Sadly, Tish’ah B’Av was not a holiday this year. Chazaq, TorahAnytime, and Beth Gavriel hosted a beautiful Tish’ah B’Av Marathon of Torah learning appropriate for Tish’ah B’Av. The following choshuve rabbis spoke: Rabbi Tomer Zino, Rabbi Yaniv Meirov, Rabbi Akiva Rutenberg, Rabbi Benzion Klatzko, Rabbi Yaakov Mizrahi, Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier, Rabbi Yosef Palacci, Rabbi Israel Itshakov, Rabbi Yaakov Rahimi, Rabbi Eli Scheller, Mr. Harry Rothenberg Esq, Rabbi Yitzhok Bistrinsky, Rabbi Paysach Krohn, Rabbi Yitzchak Yisraeli, Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, Rabbi Yaakov Moskowitz, Rabbi Ilan Meirov, and Rabbi Yigal Haimoff.
Every speaker expressed deep disappointment that we are still having Tish’ah B’Av as a sad holiday without Mashiach. The program was viewed worldwide.
Rabbi Tomer Zino spoke first. He shared the various reasons for the destruction of the two Temples. Then, he taught that to earn the Temple back we have to have closeness with Hashem. As long as the Beis HaMikdash is not rebuilt, it means that we are still involved in the same sins that caused its destruction.
He said that the Rambam taught that we need to remind ourselves of this fact and to change and to do t’shuvah. He shared the history of Titus who was the Roman general who broke the walls of Yerushalayim and strode into the Temple. He cursed Hashem’s name and he went into the Holy of Holies and cut the curtain of the Holy of Holies. He put a Torah scroll on the floor and did a profane act on it. Blood bubbled from the floor.
Titus felt he had conquered. He plundered the Temple and took the Menorah and other precious objects from the Temple. He headed out to sea on a boat with these treasures. A storm blew in. He said that G-d is weak because He can only destroy His enemies with water. A Heavenly voice then said that I have a small creature who will make war with you. The fly went into Titus’s brain and picked at it for seven years. When Titus died, they discovered the fly was the size of a bird.
How was this measure for measure? Rav Chaim of Volozhin quoted the Zohar. The Temple corresponds to the human body. The important parts are the holier parts. The Holy of Holies corresponds to our mind, our mentality. Your mind means how you approach life and how you make decisions. It includes your focus in life. Titus’s vision was that he was king and that G-d was nothing. So, Hashem sent a little bug to teach him that there is a G-d and that Titus is nothing. Hashem sent something that is not supposed to be in his Holy of Holies, his mind, as Titus brought things into the Holy of Holies that were not supposed to be there.
Rabbi Zino shared that social media and lashon ha’ra are things that are impure and don’t belong in our mindset. It’s impurity from the outside. When we allow these things inside, they pick and pick at our brain and how we think and it causes us to think differently and to shift our focus.
He taught that we have to mourn that today people don’t have the Torah mentality they are supposed to have. How many of us say we can’t learn because we have to use our time to make money? How many say we can marry someone who is not Jewish? “Torah is the only antidote for the yeitzer ha’ra.”
People hate one another because they don’t have a Torah mentality. Hashem is the ultimate judge. Everything that happens in our life is for a reason, and Hashem sends difficulties or a difficult person to test us. If someone causes you suffering, it is a kaparah.
He shared that the definition of baseless hatred is that you hate someone because you think he is hating you for no reason. You forget that Hashem sent him to you. You don’t see the reason because you don’t study enough Torah and you don’t follow a rav.
In the galus we are influenced by the Internet and the ways of non-Jews. The destruction of Jewish life stems from not knowing what the Torah teaches and arrogant thinking. We have to make sure that we study Torah so that we think like a Jewish person should think.
He shared that we are still mourning the Temple. The wound is fresh. Not studying Torah leads to destruction.
Following this, Rabbi Yaniv Meirov, CEO of Chazaq and rav of Congregation Charm Circle, shared a passionate shiur. He began by saying that he was going to share a public service announcement. The acronym is (PSA). Many calamities occurred on Tish’ah B’Av. These include the destruction of both Temples, the Spanish Inquisition, and World War I.
He shared what happened this year right in our neighborhood on Sunday, July 14 (8 Tamuz). With his passionate, positive way of looking at things, he found a way for us to learn from this upsetting incident.
Mr. Yaakov Serle, publisher of the Queens Jewish Link, and another person had a contact with an Israeli real estate broker who offered to hold a private event at Rabbi Meirov’s shul for people interested in purchasing real estate in Israel. Somehow the flyer got posted on the Internet, and anti-Israel protesters threatened to come. In the end, hundreds showed up, shouting and spewing hatred against Jews.
Rabbi Meirov quoted from Pirkei Avos: Who is considered wise? Someone who learns from every person. He shared that we can learn passion from these protestors. Hundreds flocked to the protest. We have to ask ourselves: Where is our passion for Torah and Eretz Yisrael? The Beis HaMikdash was destroyed with fire, so with the passionate fire of Torah it will be rebuilt!
So “P” stands for passion. The letter “S” stands for shul. Praying and learning in shul is the biggest thing you can do for klal Yisrael.
Yitzchak Avinu gave the brachah to Yaakov, “Ha’kol kol Yaakov.” The voice is our voice lifted in prayer and learning Torah.
Torah is our inheritance and Eretz Yisrael is our inheritance. When we follow Torah, then Eretz Yisrael is our inheritance.
The letter “S” also stands for silence. We need to have proper decorum in shul.
The letter “A” stands for ahavah, love. The protestors yelled things like: Long live the intifada, Hitler didn’t finish the job, and Death to the Jews. He taught that we have so many haters. We have to stop the hate within am Yisrael. We need to reach out to our brothers and sisters. It takes time and effort, and blessings will flow.
He noted that the main thing is taking action.
He ended with a plea to everyone to get involved and to reach out. “Make the world a better place!”
Next, Rabbi Akiva Rutenberg, Co-Founder of Emet Outreach, shared how this year we are experiencing Tish’ah B’Av more than other years. We feel the weight of the galus. We should have thoughts and prayers for our brothers and sisters in Israel.
The galus of the Second Beis HaMikdash was caused by baseless hatred. We are still struggling with this issue. So, how can we break out of this pattern?
It’s hard to deal with people who annoy us. The Sefer HaChinuch teaches that the way you love your life becomes your reality. Rav Shlomo Freifeld zt”l taught that a human is not an object. The definition of human is potential. Every human being can become great.
Rav Dessler taught that every moment of life we can be a giver or a taker. Hashem created man in the image of G-d. So, we know we are a creator. We have to look in the mirror and see a creator. We create through the mitzvos that we do, and we create ourselves by striving to be a better person. The way we live has an impact on the people around us. If we work on changing ourselves, then we can change the whole world.
He gave some examples of people like Rav Aryeh Levin zt”l, who took care of lepers and prisoners. He pointed out that after October 7, we heard amazing stories of people who did selfless acts. There were people who went back to save people and endangered themselves. Sadly, some of these heroic people lost their lives.
How do we become selfless? He shared the story of Roi Klein, an IDF soldier during the Lebanon War of 2006. Roi jumped on a grenade to save his whole battalion and he was killed.
Rabbi Rutenberg shared that his brother wanted to help in Israel, so he started something called Beef Up the Boys and he ended up sending a huge amount of beef jerky to the soldiers, which lifted their morale.
He taught that we change who we are from our actions. Many times, we get motivated to do something, but we need to make it part of ourselves.
He shared that a human being is compared to a tree. What helps the tree last hundreds of years? The trunk does and it is mostly made up of dead cells. If we want to remain consistent, we can’t rely on consistent excitement. Rather, the thing we want to do has to have become part of our identity and our reality.
He quoted Charlie Harary: “To create change you have to become the change.”
We need to not allow technology to control us. Rabbi Rutenberg shared how he decided not to use his phone for the news.
He taught how important it is to look at others with a positive eye. In a healthy relationship, we need to say five times more positive comments than negative ones. This is because the human brain naturally holds onto the negative more than the positive. What valuable advice!
If we want to change how we see others, our first focus should be seeing the positive light in them. He taught that 80 percent of communication is nonverbal. Seeing good in others needs to permeate every part of our existence.
Give the benefit of the doubt and develop a mindset of appreciation and belief in yourself. If you are critical of yourself, it is hard to see the good in others.
He said to be a connoisseur of appreciation. He shared how we express appreciation in the Song of the Shabbos Day prayer. We express gratitude to Hashem and sing His praises. We say over His kindness. It ends with then you will have faith in the night meaning when there are difficult times.
He taught how a small change in perspective can change us from a taker to a giver. “To see good in others, we have to see the good in ourselves.”
Following this, Rabbi Benzion Klatzko, sought-after speaker and Founder of Shabbat.com, shared how disappointed he was to be here again with Mashiach not here yet.
Things are still evolving, he said. He shared how the American Memorial Day lists way to celebrate that are so different from how we memorialize. People have barbecues, go to the beach, go to a sporting event, or go to a sale online.
We are a real people, and we have the ability to teach the world. If we remember tragedy, then we have a way to celebrate joyous times.
He read an interesting proclamation written by President Abraham Lincoln after the Civil War that said that the United States should have a day of humiliation that is a fast day. He wrote that it is the duty of men to own dependence on G-d. He noted that Lincoln learned this from the Navi Yirmiyahu and klal Yisrael. We are a nation that teaches the world that fast days are important.
After this, Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, rosh yeshivah of Ohr Somayach, spoke. He shared that every fast day has a different lesson. What is the lesson of Tish’ah B’Av? He said there are many answers, and he chose to share one. There are two fast days with specific halachos. They both start at night and both involve not washing, not wearing leather shoes. These are Yom Kippur and Tish’ah B’Av. The same lesson of Yom Kippur holds for Tish’ah B’Av. The lesson is for us to do t’shuvah. Yom Kippur is a day of t’shuvah for each individual person. We are like sheep passing beneath a rod of judgment.
Tish’ah B’Av, on the other hand, is a day of t’shuvah of the congregation. The merit of the k’hilah will protect us for a good din on Yom Kippur. Together we will do mitzvos. The s’lichos prayers end with the same line that Eichah ends with: “Hashem returns us.”
“When we do things with achdus, togetherness, then Hashem accepts our t’shuvah.
He taught that there is nothing like learning Torah to help a person to do t’shuvah.
He spoke about doing Daf Yomi and how it changes a person’s life. Depression comes from being inconsistent. “Believe in Torah. Learn it. Teach it. Everything will come from learning Torah.”
The day continued with so many nore inspiring and informative shiurim.
They can be viewed on TorahAnytime.com. Queens is honored to be the place where this event took place. Im yirtzeh Hashem, it should be in Yerushalayim next year on a day of feasting and joy!
By Susie Garber
