that only He can look after our needs. In these days, when we again see so much suffering during this period of mourning, it becomes even more meaningful, as we approach the 9th of Av, to remember the message of this day, and strengthen our belief that only G'd has the ability to bring us the salvation that we are so much longing for. May we all merit to see, speedily in our days, the fulfillment of what our sages have taught that when the salvation comes then the 9th of Av will be turned into a day of celebration. Amen.