And, most important, how will all of us ever be able to finally arrive at a place of indescribable joy and closeness with Hashem, as we attempt to shun the inner contradictions and pain we so often feel in our spiritual quest?
To quote from Rabbi Yehuda Halevi’s timeless words to the Jew in galus that we say on Tisha B’Av: “Zion! When will you ask about the welfare of those who were taken from you … those who long to cling to your mountainsides? … Your atmosphere is food for souls, your dust is spice and your rivers floes of flagrance.… I would treasure going even barefoot and bare through your former castles and ruins, at the place of your hidden Ark, with the Cherubs in your Sanctuary. I cast off the pride of my accomplishments … for how can I enjoy my eating and drinking … how can I enjoy the sunlight … when I remember fallen Israel, and recall Judea captured?”
In this beautiful elegy, where the aching longing for a reunion with Hashem in Jerusalem is expressed without equal, we begin to sense just how much we are really missing in this long galus.
These longings are the building blocks of the Bais HaMikdash’s eventual edifice. Although in many ways Judaism teaches that our actions are more important than our thoughts or beliefs, the saying is nevertheless true that “The longing to perform a mitzvah, or to engage in a spiritual pleasure, is even greater than the pleasure itself.” Constantly maintaining our uniquely Jewish selves through this active yearning is a major element in the ultimate rebuilding of the Bais HaMikdash.
Thus, says the Slonimer Rebbe, the period of the Three Weeks is one of crying but yet a positive period – for it is part of the rebuilding process. It is a time to cry for hope that our sincere acts of teshuvah will find favor in Hashem’s eyes.
“Hashiveinu Hashem ailecha v’nashuvah, chadeish yameinu k’kedem – Bring us back to you, Hashem, and we will return; renew our days as of old.”