These days are bleak. Tisha B’Av, the saddest day on the calendar, is almost upon us. We are in mourning. But do we even understand what we are mourning? Shouldn’t we first internalize how terrible the golus is and then mourn the churban? Truthfully, in today’s climate, perhaps it is not so difficult.
Yes, we all know that the Yidden have suffered in golus for nearly 2,000 years. Yes, the umos ha’olam have tortured us through pogroms, holocausts, and so much more. But today, after the most recent nationwide tzarah of October 7th, that knowledge has been cemented in blood. Think about what Yidden went through on that day and what some hostages are still suffering. Think about the fact that Jews anywhere in the world are not safe. “From the River to the Sea,” “We Hate Israel,” and “We Hate Jews” are slogans that are considered “normal” and mainstream in many quarters. Democratic strategists and pundits state that Vice President Harris shouldn’t pick a certain running mate because he is Jewish and it will cost her votes. Whether it is true or not is irrelevant. The very fact that such talk is acceptable in America today points to a sea change in attitude.
Yes, golus is very much with us.
In addition, our nation has suffered spiritually. The spiritual nisyonos in this generation are the result of golus. Haskalah, the Reform movement, assimilation, the spiritual pitfalls of too much information through technology, too much materialism, and the plague of machlokes have led to the loss of so many precious Yidden who have nebach turned their backs on Yiddishkeit.
There is much to mourn during these sad days. Yes, these are sad days, and yet, they are full of unique opportunities to truly bond with Hashem.
Huh? How can that be?
The Lesson in the Name
In keeping with a famous proverb about Jews, I will now answer that question with a question I once heard from an adam gadol. He asked: Why is this month, this saddest month, called Chodesh Av? What kind of name is Av?
He explained that, indeed, these are very sad days. Chazal teach us and the Shulchan Aruch paskens that when the month of Av arrives, we have to minimize simcha because of the churban. Nevertheless, he explained that the name of the month itself is here to teach us a very important lesson. What is that lesson?
The name of the month is Av, which means father. What do we know about a father? A father always remains a father, no matter what happens. Even when there is a churban, even when we experience terrible, unspeakable tzaros, suffering, and pain, our Father still remains our Father. His love for us does not become less even when He has no choice but to deal with us with the middas hadin.
The Gemara in Maseches Brachos teaches that when Hashem was forced to bring the churban upon us, he said, “Oy to my children, woe to my children; because of their sins, I was forced to destroy My house, burn My sanctuary, and exile them among the nations… Woe to children who have been banished from their Father’s table…”
What do we see from this Gemara? We see that despite everything, Hashem still calls us His children, considers us His children, and is still our Father, with a father’s love for us, the burning love that every father has for his child. He is always our Av, and we are always His children.
So, He is our Father…but we are still in golus. How can we be mesakein (fix) the reasons for the churban and access that powerful rachamim of our Av, our Father?
A Correlation Between Korbanos and Hoda’ah
To gain some insight, let us analyze two particular brachos and their sequence in the brachos of Shemoneh Esrei and see why the Anshei Knesses Hagedolah, when they instituted the actual nusach of Shemoneh Esrei, placed each brocha in a specific order, as taught in Maseches Megillah.
The Gemara asks: What is the connection between the brocha of the avodah (Retzei), where we beg Hashem to restore the avodah in the Bais Hamikdosh and plead that we should have the zechus to again bring korbanos to Him, and the subsequent brocha of Modim?
The brocha of the avodah ends with the powerful words of “Vesechezena eineinu,” where we beg Hashem, “Our eyes shall see Your return to Tzion… Please, bring us Moshiach.” Right after that, we each bow and say Modim with an overflowing heart.
What is Modim? Modim is the brocha – or, perhaps better put, the avodah – of thanking and of gratitude.
The Gemara explains the connection between the avodah of korbanos and the avodah of gratitude: “When there is avodah, it comes along with thanksgiving. As the posuk in Tehillim says: ‘Whoever sacrifices a korban todah honors Me.’”
From the fact that the posuk puts the word “sacrifice,” which refers to a korban, next to the word todah, we learn that bringing a korban arouses feelings of thanks. Rashi explains that hoda’ah , appreciation, is an avodah, and that is why, right after the brocha of avodah, we recite Modim.
But Modim Does Not Include Thanks for Korbanos!
Still, if one looks at the tefillah of Modim, he will find that we thank Hashem for many things, but there is no reference to korbanos, no thanks given for the korbanos.
However, in the Modim Derabbonon, the Modim tefillah that we say in shul during chazoras hashatz while the chazzan is saying Modim, there is a different nusach. In that Modim, we begin by thanking Hashem for all the good He does for us: “That You have given us life and You continuously keep us alive…” The tefillah then concludes with a request for the Bais Hamikdosh, the avodah, and Moshiach: “May You gather us from our exiles to the courtyards of Your sanctuary.”
The first Modim, the one that every person says daily in Shemoneh Esrei, appears to be the Modim for the time of golus when we don’t have korbanos, while the second Modim, the Modim Derabbonon, is a tefillah for the future, for the geulah, for the Bais Hamikdosh.
So, we end the tefillah of Retzei with a fervent plea for Hashem to bring Moshiach and the Bais Hamikdosh, and then, despite our still being in golus, we progress to thanking Hashem for all the brachos that He gives us.
The message is clear. Yes, there are things that we want and need. Certainly, if Hashem grants them to us, we must thank Him from the deepest part of our hearts. Nevertheless, even when He does not grant our wish, we still have so much for which to thank Him. We should continue thanking Him and thinking about all the countless tovos that He has done and continues to do for us. Let our hearts soar with thanks even if there are things that we still need and still want so badly. It is not a contradiction at all.
The Power of Appreciation
Perhaps there is an additional lesson, a lesson that if we thank Hashem during golus, those very thanks empower us to be able to ask Hashem for the Bais Hamikdosh and for an end to this long golus.
It is for that reason that we first say the regular Modim. When we say the first Modim with sincere hoda’ah, sincere appreciation, it empowers us with the ability to beg Hashem even more fervently for the Bais Hamikdosh in the Modim Derabbonon.
Now, let us circle back to the period of the Three Weeks, Nine Days, and Tisha B’Av, and their connection to the tefillah of Modim.
Of course, we must beg Hashem for Moshiach and mourn the churban. Of course, we must realize how much we need Moshiach and how much we need the avodah and the korbanos. Yet, we must simultaneously never forget to thank Hashem from the bottom of our hearts for what we do have.
In the zechus of our recognizing all the tovos that He does do for us, we will merit the ultimate tovah, the ultimate good expressed at the end of the Modim Derabbonon: “May You gather us from our exiles to the courtyards of Your sanctuary to observe Your laws and do Your will, and to serve You wholeheartedly, for we are thankful to You.”
Amein, kein yehi ratzon.
