Weekly Torah Portion

A couple is happily married, a match made in heaven. They both love doing chores around the house to lighten each other’s load, like laundry and cleaning up after dinner. One day the wife has a terrible headache and it doesn’t go away.

After many medical appointments she is told that she has a rare condition and that her eyesight will deteriorate. A year passes by and she has become completely blind. The husband tries to pick up the housework, but the wife will not let him. She insists on doing the dishes and washing his shirts despite her disability. She even insists on getting herself to work by herself, managing the few blocks from their apartment with a walking stick. The husband agrees, but out of love and concern for his wife he cannot completely comply. So he quietly stands next to her, moving things closer to make her job easier. On her walk to work he stands a couple paces behind to ensure she moves safely, occasionally removing stumbling blocks out of her way.

This upcoming Monday night and Tuesday mark the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av. It commemorates the day the Holy Temple was destroyed in the land of Israel.

We are told that this was not the first tragedy that befell the Jewish people on this date. Many years earlier the Torah tells us the Jewish people were given the task of settling in the land. They were hesitant and decided to send in spies to see if the place G-d had chosen for them was indeed good. Most of the spies returned with a bad report. They ultimately did not trust in Hashem. They did not have the faith to forge forward into the promised land.

In this week’s Torah portion, in his final address to the Jewish people, Moshe recalls to them the sin of the spies. Why does mentioning this collective sin of not recognizing the goodness of the Holy Land need to be repeated?

The Jewish people had witnessed the splitting of the sea, miracles in the desert like daily sustenance falling from the sky and a protective cloud showing the way for them to travel. But they thought that once they left their encampment in the desert, Hashem would be more distant. They would no longer feel his closeness in Israel like they did in their journeys. They would have to conquer the land, plant for their sustenance and take many matters into their own hands. This was their error, albeit on a small level.

Just because Hashem would not be performing open miracles did not mean He was taking a step back. He is always close to us, whether through open miracles or not. Hashem is not just a creator, he is a sustainer of life, as well.

This Tisha B’Av, as we mourn the destruction of the Temple, it will feel closer to home. This year has been one of the most challenging for Israel in recent history. We must be concerned for the safety of our homeland and of those protecting it. We most definitely have similar feelings to those who stood looking into Israel with uncertainty many years ago.

How can we do this on our own? How will we protect our land? While many things might seem uncertain right now, we must take the lesson of this day to heart. No matter how difficult the task ahead might seem, we do not need to do it alone. Just like the loving husband in our story, whose wife did not know she was receiving help, Hashem is closer than we might think.