You shall establish cities for yourselves, cities of refuge..[Bamidbar 35:11]
It is well known that the Parshios of Pinchas, Matos, and Masei, are always read during the Three Weeks. It is important to understand what relation these three Parshios have to the Three Weeks.
It is possible to say, based on a vort from the Baal Shem Tov, that when one wants to be rescued from the Yetzer Hara [evil inclination], he should flee to one of the three Arei Miklat [cities of refuge]. (The Arei Miklat were mentioned in groups of three). That is to say, a person should concern himself with three aspects of Torah.
First, the Torah of Machshava, thought, that a person should constantly concern himself with thoughts of holiness.
Second, the Torah of Dibbur, speech. A person should strive to speak words of Torah, and when not speaking of Torah, a person should always speak with
It is not a coincidence that the first Parsha in the month of Tamuz is Parshas Shelach - the Parsha of the Lashon Hara of the Meraglim. And it is not coincidental that the next few parshiyot in the month are also ones that relate to speech and machlokes.
The next Parsha is Korach that tells of the machlokes between Moshe and Korach and his followers that ended with so many dead. This is followed by the death of Miriam in Parshat Chukat and the incident at May Merivah. This is followed by Parshas Balak in which Bilam tries to bring about the destruction of Klal Yisrael by cursing them. Rashi tells us that "Ein Yeshuasem L'Am HaZeh Elah B'Peh" - our only salvation lies in the mouth - Bilam knew this and tried to use the Peh to bring about our destruction. We follow this with the Parshiyot of Matos and Masei that discuss Niddarim and the power of the word. And we end with the Shabbos before
In the Talmud Yerushalmi (Ta'anis 4:5) there is a discussion of the events leading up to the breaking of the Luchos. Moshe ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the Torah, and told the nation that he would be there for 40 days. After what the Bnei Yisroel erroneously assessed to be 40 days, Moshe had not reappeared, and the nation began to fear that Moshe would not return. The people approached Aharon, Moshe's brother, asking him to "create" a new leader, which was the Golden Calf. As they were creating and then worshiping the Golden Calf, Moshe was still receiving the Torah from G-d. G-d informed Moshe to descend the mountain, as "your nation has become corrupt." Moshe went down, and met Yehoshua, Moshe's devoted student and assistant, who had been waiting for Moshe. Both heard sounds coming from the camp. Yehoshua thought the sounds might be those of battle. Moshe responded that the sounds were not the sounds of war, but rather the sounds of song. Moshe then continued down the mountain, and when he saw the nation engaged in the worship of the Golden Calf, he broke the Luchos
In considering the possibility of those who wish to build a Third Temple on har haBayis today, Rav Berkowitz shlit"a poses a powerful question:
Are we ready to eat from the korban Pesach?
In the time when the Beis Hamikdosh stood everyone would keep hilchos taharos even on chullin (an exceptionally high level of purity "even when eating their breakfast").
This is just an example that people who merited the Beis Hamikdosh considered everything to its particular details and were stringent on themselves in every area that they could be.
Today, how many of us could eat the Korban Pesach?
How many of us consider every mouthful of food as a miraculous gift of sustainance? And everytime we are about to speak to someone, do we seriously consider the consequences of what we are about to say?
The Mishna Brura in Hilchos Tisha B'Av brings a powerful hint as to what we should be doing on a fast day. It brings the Posuk within the story of Yonah - when he went to Ninveh to tell them to do Teshuva.
The posuk explains that the people of Ninveh fasted and donned garments made of sackcloth...and we are told that "HaShem saw their actions". The Mishna Brura explains "their actions" to be "teshuva" - ie. fasting and sackcloth did not sway the balance and despite fasting and being uncomfortable - it was their Teshuva that caused HaShem to spare their lives.
So too, when we are obligated by the Rabbis to fast, this is a smaller factor of the day. We are only fasting to inspire us to do Teshuva and bring HaShem to our hearts.
This week marks the beginning of a 3 week period of mourning culminating in Tisha B’Av, the day when both Temples were destroyed.
Our sadness over the loss of the Temple is not about mourning over smashed bricks and destroyed buildings,but about the loss of the connection and relationship that those buildings, the Temples, facilitated and nurtured. The Temple was a point of fusion - where spirituality, in its true sense, found expression in a physical world. That expression helped to create an unclouded perception of truth and reality for all those who encountered its spiritual grandeur. By visiting the Temple at least three times a year1[1], one would return to daily life with an invigorated sense of purpose and direction. The Temple provided the necessary clarity to ensure one’s relationship to truth and spirituality was a naturally internalised one.
Our sense of loss at the absence of the Temple, and desire for the rebuilding of it, is borne out of an intense yearning for a life characterised by that same degree of clarity which ensures we can live with an intimately personal
Heard this comforting Chasidic Tora bout Ben Hametzarim.
The Passok from Eicha goes: "kol rodfeh hiseguha ben hametzarim",meaning that those who chased her 'got hold' of her in this time period [our enemies].
Yet theres anothor way to understand it...
"Any one who chases after Hashem (rodfeh ka) will find him during Ben Hametzarim"
This time is actually very high time, especially these Shabbtot to acquire spiritual growth and get closer to G-d /Kedusha..
These days are parallel to the 21 days between Rosh Hashana till Shmini Atzeret..
Good luck.. :-)) may we all strengthen our will for Holy things.
