The Adams Street Shul

Part of the summer is set aside by our people to weep and lament for the loss of Jerusalem, culminating in commemoration of the destruction of both the first and the second Holy Temples on the very same day, Tisha B-Av, the Ninth of Av, which has been marked as a sad day from the time of those national and spiritual disasters until this very day.

We believe that our shortcomings had a great deal to do with these calamities. The prophets spoke sternly against three of the sins that were rampant at the time of the first destruction. They were immorality, idol-worship, and murder.

Slowly but surely, we were weaned away from these travesties, inconsistent with our faith, and the second Holy Temple was built amidst great joy. But we had not yet achieved the perfection that would have assured that this Temple would last through the ages and our people would live in tranquility in our land of Israel.

We were infected with another great sin, which was sinat chinam, senseless and unreasonable hatred of our fellow human beings. So damaging was this sin that the second Temple also went down in ruins.

Throughout the long exile which followed, we never gave up. Tyrants who persecuted us severely came and went. We prevailed and we remained. Through the greatest divine interventions, we returned to our ancient homeland. Again today, many dictatorships and barbaric nations are trying to destroy us. Their efforts are failing as we grow in spiritual and physical strength.

We are closer to our final redemption than we have been in two thousand years. It is now up to us to banish hatred from our very beings, to strengthen our ties with Israel in every way possible, and to rededicate ourselves to our Torah and its beautiful way of life.

We can see the light at the end of the dark tunnel. May Tisha B-Av soon be a day of jubilation and joy as we greet our long-awaited Mashiach.

We can and we will do it!

A SAFE AND HAPPY SUMMER TO ALL OUR CONGREGANTS AND FRIENDS!

Rabbi Norbert Weinberg

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