Miller's Musings Parshas Devorim and Tisha B'Av: All in the Past?

בס''ד

No one likes to be reminded of their past indiscretions.  The ignominy of having your previous wrongdoings reiterated is never a pleasant experience and for one to do so to another, there must be just cause.  In our Parsha Moshe spends a great amount of time reminding the people of their sins throughout their sojourn in the desert.  This requires some thought to understand Moshe’s motive, especially considering that most that remained at this time, were not those that had committed the transgressions that he spoke of, having died before reaching this momentous point in their history.

Recounting someone’s previous sins can serve a number of purposes, not all of which are justifiable.  If however one’s intent is to provoke positive action for those being reminded of the past, then to do so is appropriate and necessary.  The people about to enter the land may have grown complacent with their status, thinking that those who had erred so terribly are long gone and that they are a new breed who would never sink to such levels.  Perhaps Moshe’s intention was to shake them from this way of thinking.  By reviewing the nation’s mistakes he may have been asserting that in essence they are really no different to those who previously erred so tragically, and if they do not act with extreme caution, the mistakes of the past may become the errors of the future. 

Many find Tisha B’Av a challenging day to experience as we should.  If we are honest with ourselves we may conclude that the root cause of this lack of feeling towards what the day means, is because we are actually quite content with the way things are.  Why should we mourn the loss of the Beis Hamikdosh when we see nothing wrong with the status quo? Reb Shimshon Pinkus zt’l explains that the power of Tisha B’Av is in our contemplation of the past and how it informs the future.  We may think that now is a time of peace and tremendous religious freedom, but it was not long ago that people thought in a similar vein only for these ideas to be crushed amid destruction and slaughter.  History has taught us that everything can change in the blink of an eye and Tisha B’Av is here to remind us of this and to instil within us the knowledge that the only true way to bring an end to all suffering is through changing ourselves and the world around us, allowing Hashem to bring the ultimate redemption through the perfection Moshiach will bring.     

May this Shabbos pave the way for our Deliverance and be our last in Exile. 

 

לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם