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Michelangelo was once asked, “How is it that you create such wondrous sculptures and works of art? How can something so innovative and ingenious emanate from mere mortal hands?” Without skipping a beat, Michelangelo responded, “Before I even begin my work, the sculpture is already complete within the marble block. My job is simply to discover it and then chisel away the superfluous material.”

There is a story told of a man who was captured behind enemy lines during a war. To his horror, he was sentenced to death by firing squad. However, the captain gave the man another option. He told him, “You can go to the firing squad tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m., or you can choose to walk through this door.”

On Tishah B’Av, we go through a process of aveilus (mourning), similar to the process of mourning a loved one. This seems to be an excessive response to the loss of a building—the Beis HaMikdash. However, the destruction of the Temple itself was merely the physical expression of a much deeper tragedy.

There’s a story of two elderly men who had been childhood friends but had not seen each other in many years. One day, they ran into each other on the street and were delighted to recognize one another. One of them lived in the area, so he invited the other into his home. They happily caught each other up on their lives, getting lost in their stories and jokes as the day went on. The guest finally noticed that it had become dark outside, so he asked his friend if he had the time.

Imagine waking up in a hospital bed with amnesia; you haven’t the foggiest clue who you are. You try to recall your most recent memories and how you may have gotten here, but you just can’t seem to remember.

A Unique Opportunity to Bring Daily Halacha into Your Life

Imagine being able to learn nearly all of hilchos Pesach this year before Pesach. Yes, we are only just beginning chodesh Elul and Pesach seems far off on the horizon but learning hilchos Pesach is a serious undertaking and if you start now, with Dirshu’s Daf HaYomi B’Halacha program, you can come into Pesach on a completely different plane. What a wonderful kabbalah to make before Rosh Hashanah, a kabbalah to bring daily halacha into your life!