Destruction & Godly Awareness

A Sacred Time – Tammuz #7

The month of Tammuz is a special time to mourn the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, the holy temple in Jerusalem. The Talmud tells us that this especially refers to the destruction of our da’at, or awareness of G-d. This kind of destruction wasn’t only caused by the Babylonians or the Romans; any perceived injustice on the communal or individual level that disrupts our serenity and conscious connection with G-d is a manifestation of the destroyed Beit Hamikdash.

Reb Nosson, z”l, was so distressed by the decline of emunah, faith, in the post-Enlightenment age that he could barely articulate it. He wrote: “I can only express my bitterness over this disaster during chatzot, the prayers that mourn the loss of the Beit Hamikdash that I recite every night after midnight and after midday during the three weeks before Tisha B’Av. The special kinot, the laments, for Tisha B’Av also speak the pain that’s within me.”

We all have things that hold us back from forging a genuine connection to G-d. Now is the time to release ourselves from such bondage.

Frustration over failures of various proportions blight my ability to perceive G-d’s kindness in every moment of life. I may not find myself in the midnight lament or kinot which assisted Reb Nosson but I can and should express whatever is bothering me in heartfelt prayer.

G-d of compassion! Help me see Your miracles in every instant of my life. Let me perceive Your
kindness and love despite my failings. Free me from the bonds of my frustrations…because they keep me from You!