A PARABLE ON THE LOSS OF THE TEMPLE

From the rabbi of Kol Rina, the Nachlaot, Jerusalem Carlebach shul,  a parable on the destruction of the Temple.  (Retold by Isaac Mozeson) :


A great artist was employed by the king to paint a magnificent mural of his capital city on a large section of the outside wall.  It took months, but it was finally ready for final touches.  The King and the artist stood 40 yards away from the giant mural, and agreed that this was a splendid reflection of the king's glory.  It will be a Wonder of the World.

To get a fuller view, the artist kept backing up, and got so far from the king near the wall that they could only communicate with hand signals.  The artist was completely enraptured with admiring the work, and forgot that a steep moat with hungry alligators was only 20 yards behind him.

The oblivious artist kept backing up, and backing up. The king was desperately trying to stop the artist, but he was too far away to notice the frantic signals.

Then, the king ordered his guards to deface the painting. It was scraped by weapons, and destroyed.  Sure enough, the agonized artist now ran forward, his mouth agape, eyes bulging in disbelief, arms extended in pleading... asking how this unimaginable tragedy could happen.

"You fool," said the king when they were finally close enough.  "Yes, I destroyed the painting.  It was the only way to save your life."
.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

The Jews were moving further and further away from G-d, admiring too much a physical reflection of the King of King's glory:  the Holy Temple. 

The loss of our Beit HaMikdash remains a national trauma for these weeks.
 For for the Torah true, our survival depended on it.



But given where we were headed, this painful surgery allowed us to survive.