The Talmud, Shabbat 119b lists many different reasons for the
destruction of Jerusalem. Unfortunately many of the same mistakes are still
happening today in respect to the coronavirus.

Below are three examples from the Talmud:

Rav Hamnuna said: Jerusalem was
destroyed because schoolchildren were interrupted from studying Torah. As it
says in Yirmiyahu 6:11: “And I am filled with wrath of God, I cannot contain
it, pour it onto the infants in the street and onto the gathering of youths
together, for men and women alike will be captured, the elderly along with
those in advanced years.”

When the destruction took place, the
children were not in school, they were in the streets and old and young were
attacked equally, the vulnerable were not spared.

Ulla said: Jerusalem was destroyed because
people had no shame. As we read in Yirmiyahu 6:15: “They acted shamefully; they
have performed abominations, yet they neither were ashamed nor did they know
humiliation. Therefore, they will fall among the fallen, they will fail at the
time that I punish them, said God.”

They were so used to transgressing,
that they no longer felt guilty or ashamed.

Rav Amram, son of Rabbi Shimon bar
Abba, said that Rabbi Shimon bar Abba said that Rabbi Hanina taught: Jerusalem
was destroyed only because the people did not rebuke one another, as it is
stated in Eicha 1:6: “Her ministers were like stags that found no pasture, and
they walked without strength before their pursuer.” Just as this stag turns its
head towards the other’s tail when it grazes and each one feeds on its own, so
too the Jewish people in that generation lowered their faces to the ground and
did not rebuke one another.

Each person was looking out only for
themselves. They were afraid to say something to anyone else.

How do these examples from the
Talmud manifest themselves today?

Many educators and rabbis feel that
the schools should remain open no matter what. This is a big mistake. Students
and teachers who did not show symptoms of the coronavirus went to school and
ended up infecting their entire school community and beyond. The schools at
this point are not set up for social distancing. Until the schools are properly
organized, they must move to remote learning in the form of Zoom classes, educational
videos and reading and writing assignments. Cancelling in person school does not
mean eliminating the education of our children. We are not leaving our children
to hang out on the streets. As we see in Yirmiyahu, people of all ages are
vulnerable.  Right now, health must come
first.

A large portion of the population is trying to follow the rules of
wearing masks, not congregating, keeping the number of participants at life
cycle events within the permitted numbers etc. Yet others, including elected
officials don’t follow the rules properly and even flaunt the fact that they
don’t follow them. This includes politicians not wearing their masks properly,
not going into isolation when they were in contact with a person who tested
positive or attending gatherings at a time when they were forbidden. To not
follow the rules and even flaunt the fact that you are above the law is very
similar to Yirmiyahu’s description that they acted shamefully yet were not
ashamed.

Just as people did not rebuke each other in the days leading up to the
destruction of the Temple, so too we have this issue now. Friends need to put
on the pressure that it is not ok to take off your mask. If invited, they must
insist that they will not participate in gatherings that are not permitted by
the Ministry of Health. The only way that we will be able to get through this
pandemic is if we look out for each other and not ignore what people are doing
wrong because we are afraid to say anything. We can’t be like Yirmiyahu’s
description in Eicha of stags with their heads in the ground.

Unfortunately, you will find secular Israelis who blame the spread of
the coronavirus on the Charedi population and vice versa. Instead of pointing
fingers, each group has to take a good look inward and work to improve their
own communities.

A few  nights ago, I drove past a
Charedi wedding which did not follow the restrictions and I heard that there
was a secular Bat Mitzvah with way too many guests including many prominent
entertainers. Rather than attack others, we much work to improve the situation
from within.

I am happy to hear that the Karlin-Stoliner Rebbe told his followers to
be even stricter than the Ministry of Health’s regulations. He said that all
educational institutions should close for now and go back to learning remotely,
everyone should wear masks properly, avoid attending celebrations etc.

May the three weeks where we mourn the destruction of Jerusalem be a
reminder that we must learn from the mistakes of our ancestors. Only by working
together will we be able to fight this plague.

The Mishna in Taanit 26b outlines five tragic events that befell the Jewish people on the 17^th of Tamuz:

1. The Tablets were broken- When Moshe descended Mt. Sinai with the Tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written and saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf, he smashed the tablets at the foot of the mountain.
2. The Tamid Offering was discontinued- There is a dispute in the Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud) as to whether this occurred during the siege of Jerusalem by the Greeks during the Second Temple era or during the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans just before the destruction of the Second Temple.
3. The City Wall was breached- Jerusalem’s walls were breached by the invading Roman army three weeks before the destruction of the Second Temple.
4. Apostumos burned the Torah- Apostumos, a Greek general burned the Torah that was kept in the Temple court. Written by Ezra the scribe, this Torah was the most authoritative copy of the Torah.
5. Apostumos placed an idolatrous image in the Temple during the Greek occupation Of Israel in the Second Temple era.

The events that are happening in Israel today are painful reminders of past tragedies. The Jewish population in the Galilee is living under siege from Katyusha rockets being launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah. The Jews in Southern Israel are under attack by rockets being launched from Gaza.

We pray that with God’s help the present military actions of the Israeli Defense Forces in Lebanon and Gaza will be successful and that peace will be restored to Israel.

It is our hope that The 17^th of Tamuz will transform from a day of mourning to a day of joy.