“Are we there yet?” This backseat cliché captures one of the greatest challenges of the three weeks.
We are obligated to mourn the loss of the Bais Hamikdash, and to yearn for its return, but we have been doing this for so many years, even centuries, and we have no idea how much longer it will be.
This year we can relate to this challenge in a new way. The strongest single element of the coronavirus pandemic experience has been living with uncertainty. At the end of March life was quickly turned upside down. It took time to digest what was happening, and we were filled with unanswered questions. How is this disease transmitted? Who is most vulnerable? How dangerous is it? What symptoms does it create? Over the past five months many things have changed, but one thing remains- uncertainty. Some of the questions have been answered to an extent; we have a good idea of what can be done safely and how to do it safely. Now the uncertainty lies primarily in how much longer we will be dealing with this; “Are we there yet?” Ohio’s numbers were looking good for quite a while. After the state began to reopen, we held our breath. A few weeks passed and we breathed a sigh of relief as the numbers continued to fall. Just as we were beginning to think we were out of the woods, the numbers started to climb and we had to take a step back.
This week, President Trump held his first COVID-19 press briefing in months. The same refrain remains, “We think, we hope, we’re almost there.” We still don’t know. We have been dealing with this virus in our country for five months and we still don’t really know. Astonishing!
It is very hard to live this way, with so much uncertainty. This is the reality of our exile, which is personified by the mourning of the three weeks.
The megillah that is read on Tisha B’av is Megillas Eichah. Three of the megillah’s five chapters begin with the word eichah. The Midrash points out that three people uttered prophecies using the word Eichah: Moshe in this week’s parsha, the prophet Yishayah in this week’s haftorah, and Yirmiyahu in Megillas Eichah. Clearly, the word Eichah expresses something essential to the three weeks. Eichah is a question, an unanswered question, “How could it be…?” Unanswered questions are one of life’s greatest challenges. This is the challenge of the three weeks.
We have been asking this question again and again throughout our tragic history. Our grandparents and great grandparents asked, “How could this be?” as they rode in cattle cars to the concentration camps. The Jews of Spain asked, “How could this be?” as they packed their bags to leave their entire lives behind. Their grandparents and great-grandparents asked, “How could this be?” as their communities were ravaged by savage crusaders. The Jews of the second Bais Hamikdash asked, “How could this be?” as they watched the Romans burn the Bais Hamikdash to the ground. Yirmiyahu the prophet asked “Eichah? How could this be?” when he witnessed the destruction of the first Bais Hamikdash.
I once heard Rabbi Tzvi Berkowitz, shlit”a, explain that the power to persevere despite unanswered questions is something we inherited from our forefather Avraham Avinu. When Avraham Avinu was commanded to offer his son Yitzchak as a sacrifice to Hashem, he had a question, “How could this be?” To slaughter his only chance of continuing his legacy of monotheism and righteousness? Avraham Avinu was able to follow Hashem’s command despite his unanswered questions in perfect faith. We, and all our ancestors are the children of Avraham Avinu. We have inherited his strength. Generation after generation we are challenged with unanswered questions, but we continue to serve Hashem and place our faith and trust in Him.
The uncertainty that we are experiencing now is a reminder that we are still living through the same long exile of uncertainty. We pray for it to come to an end with our return to Eretz Yisroel and the rebuilding of the Bais Hamikdash. Meanwhile, we muster up the strength of our patriarch Avraham Avinu to place our trust in the one thing that remains certain, that Hashem has a plan and that He is in control.