Reflection on Historical Jewish Sovereignty

It is hard for us Jews to understand what a rare historical window we are living in,

something we did not have during the destruction of the two Temples.

Friends, Tisha B'Av is approaching,

and this is an event that concerns each and every one of us.

This is the date on which both of our Temples,

which stood for about a thousand years, a thousand years of sovereignty.

Understand, the Temple is not a religious matter.

The Temple was the symbol of the nation's sovereignty in its land.

And both of our Temples, our sovereignty,

our sovereignty as a nation in our land, were destroyed on Tisha B'Av.

In both cases, we were a state unable to defend itself on its own.

This was also the story with the Babylonians,

where we were literally their vassal state,

we had no military power to stand against them.

And also in the case of the Romans, we were no match for them militarily,

we had no ability to defend ourselves on our own.

And that is exactly what has changed.

Understand what an amazing generation we live in today, what a privilege we have,

that today we have

a state and the ability to defend ourselves on our own.

Tisha B'Av comes to remind us both to appreciate this, and to make

sure that we will never

return to another reality where we are unable to defend ourselves on our own.