Parshat Devarim: Empty Tears

This week begins the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy). The Rabbis consider this book, which is the final book of the five books of Moshe, as a review of events that have already transpired in the nation's history. In this week's Torah portion, we are reminded of the sin of the spies. Basically, before going into Israel the Jewish people requested to send out spies to scout out the land and come back with a report for the nation. The spies came back and told the nation that the inhabitants of the land were too strong to conquer and that it would be impossible to ever settle in Israel. Because of their lack of faith in Hashem (God), Hashem decreed that the present generation would not live to enter Israel, and would wander in the desert until they all died out.

A very interesting teaching is taught in connection to the sin of the spies. The Torah tells us, back in the book of Bamidbar (Numbers), that after hearing the evil report of the spies "The entire assembly raised up and issued its voice; the people wept that night" [Numbers: 14: 1] Our Rabbis teach us that in response to this weeping, Hashem declared "Because you wept for nothing, so shall it be that you will weep on this night throughout the generations". That very night was Tisha B'Av (The ninth day of Jewish month of "Av"). The "weeping throughout the generations" that Hashem declared was referring to the future destruction of the first and second Holy Temples, that both occurred on that same day of Tisha B'Av.


This statement of our Rabbis raises many questions. First of all, aren't the Jews being punished enough!? Hashem already issued a decree that they would not live to enter the land of Israel, why did He have to also decree that the Temples would be destroyed because of the sin!?

The simple answer to this question is that there were actually two separate actions the Jews committed that resulted in two separate punishments. The first sin was that they believed the report of the spies and lost faith that Hashem would deliver them into Israel. Because of this, Hashem swore that their generation would never enter the land. The second part of the sin was how they responded after believing the report, which was the act of "weeping in vain". It was this weeping that led God to declare that in the future they would weep and mourn over the destruction of the Holy Temples on that very day. (*See footnote*)

But this answer raises an even bigger problem. Isn't it a bit harsh that the Temples would be destroyed only because of their crying in vain!? What is the connection between the tears the Jewish nation shed in the desert and the destruction of both the Holy Temples? The answer to this question will hopefully shed light on an idea that will help us understand the importance of Tisha B'Av on a greater level.

First and foremost, we must examine the statement of our Rabbis, which we quoted above. After observing their teaching, we may notice that they never said that it was the weeping itself that was the cause of the future destruction of the Temples! The Talmud (a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history) clearly tells us that both Temples were destroyed not because of the weeping, but because of various sins that the Jews perpetrated during the era that the Temples stood (These sins being idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder, which destroyed the first Temple; and baseless hatred between one Jew and another, which destroyed the second Temple)! So how do we understand the sages words that connects the "weeping in vain" to the Temples' destruction? What the sages meant was the following: Because of our sins (idolatry, sexual immorality etc.) the Temples had to be destroyed; but what decided on what day of the year they would be destroyed? It was the "weeping in vain" that the nation cried many years ago in the desert that determined that the (crying over the) destruction of the Temples would be "on that night"!

Despite the fact that the "tears of vain" were not the cause of the Temples' destruction, there still lies an inherent connection between the two events. There was a certain message that we are meant to uncover that links the destruction of the Temples with the "weeping for nothing" committed in the desert. Therefore, our final question is:
What is the connection between the tears the Jewish nation shed in the desert and the destruction of both the Holy Temples?

When the Jewish nation wept in the desert, they were not weeping to God; they were not crying to God and asking Him to take them out of their difficult situation. They were weeping to themselves; the tears they shed were due to the level of unwarranted despair that they had reached in their hearts and minds. They had lost all hope and believed that there was nothing left; there was nowhere to turn. Indeed, there are moments in everyone's life where we may unfortunately have these emotions and thoughts dwelling inside us, and there is nothing wrong with breaking down and crying; but it depends on who you're crying to.

The Temple was built as a dwelling place for Hashem in this world, and represented the core of the Jewish people's divine service. Unfortunately, the Jewish people became steeped in all types of sin (idolatry, sexual immorality etc.) during that era and focused their attention not on their connection to God but on their connection to themselves. What good is the service if the servants aren't really serving the master!? There was clearly no reason to keep the Temple and follow its rituals if the Jewish nation were concentrating on satisfying their immoral desires and lusts; the outside will never survive if the inside is blemished.

So the Temples were destroyed because the Jewish people focused their energy away from God. This is the concept we are supposed to internalize by the Rabbis statement that connects the weeping of the nation with the Temples' destruction. The Jews didn't cry to God, but to themselves, and for what? For nothing! They cried over the fact that they could never enter Israel when this was absolutely untrue; God promised the land to us and would conquer the land for us! So too, in the time of the Temples, the Jews wound up losing their feelings of connection to God, and directed their service to other matters. And for what? For nothing. For the illusion that this world is meant to satisfy our empty and unreasonable desires.

Nowadays, we are so steeped in the modern day world and we forget our real goal. We invest so much of our time and energy in vain pursuits and we cry over matters that, deep down, have no meaning at all. So on this Tisha B'Av, when we observe our ways and examine how we spend our time, we should ask ourselves "Who are we spending it for?"

Good Shabbos,

Have a meaningful fast,

NZL



* One may be inclined to ask that there is a third aspect to the sin; the sin of the spies themselves! We refer to it as "the sin of the spies" yet we left out the actual sin that the spies themselves committed; the evil report they expressed over the land of Israel! On a simple level, the punishment of not entering Israel and the destruction of the Temples did not really apply to them. The Torah itself depicts their punishment: "The people who spread the evil report about the Land died in a plague before God" (Numbers: 14: 37). This even applies to our Torah portion this week: If one were to read the verses recounting the episode of the spies (Deuteronomy: 1: 22-33), the report of the spies is not even mentioned!