Open Your Eyes! We've Returned!

At Tisha B'Av, in Tefilas Nachem, we describe Yerushalayim as being mourning without his children, desolate without inhabitant.

But let’s be honest: Yerushalayim is packed with hundreds of thousands of Yidden!

So, how can we stand before the Ribbono Shel Olam and say something that is completely sheker?!

The pasuk says: דֹּבְרֵי שָׁקֶר לֹא יִכּוֹנוּ לְנֶגֶד עֵינָי — “those who speak lies will not stand before My eyes.”

But it’s worse than that!

It's not just a lie.

Hashem has given us Yerushalayim. Yerushalayim is full of Yidden.

And instead of turning to Hashem and saying, "Thank you," we come before Him and say, "it didn’t happen".

That’s the highest level of ingratitude.

What a chutzpah!

So, why are we so blind to the reality?

I think it’s because we have this all-or-nothing view of the Geulah.

We look at geulah as a package deal.

It comes with Mashiach, the Beis HaMikdash, all Jews returning to Eretz Yisrael - at the same time.

So when it doesn’t happen exactly according to our imagined script, we pretend nothing at all has happened.

And that’s a big problem.

Because if we refuse to see that change is happening, we won’t recognize our role in taking the next step.

If we don’t realize that we have returned to Eretz Yisrael, that we have returned to Yerushalayim, and that Har HaBayis B'Yadeinu, then of course it won’t even occur to us that we can build the Beis HaMikdash.

We need to wake up to the reality!

And hopefully, b’ezras Hashem, we will build the Beis HaMikdash B'Mehara B'Yamenu.

Amen.