Category — Three weeks

A woman in Brooklyn decided to prepare her will and plan for the end of her life. She told her rabbi she had two final requests: First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted her ashes scattered all over the shopping mall. “Why the shopping mall?” asked the rabbi. “Then I’ll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week,” the mother responded.

Napoleon was once walking in a Jewish neighborhood and he heard many men crying inside the synagogues. So he walked into one of the Shtibels and approached a dignified looking Jew.
“Tell me, my dear man, why do you cry?”
The man responded, “I’m crying over the destruction of my temple!”
“Oh my!” exclaimed Napoleon. “Is there anything I can do to help you? Maybe tell me who destroyed it and I’ll punish him? Or maybe you need a donation to construct a new temple?”
“I’m sorry, Your Honor; you’ve misunderstood me. I’m crying and lamenting over the Holy Temple of Jerusalem destroyed close to two thousand years ago!”
Napoleon was amazed. “If a people still cries and prays two thousand years after a destruction of their temple, then I’m sure they will merit too see its rebuilding!”

Throughout the ages, although we’ve been scattered all over the world, we have always prayed and cried for the rebuilding of the Temple and our return to Zion. Seven out the 19 blessings in the Amida prayer discuss our yearning and anticipation for the time of the redemption and the coming of our righteous Moshiach.
It was on the lips of the Jews who entered the gas chambers and it kept the flame of Judaism alive in the hearts of Jews under oppression throughout the ages, as they hoped and believed in a better time that would soon arrive.
It is one of our Thirteen Principles of Faith as taught by Maimonides: “I believe in the coming of Moshiach, and though he may tarry I await his coming every day.”
Moshiach is not a dream fantasized by the sages in order to give the persecuted Jews hope - “Don’t despair; It will get better!” - Nor is it a reward for our devotion to Hashem in not abandoning the Torah and Mitzvoth even when it was inconvenient - or downright dangerous.
Rather, Moshiach is a much deeper concept, a central tenet of the Jewish religion. It is the reason and purpose of the entire creation and all that transpired in the almost six thousand years that have passed since then. Because it is only then that G-d will be able to feel at home, and reveal Himself completely His children, the Jewish people.
Building a home is a complex project. Every detail is attended to with the sole purpose of creating an environment in which the owner will feel comfortable. Since creation, we’ve been preparing that home. Every Mitzvah, each moment of Torah study, every warm gesture between two individuals - each of these brings more G-dliness into the world, creating a dwelling in which G-d can fully express Himself, as it were. When Moshiach will arrive, G-d will enter the home in all of His glory!
Automatically, when one will see G-d openly before him, there will be no room for hate and jealousy; he will lose his appetite for money, and having a good time won’t be the number one on his list of priorities. A world in which G-dliness is revealed will not tolerate war or strife. All will see the true and eternal enjoyment of learning Torah and knowing G-d, and nothing else will matter!
So let’s get ready for our face-to-face meeting with G-d. We want to look presentable; there is never a second chance for a first impression…

A couple had two little mischievous boys, ages 8 and 10. They were always getting into trouble, and their parents knew that if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons would get the blame.
The boys’ mother heard that a rabbi in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The rabbi agreed and asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the rabbi in the afternoon.
The rabbi, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly, “Where is G-d?”
The boy’s mouth dropped open, but he made no response.
The rabbi repeated the question. “Where is G-d?”
Again, the boy made no attempt to answer.
So, the rabbi raised his voice some more and shook his finger in the boy’s face and bellowed, “Where is G-d!?”
The boy screamed and bolted from the room. He ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him.
When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, “What happened?”
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied: “We are in real BIG trouble this time! G-d is missing, and they think we did it!”

Jokes aside, we’re in the middle of a time of mourning. For three weeks we don’t listen to music, don’t cut our hair, and observe many other customs of sadness and mourning. The reason for this is that we are lamenting the destruction of the holy temples which took place during these 21 days.
And now the million dollar question: Where is G-d? Is G-d with us through our troubles and hardship? Does he care about us? If I call to him does he listen? Or maybe he’s like my daddy who, when I ask him for a hundred dollars, screams that I don’t deserve it and then slams the phone down?
Well, a full answer to that loaded question would take a lot more than this article, but let’s discuss it in short.
In the First Temple, the Temple of Solomon, in the holiest room in the universe, lay the holiest box, the Aron. It contained the tablets, made out of gold in specific proportions; it was the greatest vessel of the temple. On it stood two Cherubim – human-like forms with wings resembling those of an eagle, facing each other. Or, to be more precise, usually they were facing each other. In times of G-d’s wrath and anger, they would turn away and face opposite directions, symbolizing that G-d has turned away.
Yet when the Babylonians broke into the temple and entered the holy of holies, to the shock of the Jewish people, the Cherubim stood there facing each other. G-d was with us; he loved us.
Obviously, there is something inherently good and positive about the destruction and the exile that followed, and that is the coming of Moshiach which can only come through our struggle, our blood and tears of the last almost 2000 years. G-d is with us more than before, giving us strength and courage to pull us closer to the goal and grasp the deeper meaning of the destruction.
So pick up your phone and give G-d a call. He’s waiting for your phone call. We all are.