Since the destruction of the Temple, we have observed mourning customs during the three weeks between the seventeenth of Tammuz and the ninth of Av. During these days, we reflect more intensely on the concepts of exile and redemption, feel more acutely the sorrow of exile, and awaken longings for redemption.
After the establishment of the state, some wondered if it wasn't time to abolish mourning or reduce it. Perhaps the exile was already over. Here we are, back in our country, we have an independent state, our own army, Jewish settlement is flourishing. Why continue to mourn the exile?
Not the Mandate police
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
The truth is, of course, that even if the country were perfect in every way, and even if our independence were complete, we would still continue to mourn the destruction and exile and long for redemption.
Because with all the joy that we were privileged to return to the land and maintain a certain degree of independent rule here, this is not the redemption that the Jewish people have been waiting for for thousands of years.
The people of Israel long for the true and complete redemption, which will come through the Messiah, the son of David, and in which the Third Temple will be built. A redemption that will move the entire world from a state of concealment to a state of revelation of the truth. A redemption that will bring perfection not only to the Jewish people, but to all of humanity, as the Maimonides describes this redemption at the end of his book:
""And at that time there will be neither hunger nor war nor envy nor competition, for goodness will be greatly affected, and all the delicacies will be as fine as dust. And the whole world will be occupied only with knowing God.".
And yet, the excitement of the revival of the Jewish people in their land could somewhat weaken the longing for redemption, for behold, the Land of Israel is being built and flourishing, the mountains of Israel are yielding juicy fruits, Jerusalem is spreading length and breadth, and Jewish life is no longer a wasteland.
But as the years pass, it becomes clear that in these aspects too we are in a deep exile, and perhaps more painful, because it is an exile at the hands of Jews. Look at the disturbances we have experienced recently, when the police of the Jewish state – not the police of the British Mandate – arrested the Jewish attackers and released the Arabs.
Do we have the keys?
Look at the legal system, which gleefully uproots thriving Jewish settlements, even when there is no legal reason for their destruction, while an Arab invasion contrary to every law is accepted with a blind eye and endless rejections. A legal system that works against the very concept of 'Jewish settlement' and sees it as racism. Would this be called redemption?!
And the worst thing of all – for the first time in the history of the state, Jews have handed over the keys to power to non-Jews. The existence of the government is in the hands of an Islamic party, which can bring about its overthrow at any moment. Is there any intelligent person who does not understand the significance of this, and how limited and helpless such a government is in matters concerning our vital interests?!
In light of this sad reality, we feel the sorrow of exile even more keenly this year, in the sense that "because of our sins we are exiled." onOur land." From our hearts bursts forth with great power the cry for redemption – "Blow a great trumpet for our freedom," "Return our judges as before," "And to Jerusalem your city you will return with mercy" – and most importantly: "Soon you will cause the plant of your servant David to grow"!
