On the 9th of Av, By Michael Kagan
The Beit HaMikdash was the heart of the Jewish people, the heart of Jewish ritual, the heart of Judaism.
At the heart of the Mikdash was the Holy of Holies – the point where Heaven and Earth joined, where the Divine Presence was most immanent, from whence the source of Divine Compassion flowed.
With the destruction of the physical Mikdash, the spiritual Mikdash became hidden. On Tisha B’Av we grieve for this loss.
With hiddenness came exile – exile from the Land, exile from Nature, exile from the source of our vitality, exile from our bodies. On Tisha B’Av we grieve for these losses.
And what is true for the Cosmos, is true for the People. And what is true for the People, is true for you and me.
On Tisha B’Av we grieve for our own hidden heart – for losing heart. We grieve for all the losses in our lives that have caused the flow of compassion to be restricted; for the distance between ourselves and the World, between ourselves and the Divine, between ourselves and ourselves.
On Tisha B’Av we grieve for all loss.
On Tisha B’Av we can penetrate the hiddenness, go through the pain, and reconnect with the Heart, with hope and with joy.
On Tisha B’Av we can touch our own redemption, our own Mashiach. And what is true for you and me, is true for the People, and what is true for the People, is true for the Cosmos.
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[...] Tisha B’Av is the saddest date of the Jewish year. It is a fast day marked by deep mourning for the destruction [...]