Rabbi Rael Blumenthal

A number of years ago, I was teaching Hilchos Purim, discussing the halacha of when to read the Megillah if you’re traveling between Yerushalaim – a walled city – and anywhere else – unwalled cities.

At one point, a student raised their hand and asked: “What happens if you don’t read the Megillah?”

“Um...I don’t know,” I responded. “I guess you didn’t do a mitzvah.”

“But Rebbe, what happens?” It's a good question, but I was at a loss. “I have no idea. I don’t know how Hashem deals with that – it's up to Him.”

The student replied, “No, that’s not what I meant. I want to know, if I miss the Megillah – I didn’t hear it all of Purim – is there a make up date? Is there anyway to fix it?”

As far as the Halacha is concerned, the answer of course is no. Amongst the harshest realities of our existence, in almost every aspect of our lives, we don’t get do-overs.

The Baal HaTanya in his Igeres HaTeshuva (פרק א׳) writes that one can never fully atone for failure to perform a positive mitzvah, much like one can never catch a bus that they missed. (For this reason עשה דוחה לא תעשה). You can always get another bus, but that first opportunity is lost forever.

As the American author Kurt Vonnegut once said:

“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, “It might have been.”

Missed Opportunities in Jewish History

The tragedy of missed opportunities is intensified and compounded when their is so much greatness latent in the moment that is missed. These days are commemorated in our calendar, at this time of year.

The day we call the 17th of Tammuz was the day that the Roman legion breached the walls of Yerushalayim, signaling the beginning of the end for a Jewish Capital city for almost 2000 years. Yet Chazal tell us that the tragedy of the day began many centuries earlier:

When the Jewish people were getting ready to build the golden calf, Aharon HaKohen tried to delay them. As the calf was completed, he stalled the people saying “חג לה׳ מחר” – Tomorrow will be a festival for Hashem. Seemingly, his hope was to delay so that Moshe would return in time, and the festival for the calf would be cancelled.

Rav Chaim Vital writes (ליקוטי תורה כי תשא ד״ה ויאמר חג) that:

Aharon HaKohen meant exactly what he said. The next day should have been a Chag for Hashem. On that day, Moshe was to descend with the Luchos – the symbol of the eternal relationship with God and His people. That was the power and uniqueness of the day. It was a moment that should have been commemorated as one of the greatest in the Jewish calendar. And one day it will be.

The power of the 17th of Tammuz, and indeed, these three weeks, returns to challenge us in each generation.

The Walls Were Always Coming Down

Chazal (פסיקתא רבתי א׳) explain that one day Yerushalayim will expand throughout Eretz Yisrael, and that Eretz Yisrael will expand throughout the world. In this way all of humanity will be able to experience the Kedusha of Yerushalayim.

Perhaps this is challenging to imagine practically, but at the very least, Chazal are describing a world where the walls of Yerushalayim have come down. A world where Yiddishkeit is not so defensive and apologetic; where Torah is celebrated and shared.

The Imrei Noam of Dzikov (מועדים ח״א ר״ח תמוז) explains that the walls were always going to come down in Tammuz. The only question is what happens when they do. Do we allow the enemy to invade, or do we reach out with confidence and conviction? Do we expand Jewish life, or shrink it?

The Greatest (and scariest) Opportunity in History

As Torah observant Jews, we are often quick to bemoan the “openness” of our generation. Walls that were so obvious and clear throughout human history have come down. People can think, speak and do things that were impossible to consider in previous decades. It feels like the walls have been breached.

But we should not forget, there are other walls that have fallen as well. The walls preventing Klal Yisrael from returning to Eretz Yisrael has all but disappeared. We can finally return home. The walls of language, skill and access to Torah have been pulverized with a proliferation of Seforim and online shiurim. We can learn more, and in greater depth than ever before. And the vasts distance between friends and family are closed with the press of a button – a call, a text, a conversation on FaceTime. We are more able to build and maintain relationships than ever before.

In the deepest way, the walls between us and Hashem have never been so easily traversed.

The Baal Shem Tov explained pasuk in Eicha: כל רודפיה השיגוה בין המצרים – All her pursuers reached her in the narrow places.

משיג השכינה ביותר בימים אלו Anyone who wants, can find Hashem's Presense even more in these days.

If we are more vulnerable, then our access to Hashem must be easier as well.

Whether we like it or not, Hashem has placed us in a generation in which all the walls have come down. Which means that He is asking us one simple question: Are we expanding Yerushaliyim outwards, or cowering behind the rubble hoping the enemy doesn't find us?

The Aish Kodesh in his personal diary (צו וזרוז ז׳) writes about the challenge of spiritual growth in a world of openness. He explains that when one is standing in a raging river, there is no option of standing still.

בלתי אם יאזור את מתניו תמיד בתורתו ועבודתו להוסיף ולעלות, לא ינוח ולא ישקוט, רק אל על יסע. The only way to grow is to strengthen ourselves in Torah and Avodah – relentlessly. Not to relax and be quiet, but to continue moving upwards and onwards.

Make no mistake, these are the only two options. Either we conquer our world with Kedusha, or risk being overrun by the alternative. When the walls come down, there is no option of pretending things are the same. They are not.

Our most destructive Yetzer Hara is to continue from day to day procrastinating important activities and decisions. Wasting hours, failing to harness great moments, not taking advantage of that which is in front of our eyes. But these moments will not return.

We daven every Shabbos before taking out the Sefer Torah that Hashem should rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim:

הֵיטִיבָה בִרְצונְךָ אֶת צִיּון. תִּבְנֶה חומות יְרוּשָׁלָיִם:

Do the good that You desire in Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem...

We are anxiously waiting for the day that Hashem returns boundaries and borders to all things sacred. But in our generation, today and especially in these three weeks, we have the chance today to reach across all the boundaries – personal, interpersonal and spiritual. The walls are down. The gates are open. Now is our chance to make a move.