NAALEH.COM and YU TORAH Destructive Divisiveness the 3 Weeks By: Mrs. Shira Smiles

As we approach the “three weeks”, the period also known as bein hametzarim, between the narrow straits, that marks the period of mourning beginning with the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem and ending with the destruction of our Holy Temples, we must ask ourselves if our mourning is sincere. We go through the rituals of mourning, abstaining from weddings and haircuts for example, but do we internalize the emotion, do we truly feel what we have lost, or, as Rabbi Yaakov Emden illustrates, are we like a young child who knows he has lost a parent but continues to play without understanding the extent of his loss. If we are so distant from feeling the true extent of the loss of the Beit Hamikdosh, our problem is even greater, for we are experiencing a loss of self, a personal churban, for Hashem wanted us to build a sanctuary not only as a physical structure but also as a sanctuary within ourselves so that He could dwell within us. This personal loss needs to be mourned as much as the national loss of the Beit Hamikdosh. click here for Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein.