by Rabbi Nisson Wolpin

David the king spelled out the formula for a virtuous life in a simple verse in his Psalms: "Turn away from evil and do good..." When this aphorism is translated into a modus operandi, however, it becomes amazingly complex. One might assume that to "turn away from evil" one must first identify the threat in a confrontation of sorts -- recognizing one's personal shortcomings, labeling them as evil, and defying them by overpowering the "evil inclination."

Yet this is not always the recommended course. There are times when it is better to flee, to evade identifying the challenge, or to simply postpone dealing with the problem. Confrontation may over-tax one's resources.

A classic case is a Midrash that describes a meeting of Abraham and Isaac on their way to the Akeidah (the Binding), with a satanic old man.

The old man asked: "Where are you going?"

Abraham: "To pray."

Old man: "And since when does a man carry fire and slaughtering knife in hand and kindling wood on his back on his way to prayer?"

Abraham: "We may tarry a day or two, and find need to slaughter an animal and prepare it as food to eat."

Old man: "Ha! Do you think you deceive me? Wasn't I there when God told you to take your son, your only son... and bring him for a sacrifice?"

It seems odd that Abraham should appear to be devious when asked about the nature of his mission, and not tell the challenger outright where he was going and why. Yet there are times when a person senses that a challenge may prove too overwhelming if met head-on. In Abraham's case, he might have found his zeal to perform God's command somewhat dampened if he would have been forced to rationalize it to the satisfaction of the "old man."

(Thus is "the evil inclination an old and foolish king." A king -- for he is sovereign over every man. Old -- for he has amassed vast experience. A fool -- because he falls prey to his own brand of deception.)

In a case such as this, it is better to sidestep the challenge... In fact, even if untruths are uttered as part of such a tactic, they are spoken for a sacred purpose, and as such can be condoned as serving a higher truth (Rabbi Simchah Zissel Ziv of Kelm).

[A classic case of the reverse situation, when a confrontation with evil almost proved counterproductive, is Joseph's refusal to consent to the adulterous invitation of Potiphar's wife. Commentaries say that rather than utter a terse "no," Joseph went into lengthy explanations as to why he would not enter a relationship with her. In the process of justifying his refusal, he became so involved in the proposition that he felt weakened in his resolve, and was even prepared to yield -- but for the sudden envisioning of his father Jacob's presence... It is often better to flee a compromising situation than to lock horns with an evil impulse in expectation of overpowering it. The would-be victor can become a victim in the process.]

COMING TO GRIPS WITH SPIRITUAL ALIENATION

There is an obstacle to complete service to God that man can neither flee, evade nor circumvent, and that is the condition described as Shechinta b'gelusa -- literally: the Divine Presence in Exile. The term seems to portray a condition of God's choosing rather than a human failing, and as such would leave man little to act upon. But it is a condition that man creates and the onus of response is on him. The formal repository of the Divine Presence is the Temple, but the commanding passage in the Torah states: "And build for Me a sanctuary that I may repose in their midst." The implication is that once the people stretched out their arms to participate in the building of the sanctuary, God established His presence in them -- within each and every person -- and there it continues to repose.

In every situation, under all conditions, a spark of Divinity will always smolder within every Jew. In spite of egocentricity, materialism, or hedonism -- all of which serve to block out one's awareness of this Divinity -- the spark is never smothered and the presence stays on. God's vow: "I shall not reject you nor despise you to the point of obliteration," is a reassurance that no matter how numbed a person's spiritual sensitivity may become, and regardless of the extent of his alienation from the Divine, he always has the capacity to come back. The spark is there.

THE FIRST STEP INTO EXILE

"Because on the Ninth of Av you wept for nothing (when the spies returned from Canaan) and you listened to their fearful description of the conditions there, that day will remain for you as a time of weeping for generations to come." The first time the Jews erected a barrier of insensitivity between themselves and that Divine Presence was on the Ninth of Av, when Moses' 12 scouts returned from their tour of the Holy Land. Their glowing report of the fertility of the land was exceeded by their pessimistic view of their ability to conquer it. The omnipotence of the God Who led them from Egypt diminished in the eyes of the people, and a barrier arose between their awareness and God's reality. They wept bitter tears of hopelessness, further encrusting the barrier they had erected. "The people of Canaan are mightier than us." (Read: Mightier than our Divine Leader.) And they were further isolated from their awareness of the Divine Presence -- the prototype exile situation for the Jewish people, the individual Jew, and the Divine Presence.

When a person is uninspired in his study or his prayer, feels estranged from his immediate and lifelong goals or purpose, then there can be no point in sidestepping the issue of postponing confrontation with it. He must face it fully and immediately: He and the Divine Presence are suffering a mutual alienation.

By tradition there are many approaches to restoring contact with the Divine. All these approaches were sealed off with the destruction of the Temple -- all save one: the Gates of Tears. If one so despairs over his spiritual alienation that he finds every means of expressing this despondency inadequate, then tears as the ultimate expression can penetrate the wall of indifference that shuts out the Divine Spark. Barriers that are impervious to all other attempts at entry dissolve in tears.

When the Ninth of Av approaches on our yearly calendar cycle, the very season endows the Jew with a lonely realization of how he has fallen from earlier attainments. Should reminiscence alone prove insufficient to awaken him to awareness of his state of spiritual alienation, should recall of past national and personal tragedies fall short of the impetus required to bring him to tears, then God supplies him with new reminders: The destruction of the First Temple... the destruction of the Second Temple... the massacre at Betar ... the expulsion from England ... the expulsion from Spain ... the outbreak of World War I ... and many more national tragedies all of which befell the Jews on the Ninth of Av.

These tragedies came not merely as punishments, but as stimulants to force an agonizing appraisal upon the Jew of his lonely spiritual state -- an appraisal that brings to weeping, which brings forth those tears that wash away the crusty barriers between the Jew and the Divinity. The Divine Presence responds to tears of yearning, and rays of light, warmth and hope, break through the walls of opacity.

The tears for the destruction are the tears that bring redemption.