THE CHALLENGE OF TISHA B'AV - THE 9TH OF AV

written by David Devor


Dear Mochin Subscribers, PM Associates, Rabbis and Friends,

The fast day called Tisha B'Av commemorates the destruction of both First and Second Temples and many other tragic events that took place on this date. On this day of mourning, we fast and abstain from various comforts and pleasures. It is considered the saddest and most sinister
of days and we are advised to lay low and avoid risks while it passes over. Yet perhaps the time has come for us to come out of hiding and shake our fists in defiance.

The Temples destroyed on this date housed the revealed presence of the Creator. The Creator, of course, is everywhere but, for the most part, well hidden from us. We are metaphysically blind and, according to Kabbalah, suffer from two levels of blindness collectively known as
HesterKaful - double concealment. Yet, miraculously, between the Cherubs on the Ark of the Covenant, the revealed presence of G-d shone forth for all to see and the Temple provided a spectacular experience of sacred presence that was famous throughout the ancient world and provided us with our social, psychological and spiritual focus.

Its loss, understandably, threw the Chosen People into confusion and despair that persists to this day causing us to be dispersed throughout the world and, for the most part, to be alienated from
our roots and traditions. On the 9th of Av, we take pause to become aware of our state of estrangement and the shortcomings that delay the coming of the messiah whose birthday, ironically, is designated as the 9th of Av consistent with the cosmic law that the highest lights
are revealed from the lowest place.

Aside from the destruction of both Temples, the most tragic event that fell on the 9th of Av was the betrayal by the spies. Of the twelve spies, one prince from each of the tribes, ten, through distorted reporting (much of the kind we see in the press these days), demoralized the
people, sabotaging the plan to enter the land and resulting in a divine punishment of 40 more years in the desert.

Perhaps the most common explanation for the failure to confront the challenge of occupying the land pertains to our attachment to the miraculous and effortless nature of our sojourn in the desert. Manna fell from heaven, water followed us as Miriam's well, health was guaranteed and even our clothing didn't wear out. This reluctance to confront the natural world can be likened to our present reluctance to confront the challenge of physical matter.

When mapped against the human body, the 9th of Av corresponds to "Gid HaNasheh," the vulnerable left thigh sinew (thought to be the sciatic nerve) where the angel was able to injure Jacob during the struggle that transformed him into Israel. Corresponding to the physical dimension, this sinew is considered the to be coarsest (and greediest) and the corresponding part in animals is forbidden as food. One more, not-so-subtle hint as to the essential need for
us to confront the physical. The challenge is clear.

If there ever was a promised land, it lies in the infinite good that is implicit in physical matter. Faith in an infinitely compassionate Creator implies a faith in the infinite nature of His gift to us - the physical domain that, paradoxically, in its coarseness, is the furthest from Him and thus His most remarkable Creation giving the ultimate expression of Yesh MeAyin -- Creatio Ex Nihilo.

Yes, to some extent, science does engage this challenge and even routinely rewards us with astounding discoveries and technological capacities. But these are but a miniscule taste of the miraculous gifts awaiting us once science addresses the challenge of physical matter in a manner worthy of that challenge, in a manner consistent with the sacred. Remember, to reveal the full extent of the Creator's blessings is tantamount to revealing the Creator, Himself, in our world. Not only are the unlimited blessings implicit in matter a G-dly gift ending all suffering, illness and death but the concomitant elimination of vulnerability will make it psychologically and spiritually impossible for us to cleave to anything physical.

Just as it is impossible for us to covet sand or seawater, once matter is mastered, it will be impossible to covet anything physical since all things will be interchangeable, being made of the same subatomic elements. Gold, medicines and all physical products will be worthless. Unable to
cleave to the physical crust of existence, we will have no choice but to cleave to what remains, the metaphysical to which, you will recall, we are presently blind. The sacred presence will be everywhere revealed as the whole world, illuminated by spiritual awareness, takes on the
nature of the 3rd Temple. As the existential carpet is pulled out from under us, the mastery of matter will, paradoxically, be shown to be the key to the universal awakening, a state of illumination biblically referred to as "a light unto the nations."

The principal shortcoming of modern science, depriving us of this paradise to which, in principle, we have every right, is analogical to the failure of ten of the twelve princes chosen to spy out the land. Like the ten spies, it eschews the effort that the Torah requires of us - to love G-d with all our heart, soul and means. To give ourselves completely to something requires courage but, even more than courage, the faith that makes courage possible. Only if we believe that the light will go on, will we find the will to throw the switch. If the scientist believes that an infinite good can come of his creative contemplation, his whole body, made in the image of the Creator,
can become an instrument of creative vision. But first he must believe.

As it stands, the best that scientists offer us are occasional sparks of creative insight. Sparks are captive, restricted light that occur as Klippot (husks of impurity). Furthermore, these sparks are bracketed by a lifetime of pedestrian legwork for their elaboration. We are often told that discovery is 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration. Sadly, this is quite true because, as a rule, the effort that generates creative vision is correspondingly meager. Imagine running your appliances on sparks of static electricity. This will give you an idea of how impossibly inefficient the scientific enterprise now is.

Effort, consistent with the Torah's principal requirement of us - total effort - should be nothing less than life threatening as entering the PaRDeS normally is. We are willing to risk our lives in endless trivial pursuits, including extreme sports, but never in an all encompassing effort of creative contemplation that would activate the image of G-d in us and release its unlimited, creative potential.

The spies were similarly intimidated by the challenge of embracing the Land, the challenge of confronting the natural world. The Land of Israel was destined to be a paradise conditioned by Torah law. The natural world was G-d's gift to us, analogical in its bountiful potential (symbolized by the sumptuous load of grapes the spies brought back), to the infinite potential of the physical domain. The failure to believe in the value of a gift is a sure sign of our doubts concerning the giver. Amalek, the arch enemy of Israel (destined for total annihilation) is the equivalent of doubt.

The doubt, that plagued the spies, then, plagues the scientists, along with the rest of us, today. Appropriately, the antithesis of Amalek is the messiah. Hypocritically, we hope and pray for the messiah without the faith that would engender the total effort necessary for revealing him. It is high time for us to eradicate doubt - Amalek.

The spies delayed our occupation of the land by 40 years and, in the process, compromised the divine nature of that occupation. The abundance of life in the land, when we finally did occupy it, was real but far from divine and our compliance with Torah, less than perfect. As happened every time we failed a test (e.g., eating from the tree of knowledge, the flood, the Tower of Babel, the golden calf, the spies, etc.), the Creator upped the ante and increased the difficulty of the challenge. We now face the ultimate test, that of physical matter itself.

Yet the supposed spiritual leaders of our time, our rabbis, have done nothing to address this challenge or even advise us of it. Has the challenge of matter and the blessings to be gained from science not been obvious for decades? Or is faith in the Creator, who provided us with this challenge and potential, simply dead? Aside from the default of the scientists, are we not witnessing a repeat of the sin of the spies and their failure of faith on the part of the rabbis as well?

It is said that the spies were needlessly concerned with losing their princely prerogatives in the new, natural framework of agricultural life in the Land. How much status would our rabbis risk losing if they admitted that the role of scientists, that of revealing the highest lights from the lowest place, is, potentially, the most spiritual and sacred of all roles? Must universal doubt
triumph once again? And, if it does, will the punishment, this time, be bearable?

How can our rabbis justify ignoring the mission that defines our chosenness and destiny? Only if we grasp the magnitude of the blessings we are delaying can we appreciate the magnitude of this betrayal. How many of us remain puzzled as concerns the punishments suffered so far by modern Jewry including the Holocaust, global anti-Semitism, assimilation and today's threat to the very existence of Israel? Well, look no further. The nature of the failure should now be plain as day.

Our future boils down to the exercise of conscience, the conscience of the individual. We must insist that the emperor is naked. If there was ever a time in history when, like Nachshon and Caleb, the solitary individual can make a difference, it is now. This 9th of Av, make your dissatisfaction known. Demand decisive leadership of your rabbi. Face the forces of darkness head on and shake your fists in anger and defiance.