- Avrumy isn’t sure if he feels excited or sad. He’s in Yerushalayim, getting ready to mourn the Beis Hamikdash at its holy remains, the Kosel Hamaravi.
- He walks through the Old City with thousands of Yidden of every kind, picturing what it must have looked like when the Beis Hamikdash stood here. His heart aches as he passes Arabic signs and mosques along the way.
- When he reaches the “Kosel Hakaton”, the part of the wall closest to the Kodesh Hakadoshim, he sees the alley packed tight with Yidden. They’re sitting on the floor, crying, singing, and dreaming of the day those green doors to the Har Habayis will finally swing open, forever.
- He keeps moving toward the Kosel and hears voices above him. A group of yeshiva bochurim are having a kumzits on a rooftop, overlooking Har Habayis. Their voices echoed through the night with a haunting “Ani Maamin.”
- At the Kosel, Avrumy is surrounded by Yidden saying kinnos, others talking to Hashem in whispers, some just sitting quietly, deep in thought. A few are crying loudly. A large group sat in a circle, arms linked, singing songs about Yerushalayim.
- There were so many kinds of Yidden, each with their own way of dressing and different ways of serving Hashem, but none of that mattered tonight. Tonight it is clear that every single neshama just wants the same thing: for Moshiach to come and bring us close to Hashem again.
- Tonight he saw firsthand what Rav Yussie always taught: if it even seems like two Yidden are not getting along, it’s only because they both want Moshiach so badly and just don’t know how to handle that pain. So it spills out in different ways.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 46 Tisha B’av Edition.