A short passage from this week’s Parasha is customarily read on the morning of Tisha B’Av, which starts off prophesizing Israel’s eventual corruption and lapse into exile and ends on a high, stressing Hashem’s endless mercy and kindness, never forgetting His beloved people. ⁽¹⁾

וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּ֥ם מִשָׂ֛ם אֶת־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ וּמָצָ֑אתָ כִּ֣י תִדְרְשֶׁ֔נּוּ בְּכָל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכָל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ…כִּ֣י אֵ֤ל רַחוּם֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לֹ֥א יַרְפְּךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א יַשְׁחִיתֶ֑ךָ וְלֹ֤א יִשְׁכַּח֙ אֶת־בְּרִ֣ית אֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לָהֶֽם

From there you will seek Hashem, your God, and you will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul…For Hashem, your God, is a merciful God, He will not abandon you nor destroy you, and He will not forget the covenant of your forefathers that He swore to them” (Deut. 29-31).

Moshe Rabbeinu advises and assures Bnei Yisrael of a foolproof solution to emerge out of any difficult situation, even as tragic as an exile. If one sincerely seeks and pleads to Hashem with all of their heart and soul, it’s guaranteed that they will be delivered from their personal struggles and draw the redemption closer, even if they aren’t worthy of such assistance. ⁽²⁾ As we know, the complete redemption we are all anticipating is an all-encompassing solution to all of the world’s problems. It calls for an elimination of evil, an overflow of goodness, a universal recognition of God’s oneness, and a widespread submission and service of the Creator. ⁽³⁾ In lack of the Temple and the sacred vessels at our disposal during the exile, we can accommodate by bringing our problems directly to Hashem with our hearts and souls regardless of our whereabouts, converting any place we are in the world into a Temple. ⁽⁴⁾  Moreover, one can interpret the above verse to say, “and you will find Hashem when you search within your heart and within yourself.“ The knowledge of the self is an intermediate path for attaining knowledge of the Creator, which is the goal, to create in oneself a sanctuary within where the Divine Presence will rest. ⁽⁵⁾

The Shabbat directly after Tisha Be’Av is entitled, “Shabbat Nachamu”, or “The Shabbat of Comfort and Consolation,” in which we are reminded of Hashem’s infinite compassion, His closeness, and how approachable He is at all times. Once someone asked Rabbi Nosson of Breslov: Seeing that the Mashiach hasn’t yet come, despite all the efforts of all the very great Tzaddikim in past generations, how will he come in these few remaining and much weaker generations? Reb Noson answered with a parable: There was once a city that was well fortified. It was enclosed by a thick stone wall, thought to be impenetrable. A wise king decided to conquer this fortified city. After inspecting the fortifications, he sent his mightiest soldiers to bring down the wall and attack the city. These soldiers fell. The king next sent a wave of less mighty soldiers, then a third wave, and so on. Before long, he had depleted his entire army, and the wall had not fallen. But the king did not give up. Once again, he encircled the city and inspected its walls. He was asked, “How can you expect to capture this city if all your mighty soldiers are gone?” The wise king smiled. “If you look closely, you will see that although the soldiers could not breach the wall, they did succeed in cracking it,” he replied. “It is no longer strong and impenetrable. Now, with even the weak and wounded, I can bring down the wall.” The king then sent his few remaining and weakest soldiers into battle and conquered the city. Reb Noson explains that though they did not succeed in bringing the Mashiach, all the great Tzaddikim of the previous generations did succeed in cracking all the obstacles that stood in the way. Now, though we are weak and don’t have the strength or the power, if we would only make a concerted effort, we could bring down the wall and bring the Mashiach. ⁽⁶⁾

We recited in the prayers of Tisha B’Av, “You destroyed Jerusalem by fire, so too, You rebuild it with fire.” ⁽⁷⁾ Each and every one of us has the power to rebuild the Holy Temple with the fire of our hearts, namely through yearning and pursuing God with intense passion and love. ⁽⁸⁾ Mashiach will come forth from all of our efforts, therefore we must believe in ourselves and do our unique part! ⁽⁹⁾ May we merit to always feel comforted by Hashem’s love and neverending belief in us, break through the walls of our hearts to serve Him favorably, and may we witness the coming of the Mashiach and rebuilding of the Temple speedily in our days. Amen. 

_{(1) Devarim 25-40; (2) Aderet Eliyahu (Ben Ish Chai), Ohr HaChaim; (3) Ramchal Ma’amar Ha’Ikarim; (4) Sforno, Likutei Halachot (Orach Chaim, Hilchot Tzizit, 3:9:1); (5) R’ Itamar Shwartz, Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh (Hakdama), (6) From the Breslov Haggadah; (7) Derived from the verse in Nehemiah (2:17); (8) Rav Avraham Levichaim; (9) Lamentations 4:20, Rav Kook (Shmonah Kvatzim 3:24:1), Sanhedrin 98A.}