Our Sages (Chazal) arranged it so that we always read the book of Devarim before Tisha B'Av.

• Shabbat Devarim: Always falls before Tisha B'Av
• At the end of Shabbat: The fast of Tisha B'Av begins
• Spiritual Connection: "Eleh HaDevarim" serves as a prelude to our lamentations
• Emotional Preparation: Moses prepares us for mourning through remembrance

A Divine Message: Before we weep for our losses, we must understand their origins and their lessons.

"These are the words that Moses spoke..."

Why begin with "These are the words"?

• These are the words that prepare us for Tisha B'Av
• These are the words of our painful history
• These are the words that transform mourning into learning
• These are the words that give meaning to our tears

Moses teaches us that our tragedies have a precise origin—and therefore, a meaning to be discovered!

"It was in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month..."

A Precise Calculation:

A Unique Fact: This is the only book in the Torah delivered all at once, in a defined period, as a complete spiritual testament.

Chronological Order vs. Pedagogical Order:

• Chronologically: He should have spoken of the sin of the Golden Calf first
• Pedagogically: He begins with the sin of the Spies
• The Reason: It is a farewell speech before entering the Land of Israel
• The Message: "Do not repeat the same mistake!"

Perfect Logic: Woe to one who still makes the same mistake and does not desire the Land of Israel, as King David says in the Psalms.

Moses prioritizes the most urgent lesson for the present moment!

The Fateful Sequence:

• 40 days and 40 nights: Scouting the Promised Land
• Return to the camp: The Spies' report
• Moses asks: "What is the situation?"
• An ambiguous answer: "The land is very, very good, BUT..."

"For the land is very, very good, but we cannot go up"

The poison in the "but": They nullify their praise with their defeatist attitude!

"And the people wept that night"

That night was the night of Tisha B'Av!

The Immediate Divine Response:

An Immediate Divine Decree:

• The First Temple was destroyed on Tisha B'Av
• The Second Temple was destroyed on Tisha B'Av
• All our national tragedies are concentrated on this day
• Turning a night of weakness into an eternal day of mourning

A night of futile tears becomes the source of eternal tears!

Five terrible events befell the people of Israel on Tisha B'Av:

A precise calculation for our time:

• Current Year: 2025
• Destruction of Second Temple: 68 CE
• Calculation: 2025 - 68 = 1957 years

A Kabbalistic Discovery:

The word "Chaim" (Life) has a Gematria (numerical value) of 68

A Message of Hope: "Like the number of 'Life'"—we know how to turn every evil into something good!

Even in the calculation of our suffering, we find a message of life!

Our Sages reveal to us the terrifying ritual of the 38 years in the desert:

The Annual Procedure:

• 600,000 men aged 20 and over dig graves
• Farewell to families: "We are saying goodbye"
• Farewell meal: Lentils and an egg (foods of mourning)
• A heart-wrenching goodbye: "I do not know if I will wake up alive tomorrow morning"
• A night in the graves: Awaiting the promised death

In the morning:

• About 16,500 people do not wake up
• The survivors bury their brethren
• Life continues for another year
• The next year: Same ritual, same numbers

600,000 ÷ 38 years = about 16,500 deaths per year, every Tisha B'Av!

The inevitable logic of the divine decree:

Every Tisha B'Av, the decree is carried out with divine mathematical precision!

According to the calculation, what was supposed to happen?

Inevitable Logic:

• Remaining: About 16,500 people (the last ones)
• The Expectation: Everyone is supposed to die this night
• The Certainty: "We will surely die"
• Final Farewell: "We will not rise again"

They lie down in their graves with the absolute certainty that they will never awaken!

On the morning of the 10th of Av:

"They all awoke alive!"

Their Astonished Reaction:

• Disbelief: "How is it possible that we did not die?"
• Self-check: "They pinch themselves"
• Bewilderment: "We were supposed to die!"
• Remembering the decree: "The Holy One, Blessed be He, swore"

16,500 people stand before a miracle they cannot comprehend!

Their first hypothesis:

Questioning the Calendar:

• "Perhaps we did not sanctify the new moon correctly"
• "We made a mistake in the calculation"
• "Maybe today is not Tisha B'Av"

The Verification Test:

• The next night: They return to the graves
• The next morning: Still alive!
• Repeating the action: On the 10th, 11th, 12th... until the 15th

They test their theory day after day, hoping to understand!

"They saw the full moon on the 15th of Av"

The logic behind their joy:

• Full Moon: 15 days after the new moon
• Absolute Certainty: Tisha B'Av had passed 6 days ago
• Clear Conclusion: "The decree is annulled!"
• Spontaneous Celebration: "We are saved!"

The Birth of Tu B'Av:

This is why we celebrate Tu B'Av! A great celebration of liberation from the death decree of the desert generation.

It is the day of love between us and the Holy One, Blessed be He—not Valentine's Day!

The Apparent Paradox:

On one hand:

• A divine decree that the entire generation would die
• An oath from the Holy One, Blessed be He
• Uncompromising divine justice
• 38 years of precise execution of the decree

On the other hand:

• 16,500 people miraculously survive
• They were partners in the sin of the Spies
• The decree applied to them
• They eventually enter the Land of Israel

How can a heavenly decree be annulled?

A Revealing Chronology:

"And Aaron died on the first day of the fifth month"

A Precise Calculation:

• Aaron dies: 1st of Av (Rosh Chodesh Av)
• The final Tisha B'Av: 8 days later
• Atonement: The death of Aaron atones for all sins

A Talmudic Principle: "The death of a righteous person atones"

Application: Because Aaron the High Priest died on the 1st of Av, all the sins of the people of Israel were atoned for, including the annulment of the decree against the desert generation.

The merit of Aaron saves the last 16,500!

Analyzing the behavior of the 16,500:

The previous year (32,000 remaining):

• Statistics: 50% chance of survival
• Mentality: "I hope it's not me"
• Personal Hope: It's possible to be saved

The final year (16,500 remaining):

• Statistics: 0% chance of survival
• Certainty: "We are 100% going to die"
• A Crucial Choice: Fatalism or repentance?

They chose complete repentance in the face of certain death!

Their extraordinary declaration of faith:

But they declared:

Their plan of repentance:

• Acknowledgment: "Even though a death sentence has been decreed upon us"
• Determination: "We are not giving up"
• Action: "We want to do Teshuvah (repent)"
• Hope: "To turn over a new leaf"

This power of repentance in the face of certain death is what allowed them to endure!

The eternal lesson:

A possible situation:

A Jew can reach a state where it seems, he thinks or feels, that the Holy One, Blessed be He, has abandoned him.

The correct response:

Unwavering Faith:

These 16,500 people, in fact, give us strength for all generations!

"I thank You, Hashem, for You were angry with me"

The troubling question:

How can King David say such a thing? "Thank you for being angry with me"?

Apparent logic:

It would be more correct to say: "Thank you for loving me"!

What is the hidden wisdom in this paradoxical gratitude?

The revealing explanation:

Scenario 1 - An angry father:

• A father, angry at his son, gives him a slap
• The child's reaction: "Thank you, Father"
• Why? "At least I felt your hand"

Scenario 2 - An indifferent father:

• The father says: "I have given up on you"
• "I don't even want to discipline you anymore"
• "I am not educating you anymore, I'm leaving, go to hell"

Conclusion:

That is the worst thing that can happen! But when the father slaps the child—even if it hurts—at least he touched me, I felt my father.

Divine anger proves that we are still important to Him!

King David's revelation:

The Secret of Redemption:

• Recognition: The Holy One, Blessed be He, truly never abandons us
• Understanding: He is only trying to guide us all the time
• Perspective: These are blows of love
• Response: We want to reconnect with Him

This is the secret that can bring us redemption, and this is the hope we never lose!

The Promise of Transformation:

May the Third Temple be rebuilt! Why?

Because the Holy One, Blessed be He, truly never abandons us; He is only trying to guide us all the time.

If we understand that these are blows of love:

Then, with G-d's help, we will want to reconnect with Him.

Just as those who merited the great joy of Tu B'Av, may we merit that Tisha B'Av will become a festival!

A Prophetic Vision:

Parallel to Passover:

From the 1st to the 15th, we have holidays. So too we will have from the 9th to the 15th!

Another Parallel:

From Yom Kippur to Sukkot, thank G-d, are festival days that we will merit speedily in our days, Amen.

This very year, may Tisha B'Av be the first holiday, with G-d's help!

Concluding quote from the manuscript:

"As it is said, 'Hashem desired for the sake of His righteousness; He will make the Torah great and glorious.'"

A Universal Message:

• Our trials enrich us spiritually
• Our tears become a source of wisdom
• Our painful history nourishes our hope
• The Torah grows through our questions

The 16,500 people who did not despair teach us to turn our defeats into victories!

The lessons from Parashat Devarim and Tisha B'Av resonate even today:

• When facing difficulties: Never despair of heavenly mercy
• In times of trial: See the "blows of love" that guide us
• In the face of failure: Seek the lesson that helps us grow
• In times of doubt: Remember that we are important to G-d
• In collective suffering: Turn tears into hope

Even when it seems G-d has abandoned us, we never give up on Him!

May the merit of this lesson on the 16,500 righteous souls who never despaired help us:

To transform our futile tears into constructive tears
To see in our trials signs of divine love
To never lose hope, even in the face of seemingly irreversible decrees
To understand that our collective suffering has meaning
To prepare for the transformation of Tisha B'Av into a day of celebration

"With G-d's help, may Tisha B'Av become a festival speedily in our days, Amen"

May our tears turn into everlasting joy!
May the Third Temple be rebuilt speedily!