Parashat Mattot begins with the laws dealing with vows. It is an appropriate subject for this time of year. In just over a month it will be Elul, the month when we begin our preparations for the Yamim Noraim. Even before Elul we, as a community, spend a lot of time looking inward. This week began the “Three Weeks”. These are the three weeks from Shevasar B’Tammuz, the 17th of Tammuz, to Tisha B’Av, our national day of mourning. But even more important, we are told that on Tisha B’Av the Temples were destroyed due to sinat hinam, senseless hatred within our own community. This period is not meant to be a time of complete mourning, but rather a time to look at our history, at our actions as a community, as a people, and to examine them to see where we have gone wrong and to look towards improving the future.
The Mishnah teaches us that five things befell the Jewish people on the 17th of Tammuz. These are:
1) The sin of the golden calf and the breaking of the first set of tablets of the Law.
2) The Tamid offering ended during the time of the First Temple. This may have been due to an order from the king or due to a shortage of livestock due to war.
3) During the time of the Second Temple, the walls of Jerusalem were breached.
4) Apustamus, a Greek general, burned the Torah. Some say it was the original scroll written by Ezra. Others teach it was many Torah scrolls in an attempt to remove Torah from the Jewish people.
5) An idol was placed upon the altar in the Temple. This may also have been done by Apustamus, but others say it was done by the Jewish king.
These can be viewed as individual tragedies, a twist of chance leading to their occurrence on the same day, or we can view these as connected, and seek to learn from them. Each of these tragedies changes us as a people. From the first sin of worshiping the golden calf, which leads to the breaking of the tablets, and onward, each event further distances us from our connection to God and to a centrally located Judaism. In modern times we have seen some return with the creation of the State of Israel, but have we learned? We still fight among ourselves, many claiming only their interpretation of law is correct. As we begin this period from Shevasar B’Tammuz to Tisha B’Av to Elul and then the Yamim Noraim, we should all think upon our personal connection to each other, to our community, to Israel, and to God and Judaism, and ask ourselves “Where do I stand, and how can I make a difference.”
