It happened so many years ago. We’re generations away from the Jews who lived during the times of the Churban Beis Hamikdash. How are we, in 2016, supposed to feel the pain of the Churban on a personal level, the way we know we should?
It’s something we all need to work on, of course, and I’m not here to offer words of mussar on the topic. But what I can do is recommend one excellent way of connecting to the Churban: read Chains, an exquisite historical novel written by talented author Leah Gebber. Set in this exact time period, during the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash, this is a book that pulls at your heart and brings you to tears just by virtue of the vivid descriptions of the times—all meticulously researched and accurate—and breathtakingly beautiful writing style.
You’ll immediately feel connected to the characters in the book: the brave Shulamit; her stoic cousin Mariam; Chanan, whose heart lies in one big state of confusion, and the rest of the cast. Your breath will catch in your throat as you follow their suspenseful saga. More importantly, you’ll receive an inkling of how the Jews felt as they were led, in chains, by their hated captors, to Rome, the city that was the antithesis of the kedushah of Eretz Yisrael…
Reading this book will change the way you recite the Kinnos on this year’s Tishah B’Av. It will put new understanding of the pain of the Churban and of galus into your heart. Your connection with Klal Yisrael’s glorious past will be strengthened—as will your prayers of Hashiveinu Hashem eilecha v’nashuvah…
Click here to purchase online.
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