“When God will return the captivity of Zion, we will be as dreamers (Psalms 126:2).”

Everyone dreams. What is different between our dreams and those of our enemies? Why will we be “as dreamers,” rather than dreamers?

In 1918, after one final military assault that fails, Germany is defeated. Young Adolf Hitler, blind after a mustard gas attack, and humiliated after the Fatherland’s defeat, vows to enter politics:

“As the train took Hitler to a hospital in the Pomeranian town of Pasewalk, his own pain and despair obliterated any such aspiration, but after several weeks of medical treatment be began to regain his sight. Inflammation of the mucous membrane and swelling of the eyelids had receded; ‘the piercing in my sockets’ began to diminish and ’slowly I succeeded in distinguishing the broad outlines of things about me.’ With sight came an end to depression and the mental instability that had required special treatment from a consulting psychiatrist, Professor Edmund Forster, chief of the Berlin University Nerve Clinic. Little was known about mustard gas and Hitler’s inexplicable recovery confirmed Dr. Forster in his diagnosis of the blindness as hysteria. In fact, the patient had experienced the usual symptoms of moderate mustard gas poisoning – burning, swelling, moaning, depression – and recovery in several weeks.

“Sight also brought Hitler hope and renewed interest in the events of the day. Berlin itself was in a state of virtual siege as the new Chancellor urged the Kaiser to abdicate so that an armistice could be signed. Hitler had heard stories of rebellion throughout Germany but discounted them as rumor until a delegation of Red German sailors burst into his ward early that November in an attempt to convert the patients to the revolution. … Indignation was followed by shock. Hitler took to his bed. ‘I lay there broken with great pains, although I did not let on how I felt; for it was repugnant to me to cry out at a time when you could feel that the collapse was coming.’ A little later, on November 9, a dignified elderly pastor arrived at Pasewalk hospital to confirm news of the uprisings. Revolution had even broken out in Munich.

“The patients were gathered in a little hall and the pastor, so Hitler recalled, ’seemed all a-tremble as be informed us that the House of Hohenzollern should no longer bear the German imperial crown; that the Fatherland had become a ‘republic.’ ‘ As the aged speaker eulogized the services rendered by the Hohenzollerns, he ‘began to sob gently to himself – in the little hall the deepest dejection settled on all hearts, and I believe not an eye was able to restrain its tears.’ The pastor went on to say that the war must now be ended, that all was lost and they had to throw themselves upon the mercy of the victorious Allies. To Hitler the revelation was intolerable. ‘It became impossible for me to sit still one minute more. Again everything went black before my eyes; I tottered and groped my way back to the dormitory, threw myself on my bunk, and dug my burning head into my blankets and pillow.’

“It was the first time he had wept since standing at his mother’s grave eleven years earlier (she had died in agony of cancer), in the churchyard of the Austrian village of Leonding. He had borne the fear of blindness ‘in dull silence,’ endured the loss of so many good comrades. ‘But now I could not help it. Only now did I see how all personal suffering vanished in comparison with the misfortune of the Fatherland.’ Out of his black despair came a decision. ‘The great vacillation of my life, whether I should enter politics or remain an architect, came to an end. That night I resolved that, if I recovered my sight, I would enter politics.’ There was no medical reason for Hitler’s second blindness and Dr. Forster reinforced in his initial conclusion that his patient was definitely ‘a psychopath with hysterical symptoms.’ Hitler, however, was convinced he was permanently blind.

“The shame of Germany’s surrender on November 11 in the forest of Compiegne overwhelmed him. Life seemed unbearable, but that night, or the next, Hitler was abruptly delivered from his misery, as he lay in despair on his cot, by a ’supernatural vision’ (perhaps deliberately induced Dr. Forster). Like St. Joan, he heard voices summoning him to save Germany. All at once ‘a miracle came to pass’ – the darkness encompassing Hitler evaporated. He could see again! He solemnly vowed, as promised, that be would ‘become a politician and devote his energies to carrying out the command he had received.’”

(John Toland; “Adolf Hitler”)

Hitler ysv”z, dreamed as a response to tragedy. The verse describes us as dreamers after the troubles are over and all is well. What were we before God returned the captives of Zion? Were we not dreaming all along?

Our dreams are not a response to tragedy, but maintaining a sense of reality and perspective. We will be “as dreamers,” when we have the privilege to see that reality is even better than what we believed. There will be a day when we look back on our visions of redemption were simple dreams in comparison to reality!

We remind ourselves now, that no matter how clear our vision, we will one day know that we were only dreamers; we know that there is much more to see. We are aware, even now, that our vision is limited. We want to see more. We need to see more.

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“If only someone would turn my head to water and my eye to a spring of tears.” Jeremiah 8:23

I was taught and always read this as Jeremiah frustrated by the inadequacies of his tears. I imagined him weeping and wondering if he could possibly cry enough to express his anguish. I thought of this verse as I read Abu bin al-Abras: “My eyes seep sorrow; water skins with holes.”

I imagined the scene and wondered why my eyes are dry. I am not a crier by nature. I tear when I see someone who is suffering, when I read stories of the countless horrors imposed on Israel over the course of history, but I do not cry. I used to recite Jeremiah’s words whenever I felt I should cry but could not.

Perhaps, Jeremiah’s eyes were also dry. I see the prophet begging the Babylonian soldiers to chain him to the exiles; his people. I can picture the prophet of doom using every ounce of his strength to console and give hope. Jeremiah’s eyes were probably dry as he assumed his new role to lay the groundwork for Israel’s survival in exile.

Yes, his eyes were dry. They probably were filled with light and hope.

I heard a story of a young woman with five children, whose passionately adored husband suddenly died. She did not shed a tear. She took care of her children, went to work and raised 5 extraordinary human beings. Twenty five years later she married a man she did not love but who gave her comfort and security. He died less than a year later. She wept oceans of tears at his funeral.

The officiating rabbi, who had buried her first husband, asked her why she cried for this man, whom she did not have the same love, but not for her first husband, whom she adored. “Rabbi,” she answered, “for whom do you think I am crying? I never had time to cry for my first husband. I had to raise my children with laughter and light. I can only afford to cry now.”

Jeremiah’s eyes may very well have been dry. He too, had to raise his “children” and give them hope and light. He did not have an opportunity to weep as he traveled among the ruins caring for the crushed, wounded and ill.

Why are my eyes dry? Because I see life as having to be lived with that same joy and light. Yes, I can echo Jeremiah, “If only someone would turn my head to water and my eye to a spring of tears”, but even on Tisha B’Av, I see the glory of the Jewish People. I see our incredible will to flourish, not just survive. I rejoice in the thousands who study and ask. I see light in the countless acts of Chesed and compassion.

Yes, I mourn on Tisha B’Av; I mourn in awe for a people that keep through their mourning, the Temple alive two millennia after its physical destruction. I mourn in wonder that we continue to read Jeremiah’s rebukes 2400 years later as if they were meant for us. I mourn and can detect just that little sparkel in Jeremiah’s eyes.

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They have been married for so long that they don’t remember why they are fighting. They simply know that they are in an argument. There is no single specific issue. They fight. They stopped listening to each other many years ago. The only thing they do hear is criticism. There is no “reason” for them to argue other than their being so accustomed to fighting. That, I believe, is the definition of Sin’at Chinam, or, hatred for no reason. They are stuck in their argument and, when asked, admit that they cannot picture how to live with each other without arguing.

I spend a great deal of time working with people, many of whom are sinking in a quagmire of resentment and anger. People carry their anger for years, even after they have forgotten what provoked their anger. The hatred takes on a life of its own. That is Sin’at Chinam.

It is even more frustrating to observe people seeding such long-lasting resentments. One person phrases something in a poor manner, the other person is hurt, the first person is shocked that he provoked such a response and becomes so angry that he will say something hurtful and the conflict takes root. Neither one will recall exactly how the argument began, but it doesn’t matter; it takes on a life of its own. That is Sin’at Chinam.

I have often heard Rav Kook ZT”l quoted as saying, “The only way to repair Sin’at Chinam is Ahavat Chinam.” It seems that Rav Kook was focusing on the Sin’a, the hatred. I suggest that we focus instead on the Chinam, or ‘Free.’

People have difficulty acknowledging they pay a price for an argument. We pay a steep price even when we are 100% in the right. There is no Chinam – argument without a price – just as there is no Ahavah, or love without a price.

Love is not only experienced; it makes demands. Love demands patience, generosity, selflessness, understanding, empathy and much more. We make our first mistake when we think that either love or hate is Chinam – free, meaning that we do not pay a price.

When one person hears an insult he has a choice whether he is willing to ‘pay,’ meaning to invest effort in understanding what the other said or meant, or what the other was feeling that led him to speak the insult. When we are willing to ‘pay’ we will be able to find a solution.

However, if we focus on ‘Chinam,’ our desire to have love without having to pay, we will certainly be unwilling to ‘pay’ to repair a situation of Sin’a – hatred.

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Rabbi Abba bar Kahana opened his discourse with the verse, “Let out your voice with joy, O daughter of Gallim.” (Isaiah 10:30) Isaiah said to Israel, “Rather than you should utter songs and praises before idols, sing with a joyous voice the words of Torah, sing with a joyous voice in the synagogues.” “O daughter of Gallim,” as the waves are conspicuous in the sea, so are the patriarchs in the world. Another interpretation of “Daughter of Gallim:” is to read the text as “Bat Galim,” – “Daughters of Exiles.” Daughter of Abraham, of whom it is written, “And there was a famine in the land, and Abraham went down into Egypt.” (Genesis 12:10) Daughter of Isaac, of whom it is written, “And Isaac went unto Abimelech, King of the Philistines, onto Gerar.” (26:1) Daughter of Jacob, of whom it is written, “And he went to Paddan-Aram.” (28:5) (introduction to Midrash Eichah I)

Rabbi Abba is saying that we, the Daughters of Exiles, should let out our voices in joyous songs of Torah and service of God. We can learn from the Patriarchs, who were also exiles, how to sing even when exiled. All the Patriarchs used their exile experience to their advantage. All of them acquired great wealth in exile. All achieved new heights and enhanced their reputations. They did not live as exiles, but mastered their situations, because they continued to live and sing with joy even when forced to leave their homes.

The Jewish people have suffered terribly in the millennia of our exile, and yet, we have thrived. We produced countless Torah works. We maintained our commitment to Israel with so much passion that we were able to return, rebuild the land and the language. We continued singing no matter how much we suffered.

The concentration camp inmates who risked their lives to light Chanukah candles were truly the Daughters of the Singing Exiles. The Russian and Polish Jews who dressed as royalty every Shabbat, no matter how poor or desperate, were all Daughters of the Singing Exiles. The people exiled from Spain, who wandered all over the world building new and vibrant communities were all Daughters of the Singing Exiles. Rav Breuer and the Satmar Rav, who arrived as older men in the US after the Holocaust and built their respective communities were truly Daughters of the Singing Exiles.

These Daughters knew the suffering of exile intimately, yet they thrived because they were Daughters of the Singing Exiles.

Rabbi Abba well understood that those reading Jeremiah’s words while in exile would be tempted to sing with the other nations. They would be attracted to a life of singing, of joy without exile. Rabbi Abba reminds them and us that the real singer is the one who can sing even when in exile, who has song in his heart and soul, and who can emulate the Singing Exiles.

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“Oh my soul … be prepared for him who knows how to ask questions.” T.S. Eliot

“Yours, my Master, is the righteousness..

And ours is the shamefacedness…” (Kinah 19)

“They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25)

“He said, ‘I heard the sound of You in the Garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten of the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” (3:10-11)

“I was afraid,” not, “I was ashamed.”

Adam and Eve were not ashamed because, “They sewed together a fig leaf and made themselves aprons.” (3:7) They were ashamed by their nakedness, not their sin.

Perhaps they could have responded, “Yours, my Master, is the righteousness,

and ours is the shamefacedness,” and things would have developed differently.

This Kinah is our opportunity to recreate that moment in Eden and respond as Adam should have.

We will “be prepared for him who knows how to ask questions.” A simple step that can repair worlds.

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“They drowned and slaughtered Cohanim and Leviim who once maintained the tiers of my Temple platform. When, in the valley of Hamath, my Cohanim were murdered…” The final phrase refers to Kings II 25:18-21: “And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of the door; and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war; and five men of them that saw the king’s face, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the city. And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.” (The Murdered Cohanim)

“So Judah was carried away captive out of his land.” The exile was not complete until Nebuchadnezar executed Seraiah, Zephaniah, and the others. He had already murdered Zedekiah’s, the King of Judah, children before his eyes just before blinding him and sending him in chains to Babylon. Nebuzaradan had massacred the Cohanim. Why did he gather this group to bring to his king? Why did he not execute them in Jerusalem? Why was this considered the final step of the exile?

The city was conquered. The Temple was in ruins. Nebuzaradan had done his job well, but Nebuchadnezar was not an active participant. These people who represented the spiritual life of Israel – Seraiah and Zephaniah; the military – “officer that was set over the men of war;” and royalty – “five men of them that saw the king’s face;” and the citizens – “threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the city,” were Nebuchadnezar’s opportunity to land the final blow on Israel.

The mission was not completed until the King himself could complete each stage of the destruction of the nation. At this point it was no longer a war waged between two nations, but between Nebuchadnezar and God. This was not to be only an exile from their land, but for Israel to feel exiled from their God.

All our enemies over the generations have attempted to sever the relationship between Israel and God. Nebuchadnezar was not the first. He is long gone, and our relationship with God is still strong. Ultimately, he lost and we not only survived but thrived. knowledgeable

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The black and white photograph of a tree covered in snow is magnificent. It is even more powerful than a color picture. The stark contrast between the light and dark allows me to experience the chill of the snow. I can almost feel the powder that could be fresh white buds, in my cold fingers.

The snow is unmarked and reflects the shadows of the tree on either side. The light powder seems to be weighing the branches all the way down to the ground.

The tree is alive. The mountain in the background doesn’t seem real: it’s just slightly taller than the tree that is more branches and snow than trunk.

I was transfixed by the picture and, recognizing the mountain, felt transported to Yosemite National Park. It is a place of wonderful memories of a joyous unbounded spirit, free to celebrate the possibilities of life.

Then…

I read the caption: Ansel Adams: The Mural Project 1941-42 – “Snow Covered Apple Orchard”

One minute I am delighting in Yosemite, and the next, I am standing in an apple orchard in the spring, singing a blessing over the fragrance of the fruit, anticipating the first bite into a perfectly fresh apple. The caption changed my experience of the photograph.

I experience Tisha B’Av differently when I read the stories in the Bible, Talmud, and Midrash than I do when I read the Kinot – Lamentations. The words of the Kinot are powerful. They overflow with allusions to verses from all over the Bible, ideas from the Talmud and stories in the Midrash. The authors of the Lamentations create images that direct my feel of the Tisha B’Av stories. The Kinot post captions on the photographs in my mind. The Lamentations tell their tales. They imagine the scene for us. They were sufficiently powerful to be included by Jews all over the world, throughout the ages, as an official part of the Tisha B’Av service.

They are only captions. Each poem and eulogy is just one way of viewing the photograph. They are intended to stir our own internal machinery so that we can begin to picture each scene for ourselves.

What would it have been like to be just one person, among two million, and hearing the spies’ report through the grapevine? By the time I hear the report, I see and hear everyone else crying in fear. They people who pass the story along to me post their captions on the photograph, as the spies did on their trip to Israel photo collection. Before I can process what is happening, I hear that God is angry and has decided that we will all die out in the desert. There is no caption on that photograph!

I read that Jeremiah wakened the Patriarchs and Moshe so that they would advocate for Israel. How would I picture the scene without the guidance of the Rabbi Eliezer HaKalir in Kinah #26 (Artscroll Kinot: Page 278)?

I stood in Worms, Germany and could close my eyes and picture the massacre of 1096 during the First Crusade. The picture I had in my mind as I stood over an ancient Mikvah filled with garbage has a different caption than the scene in Kinah #25 (Page 270) or the scene in Kinah #33 (Page 316)

The captions help us, but we cannot allow them to limit us. I try to close my eyes after each Kinah to picture the scenes described and wonder how I would have felt had I been there. I try to create my own captions. They make my Tisha B’Av real.

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“After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side [of the stone] and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together–but David wept the most.

Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of God, saying, ‘God is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town (I Samuel 20:41-42).”

“Wept together–but David wept the most,” Jonathan and David began by sharing their tears for the loss of each other now that David had to run. The crying together changed into crying for each other, and therefore, “David wept the most,” for Jonathan would never become king.

We begin Tisha B’Av by crying together in our shared suffering. Eventually, we must spend time thinking of the suffering of others, and cry for them; a perfect Tikkun of the sin of baseless hatred that led to the destruction of the Second Beit Hamikdash.

Tools:

On Tisha B’Av night, focus on the blessings that openly speak of Israel as a Nation; Redemption, The Ingathering of the Exiles, Jerusalem, and The Budding of Salvation. Cry together with all of Israel.

On Tisha B’Av morning and Mincha, focus on the blessings of Teshuva, Healing, Sustenance, with cries for others who are suffering.

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“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept, as we thought of Zion (Psalms 137:1).” The placement of this Psalm immediately following the Hallel haGadol, Psalm 136, indicates that if Israel will merit it, it will be able to recite the former, if it will not merit it, it will have to recite this Psalm, lamenting what could have been and what should have been.

We are told in the Zohar that the exiles in Babylon were death like, as zombies, having been brought from a life of great comfort to the depths of deprivation. They refused to accept any attempts to comfort them, to offer them consolation.

This is why God revealed visions to the prophet Ezekiel on the Euphrates, showing him in God and His entourage, in order to convince the exiled Jews that they had not been abandoned by the Divine Presence, and that in fact, the Divine Presence was exiled alongside them, as well as the Angels. These acted as guarantors, the Aravim, of verse 2, that He Cool would free the Angels would also free the Jewish exiles in due course.

When Israel heard all this, it began to regain its composure. This is the background against which we read that the Jews, “sat alongside the rivers of Babylon,” meaning, they are they experienced some degree of relief having been told Ezekiel’s vision.

On the one hand, they rejoiced, but on the other hand, “we cried,” when they fought back to Zion. (Rabbi Moshe Alshich; Romemot El)

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“He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”  As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their fathers have been in revolt against me to this very day.

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what My Master, God, the Lord says.’

And whether they listen or fail to listen,

for they are a rebellious house,

they will know that a prophet has been among them.



And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words.

Do not be afraid,

though briers and thorns are all around you

and you live among scorpions.

Do not be afraid of what they say or terrified by them,

though they are a rebellious house.

You must speak my words to them,

whether they listen or fail to listen,

for they are rebellious.

But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you.

Do not rebel like that rebellious house;

open your mouth

and eat what I give you.”



Then I looked,

and I saw a hand stretched out to me.

In it was a scroll,

which he unrolled before me.

On front and back

were written words of lament

and mourning and woe.

And he said to me,

“Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel.”

So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.

Then he said to me,

“Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you

and fill your stomach with it.”

So I ate it,

and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

(Ezekiel, Chapter 2 – 3:3).”

“On front and back,” the face had the story of life in this world,

while the back contained the story of the World to Come.

The face described the peace of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous in this world.

The back described the reward of the righteous and the suffering of the wicked in the World to Come.

“Lament,” over the damage caused by the wicked.

“Mourning,” over the suffering of the righteous in this world.

“Woe,” in fear over the punishment of the wicked in the Coming World (Sifrei).

“On front and back,” the front described what happened; the back described the future. The “Lament,” was over what Israel would lose of the back, if they ignored the warnings of the front (Targum Yonatan).

“It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth,” the sweetness of fulfilling God’s Will (MaHari Kara).

A Lament must include both the front and the back; the sorrow over the past and the promise of a better future. When we experience both sides of the Lament, our empty stomachs will be nourished with the sweetness of honey!

Tools:

Focus on the “sweet as honey” pleasure we can derive from the performance of Mitzvot, especially after midday, and when wrapping Tallit and Tefillin for Mincha.

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