Live on JMintheAm {The Nachum Segal Network} - The Darkness and the Dawn

this store class is brought to you by torahanytime.com here at JM in the am well I've been telling you about the artscroll.com don't forget our friends at artsgirl.com have an incredible array of books available to you and the section on the three weeks on this time of year in general uh with the um uh with the nine days and Tish above Etc coming up they got plenty there I want to point that to you a book that came out one year ago called the darkness and the dawn it's over by Danielle gladstein the anguish of the gullus and the glory of Jewish eternity with a discussion about the uh about the um oh do we have everybody gladstein oh there he is a discussion about the three weeks in Tish above and everything you'd expect in a book that talks about this time of year it's called the darkness in the dawn it came out last year when you use promo code radio at artscroll.com you get your free shipping and of course uh of course a major discount as well so whatever you order from art scroll.com make sure to use promo code radio the book is called the darkness and the dawn the anguish of the gullus and the glory of Jewish eternity the last time we spoke to her by glatstein he was in the midst of his um incredible campaign uh that took place in the month of May a campaign that was designated to expand the incredible work of Mahon magidharakia uh they at that time were raising one million dollars and um uh he has been uh just an incredible muggage here wonderful lecturer fantastic author and he is with us live via telephone Rabbi Danielle Gladstone a pleasure to welcome you back to JM in the AM good morning thank you so much for the opportunity I hope it was the three weeks yeah it's a time of uh challenge but it's one of the big highlights to be able to speak with you no question that it's a time of Challenge and one that uh certainly um is a is is a is a time of a different mood than the rest of the year that's for sure that's one of the things we do here is we set aside uh these weeks to slow things down get things into a three weeks format and help people I hope with inspiration and introspection Rabbi glatstein um it's a three weeks format and therefore uh a week being seven days and three weeks times seven equaling 21 is the three weeks actually 21 days or is the three weeks actually 22 days okay so that's uh a major subject dealt with in the books because we we refer to it as three weeks right but as you know if uh Thomas is Sunday and Tish above a Sunday they're actually 22 days right so there are different ways of icing it you know you could look at it as uh 22 days in fact there's a very significant Gematria numerical value of the number of hours of the three weeks so 22 times 24 is 528 so it would be the key of redemption and on the other hand Tish above is considered a my Aid so maybe we don't have to count Tish above toward the tragic part of the three weeks so there's really different ways of looking at it you know it's funny and the theme of Tish above being you know on a different level a potential moate as you described Etc a potential holiday we should mention for everybody is is really something I and ironically ironically I always tell people I have much more difficulty with Sylvester batamas physically as a fast day than Tish above and people will be like what do you mean oh yeah just above is longer Tish above is more difficult as well as other restrictions Etc and I I always think that aside from the physical aspect of not being used to fasting right we don't it's a long period of time that we have infested once you get to shavascript but I think there is a psychological thing to it I think when you're fasting and starting off the three weeks and knowing that we are now going into the depths of I don't want to say despair but the depths of the calendar when it comes to the more serious time of the year uh and knowing that the the full three weeks is coming up and then of course uh the nine days and then of course and then of course arithm I think it's a different attitude than on Tish above when people are already thinking of nakamu thinking of nahama thinking of what their plans are for the remainder of the summer I mean I I don't know you think there's anything to that I do you know the gemara says that we we commemorate Tish above on the ninth even though the majority of it burnt down on the 10th because the beginning of something is more acute is more severe and that's similar to what you're saying the start of something the start of a tragic period is is more painful than when because you're really defined by where you're headed then where you're currently located so as we're headed toward the three weeks and we have to Traverse the whole period it becomes uh as you say psychologically somewhat overwhelming yeah and it's funny because sometimes uh I I don't want to say people are criticized but sometimes we do some self-criticism when when we are in fact focused on the post-tish above activities um as opposed to Tish above itself on Tish above and I would even argue that some people get I don't want to say upset but they but they look a certain way when a couple of days after Tish above this year obviously would be more than just a couple that a couple of days after Tish above were already in that you know I don't want to say frolicking but you know in a in a better mood let's put it that way in a better mood and doing more fun activities than we were just a couple of days earlier but I think that that's part of the beauty of our existence as a Jewish people that there's you know just like we are able to be mad though and and tame and tahar and one thing can be you know holy one second and Unholy the next and by and vice versa I think that's part of the you know the existence of our people that you know the the three weeks are the three weeks once they're over you know it's time to get into a different frame of mind yeah absolutely like close to my advice there's a time and appropriate time for every type of emotion interestingly says that the months of of are two separate months there's Oz which is the first nine days and then afterwards right is so he he considers it almost an entirely different month once Tish above comes to an end oh by the way yeah and and I don't know how one can help but feel that way you know just the atmosphere feels that way which of course now leads me to the question of the Hassam so for bench rashodis and said AV or managama but because because we say for good reason will be that georgetownish uh but anyway that's how you saw that's a side point to say the least why'd you call the book and then again with some of the stuff we've already discussed I think it might be obvious but you called it the darkness and the Dawn and there's so much about be talking so much about faith in this book and so much about communal activity in this book and even when as the navi says and as our predecessors our ancestors experienced even in the throes of terrible tragedy uh it is amazing how the Jewish people collectively and individually are able to look toward the dawn you talk about your own grandfather in this context and it may be one of the reasons it may be one of the reasons by the way I was thinking about this and it's always bothered me to an extent that the Holocaust is always one of the main components of our tissue above observance and thinking and preparation but how could it not be because that's the closest that we as a people could ever feel the destruction of the base of mikdus the physical feeling that our you know the previous generations had during those horrible times how is it that the Jewish people are always focused on the dawn when they're in the terrible era of despair yeah as you mentioned this concept is very personal to me because my own grandfather would always say that when he was an Auschwitz when he was in Dachau every day he believed in absolute faith that mashiach would come today he didn't have a doubt he didn't think maybe he believed it with conviction and while it was the darkest time in the history of our people my grandfather always said he saw Raw gilo just divine revelation whether it was when he was yanked out of a crematoria or when he was uh select when he went at a selection line when the last moment he was told to go to life he always said that even in the time of Darkness he saw hashem's Embrace for the Jewish people says that he would give over to us and my grandfather passed away a year ago at 106 years old and his last words his last words in this world were I'm waiting for mashiach and then his nashama went up to shemaim so this is a theme and this is a message that we we learned firsthand from my grandfather and I think this has to be a dominant theme when when it comes to tishma where you know it's always such an interesting custom to me that on the actual day midday we get up from the floor right while we get why are we getting off the floor we're in the middle of we're middle of the morning this is the most acute time of the availas but the message is that we never wallow in self-pity we never feel sorry for ourselves Our obligation is to dust ourselves off pick ourselves up and build for the future and by the way if this happened and I'm sorry for interrupting but by the way this this is the exact point how can one feel guilty about the change of mood once Tisch above is is finally here when the day the Min hug him of the day itself demands that the mood change a bit absolutely very clearly our sages are directing us uh in this fashion right um and by the way it's always very interesting no and I just want a point about your grandfather's life and and because people are probably thinking what about those who didn't survive but but what but we need to remember is that so many of those no matter what their fate ended up being had the same attitude that your grandfather had yeah you know Robert Hannan would say that uh the success of the Jewish people um in the aftermath is built on these sacrifice of those Jews who gave up their life for our people yeah um one of the uh very moving chapters is the great dilemma that many of the sages had of whether to save their own lives during the Holocaust or to um stay with their respective kihilis and be with them in their final moments and my own great grandfather who was the last rev of the city of safetov had every opportunity in the world to come to America actually they were going to carve out a position for him to be the chief Rabbi of the United States of America the first time that position would have been carved out and he decided he felt his it was his moral obligation to stay with his kehila and he was murdered Hashem and they were forgeta so this is yeah the whole thing is unbelievable Jay I'm in the am on a on a Wednesday with her by Daniel Gladstone the book is called the darkness and the Dawn art scroll release the darkness and the dawn what is your and I mean I read part of uh what you wrote about it but um you know I think about I think about the um the different things that happened during this time of year what is your impression opinion uh feeling about those of us who seem to be cutting Corners when we specifically seek out a seum a uh a uh sudas mitzvah to avoid to avoid having to avoid meat during the nine days let's put it that way what do you think well this this has become a very beloved costume in the Jewish people the great hug of making a cm look um you know on the one hand you sort of get the feeling it's a loophole and you know to what how thorough did the person really learn the messenger and are they just looking for an opportunity to to have some extra basar but on the other hand one of the chapters in the book deals with the idea that the concept of horban means a realm where there's no Torah and through the medium of CM you sort of create this realm where Corbin was not able to penetrate so it's not that the CM overrides the Corbin or overrides the prohibition from having meat but it sort of creates this Arena where the Corbin was not able to penetrate or the the language we use is the Maka and Tyra and Corbin in a round October there is no destruction so that's a very beautiful idea that in a place of a Siam the Corbin was not able to be effective so that's an idea that's well substantiated well it made me feel a lot better frankly because then I'm being serious about that like you know if one's participating in a CM they have to understand that there is a there is an extra level to it there is you know something unique about it and it's not just you know cheating to make sure one could have meat but you're a participant and and if it's you know and if and if this is what people do because they're you know the byproduct is that they're able to you know have a better meal so to speak uh then this is what they do but the reality is as you just said if you're participating in this Mitzvah one that has to do with Torah then the orbit is further away and I I thought that's just true I I actually I heard an amazing firsthand account that in a hotel in the cats goes where most of Feinstein was there and he insisted that there be a CM each day and he would make the CM and he saw in the corner from Schneider Cutler was there and he saw that he was a little bit hesitant to constantly be partaking in the museum and ramosha ordered him you know you you have to eat because if you don't participate then the other yiddin who are eating at the scene they're not going to be enjoying their meal they're going to feel a little guilty so much not only made to see him but he insisted that the other great robundum there also participating amazing absolutely amazing which by the way gives even more um uh it makes one feel even better if they're in a summer camp atmosphere and there's a seum because again you know while we may look at it as you know a way to eat meat the reality is you're talking about hundreds of kids together celebrating a a cm of a Messer a Museum of you know a portion of the Torah and and that you know that that you know imagine if you're making a CM with a few people it's one thing but ROV I'm hungry if you're having the opportunity to do it with hundreds of people in a hotel or in a uh or in a camp and makes it even you know it makes it even more Majestic makes it nicer so I I was if I may I know your your audience a high high level sophisticated uh audience right kabbalistically the students of the of shemtov would say you know the force of impurity his name is that's his name and what it stands for is so the forces of impurity if there's one thing they're out to stop it's the making of a Siam and when yaakovino came to the habayas he saw a sulam sulam stands for Siam and that is the force that with which we overcome the forces of Tomah so there's actually a secret kabbalistic uh Power in the CM during this time of the year yeah and and reminiscent of those times of Jewish history when when the Torah study was restricted by the enemy and you know people would would literally risk their lives in order to do so and then you know thank God uh that was part of our enduring Heritage is that uh you know it's what kept Torah alive the people in the most difficult of circumstances made sure to continue making sealuma and made sure to continue teaching Torah so there's that as well absolutely by the way I mean look you've included one can write a book about Sarah and one could write a book about the three weeks uh obviously with the book ends being shimester batamas and Tish above and there's plenty of information in here and I continue to recommend it to our listeners but you made sure to include the Holocaust Memorial you made sure to include the fact that again um this is the event in recent Jewish history that we can most relate to when it comes to Corbin when it comes to destruction and uh it gave me again as I said earlier it gave me a clearer understanding of why we focus so much during the nine days and tissue above on the Holocaust because you know when you have something that you can relate to so much better than thinking back you know two thousand years to the hormone which of course we don't know anybody who at this point who was uh who was part of it so that gave me a much clearer and I assume it's your family history that I think it's your family history that made that that made you include this right I don't know if you if you didn't have that if you didn't have that experience you may not have been as as uh inclined to include the absolutely I mean these are personal stories that I grew up with that I live with that that you know my grandparents were survivors and and everything about their personalities and their lives and how they dedicated the rest of their lives to rebuild the Jewish people um everything about their lives uh speaks about uh the darkness of uh the golos and also the hope for the future of our people right so it's a very personal story to me and the hope is unbelievable that Dawn is just incredible and and finally um you've included in this book about the three weeks the four fasts meaning the other fasts of the year that also got me thinking that you know as much as we concentrate so much of the uh of the thinking of the horban and the um and the breaking of The Siege and yushalayim Etc that leads eventually to the horribun during these three weeks one cannot really get the full experience of what we are commemorating without uh without uh speaking about and mentioning the other fast would that be would that be the reason that they are included yeah absolutely the four facts are one are part of a cycle beginning with the siege sabote days going to the breaching the world the destruction and then the last Ember of Hope being extinguished on some gedalia so they're all part of one entity and you can't fully experience one without treating the subject of of all four Kanye sin yeah and I just I mean and I just have to reiterate I mean you mentioned in terms of the Holocaust and that and the amunan bitachon is just incredible as you described it in the in the personal um account that you gave in terms of your own grandfather but what is it about the Jewish people how is it that that in the in the depths of Despair and when the navi is predicting the you know most horrible experiences for the collective Jewish Community how is it that there is so much hope that there is so much faith in the one above that there's no that there's there's is no desire I'll say that collectively communally that there's no desire to abandon the one above there's just a desire to get us closer to him as possible look obviously our connection with the venezuelaim goes back 3 300 years goes back to the time of Abraham avinu we are abramovino and Sarah were were biologically incapable of bothering a people and God created Claus Israel from avraham and Sarah who were not really physically capable of producing children and that that shows us that Hashem created us from hopelessness and and yet we're still here so that means the very fabric of our people is above and beyond Yosh above and beyond hopelessness and uh Hashem selected us he gave us the Torah in the year 2448 and that was such a momentous occasion that seared onto the Collective Soul of the Jewish people such a deep love Franco de Bronco that not we we're never going to give it up nothing could compete with that love that rendezvous with that color sparkle at Sinai and if I may sure you know we had this idea that uh Tish above is and it's really hard to understand you know what kind of young to fit is is it it's the most tragic day of the year but roviac of emden writes that the greatest miracle in the history of the world is the continued survival of the Jewish people and when he comes plates the miraculous nature of how we're still around how we're still kicking he says he swears that it surpasses in his mind all the Miracles that God performed for the Jewish people in Egypt so if we have a yamta flight pesach that commemorates Exodus and we have a yamta flights that commemorates the giving of the Torah then in a way Tish above commemorates a much greater Miracle that's the miracle of continued Jewish survival you know and in that way yeah not to compare because obviously there is no comparison but I'll never forget I saw an interview once with a non-jewish academic a historian and they asked them what's the most significant part of of History like what what what is one of the most amazing things in history and he cited how the Jewish people were able to rebound after the destruction of the temple and I'm like wow even someone in that in that you know environment can understand just how significant that is so again the way of Yakov emden says it is much nicer but you get my point absolutely well we know the you know the famous uh comments of Mark Twain right what is the secret of their immortality right so that's uh really one of the greatest Miracles that uh we've ever experienced so the world has ever experienced so our forefathers they only experience The Exodus that was minor compared to the miracle that we see today with our own eyes when we're still around and the Jewish people are thriving amazing Rabbi the Neil glatzing the book is called the darkness and the dawn I cannot recommend it highly enough go to artscroll.com use promo code radio make sure to get your discount and your free shipping again always use promo code radio at artsgirl.com the darkness and the dawn the anguish of the gullus and the glory of Jewish eternity right by Daniel gladstein um uh the the book is amazing and the book will enhance your three weeks experience by the way how's machon Magi harakia doing did the fundraising go well are we doing all right oh they we were very successful thank God we raised over a million dollars we're still pushing but um thank you for the platform that definitely enhanced the campaign and uh we just uh expanded over the last couple of weeks and we have a many more people joining and coming to this urim and listening to the broadcast so yeah thanks for asking about that all right by Gladstone uh you're doing amazing work and uh positively affecting so many people out there continued success and I hope that uh I'm sure this book will help inspire people during this period of time and I really appreciate you joining us this morning thank you for the time always a pleasure to speak with you and uh we hope to see you again soon everybody the book is called the darkness and the dawn go to artscroll.com use promo code radio the darkness and the dawn the anguish of the gullus and the glory of the Jewish of Jewish eternity Rabbi Daniel gladstein and if you want to check out the conversation we had about Mahon magidharakiya that goes back to a um that goes back to um uh the month of May you could find it uh in the archives at uh Nahum siegel.com more coming up thanks for joining us on a Wednesday morning broadcast at JM in the AM you've just experienced another Torah class brought to you byctoranytime.com