I took my kids to the park last week, hoping to give them a couple of hours of fun. We got off to a good start, but about halfway into the first hour a huge fight erupted. My seven-year-old daughter, Rosie, wanted the swing my four-year-old son, Mendel, was using. Before I could intervene, she had pushed him hard and he hurt himself. Mendel, of course, retaliated by pulling her hair—hard. I was able to separate them, but by now a crowd had gathered, and everyone was trying to give me advice on what to do and how to prevent fights like this in the future.
My daughter was still fuming mad and ready to attack, so I held her down for a few minutes, and told them we’d be going home immediately. I took my daughter back to the car but my son refused to get inside. He wanted to stay and play.
So I turned on the ignition and told him he can stay but we are leaving. As soon as I said that, my daughter shouted, “Tatty, please don’t leave Mendel behind!” I couldn’t believe it. A few seconds ago she was ready to pounce on her brother and rip him to pieces, now she’s feeling protective and loving towards him? Not five minutes ago she threw his water bottle away and scratched him violently!
It hit me, then, that this is a perfect analogy for the three weeks. We are in the annual three week mourning period commemorating the destruction of our two holy Temples. In just over a week we will mark Tisha B’Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. Since the destruction of the second Temple 2000 years ago we have been in exile—an extended period of darkness, a time when G-d is hidden. We’ve suffered through pogroms, persecution, pain, suffering, murder, torture, Stalin, Hilter, Arafat… On the surface, it would seem as though G-d hates us. But in truth, his love is always there. Sometimes it’s more hidden, sometimes it’s more apparent. But even when things seem terrible, G-d will never truly abandon us.
In fact, on top the Ark, were two keruvim—human-like forms carved from gold. When the Jewish people followed G-d’s directives, the keruvim faced each other. When the Jewish people sinned, they turned away from each other. But strangely, while the temple burned, the keruvim hugged each other. This illustrates that despite the persecution we see so clearly, G-d really and truly loves us.
Oh how we yearn for the time when we will see, clearly and openly, how everything we’ve gone through as a nation was actually a display of the greatest love and affection possible.