Rav Dov Begonis Head of Yeshivat Machon Meir in Jerusalem
On Tisha B’Av, it was decreed that our ancestors, those who were freed from bondage in Egypt, would not enter the Land of Israel. The decree and its cause left a lasting imprint for generations, as our Sages said: “‘And the people wept that night’ (Numbers 14:1) - that night was Tisha B’Av. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: You cried for no reason, thus I will establish for you a reason to cry for generations” (Taanit 29a). Indeed, on Tisha B’Av throughout the generations until this very day, the people of Israel sit on the ground, reciting dirges with great weeping and sorrow over the destruction, the exile, and the calamities that befell our nation.
Why was the first crying of the generation of the wilderness called “a crying for nothing”? Because, in truth, they had no reason to cry. After all, God loves Israel. He brought us out of Egypt with signs and wonders and gave us the Torah at Mount Sinai. We are likened to a beloved bride, and God to a husband and a loving father. “You have loved us with an everlasting love,” and out of His great love He is leading us to the Land of Israel, the chosen and beloved people to the chosen and beloved Land. “For the Lord has chosen Zion, He has desired it for His dwelling. For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His treasure.”
But the Spies, in their betrayal of the Land of Israel, sowed discord between the lovers. So much so that the Generation of the Wilderness said, “Because the Lord hated us, He brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us” (Deuteronomy 1:27). And regarding this it is said: “And in this matter you do not believe in the Lord your God” (Deut. 1:32).
“In this matter” - that God loves you and will fulfill His promise to bring you into the Land, you do not believe (according to Rashi). And where there is no love, there is certainly no faith. It is no wonder, then, that the people cried that night, weeping for no reason. They imagined that God hated them, but in truth, He loves them, and loves us, forever. It is like a woman who imagines that her husband hates her, betrays her, and seeks to harm her, though he is loving and faithful. Surely she cries bitterly for naught.
What led the Spies to defame the Land and cause death to themselves and their entire generation? The Ramchal explains: “From their fear that their honor would be diminished upon entering the Land” (Mesillat Yesharim, Trait of Cleanliness, end of Chapter 11). Pride and the pursuit of honor caused the Spies to detach themselves from the Land and to sow discord between Israel and their Father in Heaven.
As of now, we must rectify the sin of the Spies and of the Generation of the Wilderness by canceling the cause of our ancestors’ baseless weeping. Therefore we must increase love and faith, instilling in our hearts that God truly loves us, as we pray daily: “And brings a redeemer to their children’s children for His Name’s sake, with love.” Not only must we believe in God’s love for us, but we must cancel, as noted, the root cause of the people’s crying - the sin of the Spies who sowed division between us and our Father in Heaven through their desire to detach themselves from the Land of Israel out of a lust for authority and honor.
Even today, we must weep bitterly that there are those among us who wish to separate from parts of our living Land. After all, the Land of Israel is like a mother to us, and a mother, one does not sell or give away!
Who would not shed tears upon hearing that someone wants to sell his mother?! On the contrary, we must nullify the very thought of dividing our beloved Land and handing it over, Heaven forbid, to a foreign nation. We must strengthen our faith and love for our people, our Land, and our Torah, by holding fast to every part of our Land with our fingernails and defending it with self-sacrifice.
This is a great rectification of the sin of the Spies. And for our brothers and sisters still lingering in the lands of the Gentiles, we must let them know of the great beauty of the Land, its treasures, and its blessings to all who embrace her; and we must do all we can to make their Aliyah and absorption be as smooth and pleasant as can be, just as Machon Meir has been doing for young olim for some fifty years.
And stemming from this, the day will not be far off when we will merit to see how the days of fasting and mourning are transformed “into joy and gladness and cheerful festivals -therefore love truth and peace” (Zechariah 8:19).