Shalom,
This coming Monday evening marks the beginning of the fast day of Tish B'Av. As many know it is on this day that both our Holy Temples were destroyed, by the Babylonians and the Romans, and we were exiled. Many other tragedies of Jewish history happened on or around this day...
On this day in synagogues around the world the book of Lamentations (Eicha) is read. We recall the great loss felt by the Jewish nation and the entire world when the Homes for the Divine Presence were removed from this world. And every Yom Kippor we remember the execution of our 10 martyrs who died at the hands of the Romans.
May we turn our sorrow into motivation to make change in the world Hashem created for us. We can and we must muster all the creative powers we have. We can invest in learning Torah, spreading its wisdom, and becoming representatives of Hashems will in the world.
I believe strongly in miracles and yet I do not rely on them. Through the ways of the world we can make changes by speaking the right words at the right time to people around us.
The Torah was given to strengthen us, and we learn that we should not fear facing our enemies because when we act according to his will, he is with us and he will fight our battles with us.