The Temple, the center of the Jewish Universe, was destroyed, not once, but twice, on exactly the same day. The Jewish people fast on this day, and even days surrounding the event, ever since. The Talmud grapples with the question: why did G-d make this happen, if the Temple was the direct connection to serving our Maker? As if G-d went into our nation's cell phones and deleted His personal number out of our speed-dial option. Doesn't He, like my mom, want us to call everyday even just to say hi? Apparently we did something wrong to deserve this silent treatment. What that was exactly is a discussion in various places throughout the Talmud.
One of the most esoteric suggestions given, is the fact that people, before learning the Torah, forgot to say a blessing, the Birchat Hatorah. This quirky proposal has been a popular subject matter of many cool dvrei torah. So I figured, what the heck, might as well make it one more. Here goes:
There was once a rabbi who had a really cool name: Klonomus Kalmish Shapiro. But his screen name to the Yeshivish world is “The Piezetzna Rav” (and later the “Warsaw Ghetto Rabbi”) He wrote a book called “Chovos Hatalmidim” which I like to refer to as “The Attack of the Klones.”(1932 published) Why I titled it this, is because it really was a book written in response to the major fallout of kids from Judaism during the early 20th century in a place called Gradiszk. When kids, instead of hitting the Torah academies, were watching MTV's Real World Gradiszk, blazing Pfunk lights on Shabbos, and basically throwing in the towel for lamo Judaism to pursue more loftier pursuits, like gerbil collecting. The Pietzna Rav, was the first to realize, hey maybe it is not those whacky teens fault, but rather the education system needs a good Patch. (“Gradiszk Patch Kid” Dolls were successfully produced shortly thereafter) So he wrote this book Chovos Hatalmidim, a step by step of how to be an all-star Jewish kid, which basically was a rush of blood to the head for not only apathetic teens, but for religious educators of the time as well.
Anyhoo, in Attack of Klones, Chapter 2, (sorry no direct mention of Natalie Portman) The Pietznah Rav levels with the reader and says: there are times when you wake up and say “This Judasim thing is a real drag.” Waking up early, praying again and again, it is really a burden. Klonomus Kalmish says in response “Hells Yeah!” but clarifies: If you wake up and the morning and feel a real burden doing Jewish things, guess what, you ain't alone. That is the way you should feel! The burden is a good thing, not just in Judasim, but in all things in life. You have captured the means to the end.
Look at this way, if someone says ill pay you 1 million dollars (cue doctor evil “moohaha”) if everyday for the next year you shlep a bowling ball everywhere you go, you'll do it. Sure it'll be a real pain when your jazzercising, but that burden is a means to an end that you know you want. Judaism, work, everything you do will have a burden to it, and feeling and dealing with that sometimes heavy annoying responsibility, whether it is dragging a bowling ball, learning Torah or going to work at 8am, is a trade off for a guaranteed payoff. If you have that irritating burden feeling, right on, it means you are working on the right track to ultimately scoring a reward.
But that “Burden=Good” is a hard thing to remember.
Continues Klones, and says this is precisely why we wake up every morning and say the blessing on the Torah first. The blessing basically asks God to sweeten the burden of learning Torah, which as we all know, can sometimes be a real chore. It is a blessing that is the key reminder to turn our frown upside down, and realize that the work is all for an ultimate goal. It is the key to reminding us of the idea “positive burden.”
When our sages taught us in the Talmud, that the reason for the destruction of the temple was because people were no longer reciting this blessing. It seems people in Temple times woke up feeling the usual annoying Monday morning blues, and that's all they felt! It was just that, “day in-day out” Judaism. With nothing reminding them that their burden is a winning lottery ticket.
Today, I don't know anyone who doesn't at some point say about Judaism “This is getting annoying!” (or in the 80's “totally bogus Rufus!”) So take a second and really read the Birchat Hatorah, and remember, what our ancestors did not. That this burden – this 8am wakeup, these never ending prayers, this study of ancient texts, these whacky rituals – is our bowling ball, which we know serves an ultimate purpose, and that we can never and will never drop
One single prayer can serve as a key reminder to us all and change the world forever.
Take a look, its in a book, a literal reading rainbow.
Now can someone give me God's number so I can put it back in my cell?