Tuesday, July 24, 2007

The Waning Minutes of Tisha B'Av 5767

One of the most remarkable customs on Tisha B'Av is that we avoid prayers of consolation until the afternoon. Thus, according to the Ashkenazic usage, the prayer of consolation (נחם) is not inserted into the prayers until Mincha. The reason, declares the Rema, is because Titus didn't set fire to the Temple until late on Tisha B'Av afternoon. God had decided to 'pour out his wrath on wood and stones' and to save the Jewish People. It's a remarkable statement.

In his unforgettable Tisha B'Av shiurim in Boston, the Rav זצ"ל, pointed out that this expressed God's commitment to us, as a People, to preserve us for another day; to offer us the opportunity to do Teshuvah, to rebuild the Land of Israel, to rebuild the Temple.

The comfort, the consolation is the our covenant with God cannot be broken and we willnot break it.

It is not true that Amor vincit amnia.

It is true that Amor Dei vincit omnia.

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