After the establishment of the state, the question was often raised whether it was still appropriate to commemorate the days of mourning for the destruction and exile. Some believed that the exile was already behind us. Here we are, back in our country, and it is being rebuilt and flourishing. Children play in the streets of Jerusalem, and old men and women sit in its courtyards. So, what is the fasting and mourning of the seventeenth of Tammuz and the ninth of Av about?
The years passed and the realization slowly crept in that the concept of Diaspora is not limited to the question of whether the Jewish people live in Europe, Morocco, Yemen, America, or the Land of Israel.
When we ask God to "break the yoke of the Gentiles from off our necks," this "yoke" can weigh us down even while we are sitting in Jerusalem. Sadly, we all see how deeply the exile and the fear of "what the Gentiles will say" are still stuck in the hearts of our decision-makers.
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Exile is the reason
The exile, in its inner essence, is a general spiritual state that is not normal. Since the destruction, the Jewish people in particular and the world in general have been in a disturbed, wrong, abnormal state. The fact that sometimes it seems to us that everything is benign is itself part of the disruptions of the exile, that darkness seems to be light and bitter to be sweet.
The physical exile of the people of Israel from the Land of Israel is only one of the manifestations of the overall exile. The essence of exile is the concealment of the truth and the distortion of things. Since there is exile, the people of Israel are exiled from their land; the Temple is destroyed; there is anti-Semitism; evil is increasing and good is decreasing. The spiritual exile is the cause, and all physical manifestations are the result.
The spiritual exile and the concealment of the truth result in most of the human potential being directed into negative rather than positive channels. Because of the exile, there is so much division of hearts and gratuitous hatred. The destruction of the home is why a life of Torah and mitzvot can be perceived as a burden, instead of being the most natural and pleasant thing. All of these are expressions of that exile.
The source of all our troubles is the exile that began some two thousand years ago and that has not yet come to an end. That is why we engrave the consciousness of exile so deeply in our souls. For only when we remember and experience well the depth of the exile do we know what the true essence of the Jewish people is and what great destiny awaits them.
Grief builds hope
The days of the Egyptians serve as a shining beacon for the entire year. These three weeks are a reminder that we must memorize every day and every hour. A Jew must instill in his soul the recognition that the current situation is exile, a situation that is unnatural and abnormal. A Jew must yearn for God, the Holy One, to reveal himself in the world and for redemption to come.
The emphasis in our prayers is not only on the return of the people to Zion, but on the return of the Blessed One to dwell among us. "And to Jerusalem, your city, in mercy You will return."" – We ask for the return of the Creator to Jerusalem. In every prayer we beg: "And our eyes shall see On your return "To Zion with mercy" – the expectation is for the return of the Divine Presence to dwell in Zion. This is the redemption we long for, and therefore we mourn and regret as long as we have not received it, and mourning and sorrow build the hope for the redemption that is coming soon in our days.
