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Today we've begun the Tkufa of the three weeks, beginning of course with Shiva Aser Betamas. On Shiva Aser Betamas, the walls of Yerushalayim were breached, which ultimately culminated in the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. The Gemara in Yerushalayim says not only was this true in the times of the Romans in the second Beis HaMikdash, but also in the times of Nebuchadnezzar in the first Beis HaMikdash. Shiva Aser Betamas is the day on which the walls are breached. What's the significance of commemorating the breaching of the walls of Yerushalayim? Why not simply commemorate the ultimate destruction of the Beis HaMikdash? There's something that we need to learn from this notion of the breaking down of the Chaymas Yerushalayim. Today, we live in a world where there's a tremendous debate about borders. In America, for example, there's a question, should we have open borders? Should we not have open borders? Even if we don't have open borders, how should we deal with illegal immigrants? Obviously, I'm not going to get into the politics, but I find it fascinating that in this Tkufa,
right before Moshiach comes, the notion of borders are being questioned. These were things that were always taken for granted. And yet, somehow today, we have to ask ourselves, why do we need to have borders at all? That's a question that people are asking. So it's a good question. Why do we need to have borders? From a Jewish perspective, we're all a chelak el kamimau. We all come from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. There's a oneness to all of creation. So why shouldn't we just embrace the oneness of everything? Why should we have any differences at all? Why should there be walls? Why should there be barriers that separate one? Or from another? And the answer to that question is that while of course we should understand that we're all one, but there is dignity in difference. There is value in separation. It's not an accident that we make Havdalah, which separates one thing from another, because there's something called Kodesh and there's something called Chol. And we need to appreciate that each one plays a particular role in the service of Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
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When we have no separation, when we have no differences, we've also lost the uniqueness of our own self. And that is a terrible tragedy, because even though we're all one, we are all unique. So like different paintings of a master artist, each one of course is an expression of the artist, and yet each one is different, each one is nuanced, each one is special, each one sends its own message out into the world. And when we lose that, When we're just focused on the oneness, we lose our sense of self. To me, that's where sinas chinam comes from. Sinas chinam comes from the fact that we've lost our own sense of self, our own sense of uniqueness, our own sense of mission. And so what happens is that when we've lost our own sense of self, we'll breach the borders of somebody else and we'll start to hate them. We weren't invited to participate in a relationship with them. Why do we hate them so much?
Sinas chinam is not, I'm in a relationship with someone, they hurt me, and now I'm upset at them. That sin makes sense. It might be destructive, but at least it makes sense. Sinas chinam is when I look at somebody who, the Chira has done nothing to me. And yet somehow I've invited myself into their world and I have feelings about them. Well, where did it come from? What allowed you to breach those walls, to break those boundaries? It's because we lost our own sense of boundaries. We lost our own Chomos Yerushalayim, so to speak. When we're focused so much on our connectivity, we could, Chas V'shalom, lose the dignity that comes with recognizing that we're all different. This is the challenge of the three weeks. We lost the Beis HaMikdash because of Sina Schinam. How do we balance recognizing that every one of us is a Chilik El Kamimal and recognizing that we're all different? Because if we're going to have a Havas Schinam, if we're going to love somebody, because, just stop, for no reason at all,
it's only going to come from the fact that we're all part of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. So L'Chairet should come from our oneness. But the truth is, it doesn't only come from our oneness. Ahavas chinam also comes from the fact that we recognize that each one of us is different, that each one of us is bringing something unique to the table. Only when we appreciate the boundaries and the borders that each one of us occupy, the unique mission that we were all created for, can we truly come to ahavas chinam, to rectify the sinas chinam that destroyed the Bais HaMikdash. So it makes sense that on Shiva Asur Batamas, we should commemorate the tragic breach of the walls of Yerushalayim, the days where we lost our sense of dignity, lost our sense of unique mission, when the walls come crumbling down, ultimately it results in the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash, the ultimate sense of self.
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