Dvorim – Tisha B’Av -  2015

 

·        Nazir 32a – Mishnah- Jews from Chutz L’Aretz came to Yerushalayim to bring their Karbonot at the end of their Naziris. 

·        They found much to their surprise that the Bais Hamikdosh had been destroyed.

·        They now could not end their Naziris – there was no place to bring their Karbonot.

 

·        Nacham Hamede said to them, if you had known that the Bais Hamikdosh would have been destroyed, would you have become Nazirim?.

·        They said No, and he Matired their Naziris – like Matiring a Neder, goes Lemafrayach, retroactively, from the beginning, as if they had never made a Neder, uproots it, and as if they had never been Nazirim.

·        This is called a Pesach – an opening – meaning that they Neder had been made Be Teot – under a false premise.

 

·        In the Mishnah, the Chachamim say to Nachum Hamede that his decision about matering their Neder was wrong.

·        They said that the Matir of the Neder can’t be a result of Nolad, something totally unexpected.

 

·        This is discussed in Nedarim 64a – the Mishnah there explains the parameters of what is considered Nolad.

·        This is how the Artscroll explains Nolad – “Nolad doesn’t work.  For we must then assume that even if at the time of the neder the vower would have considered the possibility of the new development, and he still would have gone through with the neder for he would have deemed it unlikely that it would actually occur.”

·        In other words, he would have considered a totally farfetched possibility – not in the realm of possibility.

 

·        In this context, it’s saying that the idea of the destruction of the Bais Hamikdosh was considered so completely unlikely, that it would not have kept them from making the Neder of Naziris – even if the possibility had been brought to their attention.

 

·        That it would have been considered so unlikely, so out of the blue, that the possibility would not have been a factor in their decision to become a Nazir.

·        The Gemorah discussion in Nazir 32a at this point is then amazing.

·        It quotes Yirmihanu 7:4 that says Haichal Hashem three times.

·        This means that there would be 3 Batei Hamikdosh

·        So, the Gemorah is saying, it was common knowledge that the 2nd Bais Hamikdosh would be destroyed, because they knew there would be a 3rd Bais Hamikdosh.

·        Therefore, it was not such a far-fetched possibility – people were actually expecting it, and it is therefore not Nolad.

 

·        The Gemorah responds - it was still unexpected – because people didn’t know WHEN the 2nd Bais Hamikdosh would be destroyed.

 

·        The Gemorah now answers something even more amazing. 

·        It quotes Daniel 9:24 – Daniel wrote this at the beginning of the Golus Bavel after the first Churban. He says this period would last 7 times 70 years – 490 years. 

·        We know that the first Golus lasted 70 years. 

·        So everyone knew that the 2nd Bais Hamikdosh would stand for exactly 420 years.

·        Which is how long is stood.

·        Therefore, it was not so farfetched, and therefore it was not Nolad, not so out of the blue.

 

·        But, answers the Gemorah, they didn’t know what day in the 420th year it would occur.

·        So it was still considered totally out of the blue, and therefore still nolad.

·        And that’s where the Gemorah remains.

 

·        It’s saying that people knew that the Bais Hamikdosh would be destroyed, and they knew what year.

·        But they weren’t thinking about it at all.

·        They became Nazirim, oblivious to the idea of a second Churban – even though they knew what year it would be – but since they didn’t know what DAY, it was the furthest thing from their mind.

 

·        The Mussar for us is extraordinary.

·        Something can be right in front of us – but if it’s not shoved right in front of our eyes, we don’t notice it, don’t consider it, we don’t make it a factor in our calculations, our Cheshbonot.

 

·        The Gemorah in Megilla 14a has a similar message.

·        It says that over many generations 48 Neviium and 7 Neviot had implored the Jews to do Tshuva.

·        But during all those years – including the years leading up to the first Churban, and the first Churban itself and the Golus to Bavel…

·        The emotional and eloquent words of the Neviim and Neviot mostly fell on deaf years, and had little effect.

·        It was only when Achashverus gave the ring of power to Haman that they suddenly woke up in a spirit of tremendous Tshuva.

·        That was because they all realized that if they didn’t wake up now, that the game was up.

 

·        There’s a similar message involving the city of Yericho.

·        After Yehoshua destroyed Yericho, he made a curse – In Yehoshua 6:26 -  that whoever would lay the foundation of Yericho, his oldest son would die.

·        Then if he persisted, when he finished building the city and set up the gates, his youngest son would die.

·        530 years later, Chiel from the town of Bethel, laid the foundation of Yericho.

·        And sure enough, his oldest son Aviram died. 

·        But he kept on building.

·        And sure enough, when he put up the gates, his youngest son Seguv died.

·        The Meforshim said that people knew about this curse of Yehoshua.

·        When his first son died, it was obviously the result of the curse.

·        But he kept on building – until the fateful day that the full curse was fulfilled.

 

·        This is such Mussar for us!

·        People can visit friends or family dying of lung cancer in a cancer ward, and then right after light up a cigarette.

·        A niece of a Rabbi I know was allergic to sesame seeds. She bought a sesame bun, took out the sesame seeds – and ate it – had an allergic attack, and died.

·        Jabotinsky in 1936 came to Eastern Europe to tell people to get out, but almost no one listened to him.

·        In 1938 he told Polish Jews that they were living on the edge of a volcano, but few people  listened to him.

 

·        In Bechuchosai, Hashem tells us Im Bechushosai Taylachu – if you follow in my paths, you will have total victory over your enemies.

·        And we know the converse, Chas VeShalom is also true.

·        We all know it – but is it really in our consciousness?

 

·        We’re all like sleepwalkers.  Hashem’s call to Tshuva has always been loud and clear.

·        Are we listening?

·        Collectively, do we the Jewish people see the effects of our current actions? 

·        Or will the events of the future be Nolad, totally unexpected?

·        May we wake up!