Can you handle the truth?

"I WANT THE TRUTH! YOU CANNOT HANDLE THE TRUTH!" This dialogue from an old legal thriller movie are words that weigh heavily on my mind at this time of year. As we prepare to observe Tisha B'av, our national day of mourning, it clearly feels different this year. In previous years, we were somehow told "not to go through the motions" in our mourning practices. In past years, it would require a more significant effort of mental and spiritual exercise to put our headspace in the mindset of a mourner as we lamented the tragic events that took place in our past. As we woke up to a new world order on October 7, alas this year requires less preparation to be in the mindset of a mourner on Tisha B'av. The world we had thought had changed. It was a world in which one felt (almost) completely secure in the Land of Israel. We thought we had permanently turned a corner in the last several decades here in the United States. Gone were the days when anti semitism was remotely acceptable in the mainstream of American society. The aftermath of October 7 included calls of genocide towards the Jews in Times Square, and the transformation of America's Ivy League into hotbeds of hatred is just the tip of the iceberg. The reality has sunk in that we are not immune to the long Jewish story of suffering and tragedy. Tisha B'av is not just a day to mourn the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash (Holy Temple). In fact, the destruction of the Temple is indirectly connected to all the Jewish pain over the millennia. From a spiritual perspective, from the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash onward, we have entered a dark phase in which the presence of G-d appears distant and remote. As time goes on, that darkness seems to intensify. This results in unspeakable tragedies and confusion as we witness the good and the righteous to suffer. This includes the Jewish state involved in a seven front war with each entity desiring to annihilate millions of Jews. Of course, this is not limited to the battlefield. It extends to diplomatic, legal and emotional isolation from the world's nations. One is not sure whether to laugh or cry upon hearing the news that South Africa summoned Israel to the International Court of Justice for the prosecution of its management over a war over its existence. The list is unfortunately too long to enumerate. Suffice it to say the last months have been brutal in so many ways. The root cause for this malaise, unfortunately, is not new. The many long chapters of pain and tragedy are a result of the Jewish people continuing to be the world of Hester Panim (Hidden Face of G-d). As we sit on the ground this Tisha B'av, let us yearn for the restoration of a new era with G-d's countenance and the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash (Temple). The status quo is simply unbearable. The truth is staring us in the face. This week, it's once again time to ask ourselves if we can handle the truth. Have a Peaceful Shabbos, Rabbi Yaakov Fisch