“With me, as well, Hashem became angry because of you, saying, ’You, too, shall not come there.’” (Devarim 1:37)

At this point in Moses’ book-spanning farewell speech (Parshas Devarim), he has been discussing the infamous tragedy of the spies (aka meraglim) which doomed the men of the generation from entering the Land of Israel, caused the entire nation to wander for another 38 years, and occurred on the 9th of Av, that harrowing fast day where tragedies have plagued our people for thousands of years. 

With this particular admonishment, Moses was saying that he too was barred because of the meraglim/Tisha B’Av event and not the striking of the rock episode we just read in Parshas Chukas. Why is Moses condemned for the spies, which he seemed to have no part in, as opposed to the striking of the rock like we were all taught? The Or HaChaim gives a rather odd answer.  After relating that the weeping of the people on the 9th of Av, Hashem decreed the date would be established as a night for weeping for generations to come. Thus, why both Temples were destroyed on the 9th of Av. But then the Or HaChaim brings in something even more unexpected.

“If Moses would have entered the Land and built the Beis Hamikdash (The Temple) it would have never been destroyed. For no nation or tongue would have been able to harm it… It would not have been possible for Hashem’s anger to be cast on to it when the Jewish people eventually sin and Hashem’s anger would have annihilated them in the place of the destruction of the Temple.”

From this bold statement we learn that Moses was barred from Israel, not because of a particular sin he committed, per se, but because it would have been the end for the Jewish people. The generation of the first Temple was known for widespread murder, sexual immorality, and idolatry. The second Temple, baseless hatred for fellow Jews. Now it’s good that Hashem decided not to destroy us for these widespread corruptions, but why destroy the Temple, the most spiritually effective tool for returning to God? 

In his book on the holidays Vatisa’eni Ruach Rabbi Shabtai Sabato takes the question further. Hashem didn’t just destroy His Temple, but removed prophecy from the world. Rabbi Sabato introduces the following verses from Jeremiah to explain why. Referring to the Temple, he cites:

Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely… and then come and stand before Me in this house [meaning the Temple], upon which My Name is called, and say, “We are saved,” in order to commit all these abominations. (Yirmiyahu 7:9-10)

The Temple was not just a place of worship. The Sages say many open miracles constantly took place in and around its walls. (Pirkei Avos 5:5). It was where Hashem’s Shechinah (Divine Presence) dwelled and anyone could go and get a spiritual renewal and inspiration. But as long as people viewed it as a safety net, it allowed them to sin. By relying on the Temple, it actually became the cause of sin, not the cure for it. 

Regarding the Prophets…

And you – do not pray for this people, and do not raise a cry or prayer, and do not entreat Me, for I will not hear you. (Yirmiyahu 7:16)

The prophets were the spiritual giants of the age. The ones the people could go to for guidance concerning the purpose of their life and how to get back on track. They didn’t need self-help books or life coach gurus. The prophets had the answers. But rather than getting their acts together and listening to the hard truths, they relied on the prayers to be saved. Once again, the cure became the cause of the problem. 

And so now we can understand the often quoted Mishnah about the nature of teshuvah.

“One who says, ‘I will sin then I will repent, I will sin and I will repent,’ Heaven does not provide him the opportunity to do Teshuvah. If he says ‘I will sin, and Yom Kippur will atone for me’ Yom Kippur will not atone for him. (Talmud Yoma 85b)

When trying to get serious about quitting our vices, many of us want that one last indulgence. Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. New Year’s Eve bash before the resolutions. One last pack of cigarettes. But like the Temple and the prophets, this indulgence before the resolution leads to more sin. And when we stumble and relapse, we do another final hurrah before repenting and before we know it, we’ve sinned more from “one last time” than the regular habit. 

The teshuvah process can’t give you permission to sin. It defeats the purpose. In fact, one of the critical aspects of teshuvah is regretting that you ever did the sin. The “one last time” approach is the antithesis to regretting it. Unless the final indulgence goes horribly wrong, God forbid. Though Hashem isn’t going to ever take teshuvah and Yom Kippur away from us, He can make it ineffective. 

So if Moses had built the Temple, why wouldn’t Hashem have been able to destroy it? Hashem can do anything. The idea is that Moses’ spiritual character trait was netzach. Netzach is translated as victory, persistence, endurance, and eternity. When I wrestled in high school, the back of our shirts said, “Pain is temporary, pride is forever.” When we overcome the most daunting obstacles and achieve victory, that can never be taken away from us. Yes, a gold medal can be confiscated, but the act of succeeding is your history. That can’t change. The whole point of the Torah is to win victory over our lower traits to become God-like. Those victories over our lower selves are permanent. Even if we relapse, we know we were capable of success and we can achieve it again. That’s why the Torah is Eternal as well. 

Since Moses embodied netzach, everything he did became permanent. The written Torah is called the Five Books of Moses. The Jewish people are an eternal people because he led us. There were other children of Abraham who history has forgotten. Even the vessels of the Temple we’ve lost, the Menorah, the Ark, the Tablets that Moses carved himself, are believed to still exist but are hidden. 

So had Moses entered Israel and built the Temple, it would still exist. But eventually it would have become an obstacle to teshuvah, not an inspiration for it. An eternal crutch, keeping us from taking responsibility for ourselves. Would Hashem really have destroyed the Jewish people instead of Moses’ Temple? I doubt it is meant to be taken literally. Without taking off the training wheels, you never learn to ride the bicycle. Playing basketball with a Michael Jordan on your team can inspire you to learn from his example, or it can give you permission to coast. AI can help you sharpen your writing by taking it to a whole new level, or you can have it do the writing for you and atrophy your creativity and craft. 

The sin of the spies set the Jewish people on a spiritual course that would make Moses’ Temple an eternal crutch and stymie their ability to ever reach anything close to his level. Maybe the Jewish people wouldn’t have been physically destroyed, but robbed of their spiritual potential, they might as well have been. 

If the Beit Hamikdash was not rebuilt during a given generation, it is as if it was destroyed in that generation. (Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 1:1)

So as we sit in these three weeks, approaching Tisha B’Av, perhaps we should be thinking about who or what we are relying on for our salvation? Does the fact that we currently have a pro-Israel president make us feel safe? Do we believe that our Rabbi is making up for the shortcuts we’re taking? Does our pride in the Iron Dome give us confidence that we’ll figure out any problem? Does the Kollel of yeshiva students give us ease, knowing their work brings peace into the world? If all of those disappeared, God forbid, what would we do differently. If the answer is, “I’d probably get my act together.” Well maybe that’s exactly what you should be doing. Because if those things are standing in the way of your growth, they may end up not being so permanent.