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Rabbi Yehuda {Leonard} Blank MS, BCC
Vice President of Professional Development and External Affairs
Chair of the Chaplaincy Commission
Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim
917-446-2126 rablenblank@gmail.com
<>July 16, 2026, 3 Av, 5786<>
“The Nine Days”
The days before Tish B Av and
the hope of the coming of Mashiach.
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Who are we? Who am I?
I have chosen the following from One More Tear by Rabbi Yechiel Spero as it is a perfect example of the thoughts, the concerns, the fears of a person going through a challenging time in his or her life, thoughts of being a failure with no hope for the future. It also reflects the need for a rabbi, chaplain or rebbetzin to be empathetic and understanding with compassion helping a person to find goodness and self- worth in him/herself. Everyone is a somebody. We all have what to be proud of. We are not therapists. We are not mental health professionals. We are professionals in what we do. With patience, empathy, understanding and compassion we can often help a person find not just one but many accomplishments, some small and some big in his/her life time to be proud of. Realizing a person was not always a failure can bring some happiness to his/her life and even a smile. We must be a bastion of faith, trust in H and in ourselves. We must never give up having hope always finding opportunities to go on with life with as much positivity as possible. We pray that all of Klal Yisrael will be united with immense achdus as in past generations.
“We must not forget who we are, who we belong to, and what we will once again be.”
From: Just One More Tear. A Kinnos Companion, The Soul of Tishah B’Av through stories and reflections. By Rabbi Yechiel Spero, ArtScroll Series, Mesorah Publications Ltd. Pages 41 -48 “Kinna 4.In this kinah, we find that Oholah and Oholivah are debating who suffered more on account of their enemies. T the end of the argument, the kinah concludes with a beautiful tefillah asking H to have mercy on us and to look beyond our sins, as He is the source our hope and our strength – and to reunite the kingdoms of Yehuda and Yisrae, like in the days of old: “Chadeisj yameinu kimei kadmonai – Renew our days as the days of my youth.”
We know we have sinned. Had we not, the Beis HaMikdash would still be standing. Alas, it is not and hasn’t been for the past 2,000 years. But once upon a time, we were a great people, and we wish to go back to those days. The closing words of the kinah are derived from the final words of Eichah, “Chadeish yameinu ke’kedem” (5:21), as we ask H to renew our days of old.
We are merely a spiritual skeleton of what we used to be. Indeed, we have no Beis HaMikdash.
No karbanos, No avodah, No shirah. None of it.
And yet, we have our moments. At times, we may lose our way. Sometimes we get lost and forget who we are. But we are special. Although we may be sorely lacking in some areas, there have been glimpses of greatness that must remind the Al-mighty of the days of kedem. The word kikedem is the numerical equivalent of mikedem, from Edem, for once upon a time, we lived in Gan Eden.
This is how we conclude Eichah, with a reminder not to forget who we are. We stem from glorious origins. Although we may appear glaringly different and perhaps pathetically inadequate, we can never forget who we are at our core, where we come from, and therefore, what we eventually can be.
The Volbrommer Rebbe, Rav Alexander Yom Tov Lipa Rubin, a scion of the Dombrov Chassidic dynasty, was a rock of faith and a fountain of encouragement throughout the war years and long after.
Immediately after the war, he was sitting in one of the barracks of the concentration camp, weak and unwell, physically and emotionally spent. A mere shell of his former self, he barely had the strength to stand. The Volbrommer no longer had a Chassidus. He also had no idea of the whereabouts of his family or whether any of them had even survived.
Suddenly, three bareheaded young men walked into the barracks. Although the Rebbe was in a very fragile state, he did not want to let an opportune moment go to waste. He called the young men over. They too, had lost everything. No parents or siblings, utterly alone. He stood before them and looked into their dark, sullen eyes.
He then held up his closed hand. He slowly opened it and lying in his palm was a three-centimeter by three-centimeter photograph of himself.
They looked down at the picture of a man in a streimel, with a beard and payos, and they looked up at the individual sitting before them with nothing more than a bit of stubble and a kerchief covering his head, the best substitute he could find for a yarmulke. It hardly looked like the same person. But they looked closer and they saw the steely-eyed determination.
And now, the Volbrommer spoke deliberately, with conviction. “Ti”re bachurim, never forget who you are.”
This picture was the one and only item he had onto throughout the horrific years of the war. But it was ever so important. Because it was one image that reminded him of who he was.
With their souls refreshed and their hearts ignited, those young men built on that moment of inspiration to move forward and to rebuild their lives.
“Chadeish yameinu ke’kedem.”
We must remember who we are. Even if we are mired in galus and drowning in failure and brokenness.
Even if we have struggled, and indeed, we’ve been struggling for centuries.
For at our core, we are good. Very good. The best nation of all. Yes, with all of our shortcomings and with all of our sins, we are still so much better than anyone els
And we must never forget that.
(ibid) At times over the past 2,000 years, we have lost our way and gone astray. And we still wander and struggle to find our way back home. But even as we do, we must not forget who we are, who we belong to, and what we will once again be.
“Chasdeish yameinu kimel kadmonai ke’na’omecha Bonei Yerushalyim H-Renew our days as the days of my youth; as You have said, “The Builder of Yerushalayim is H.”
Sincerely, Rabbi Yehuda (Leonard) Blank