This is a story of stereotypes. 

There was a house painter of Italian descent. 

Let’s call him Tony. 

He was discovered by a Jewish interior designer we will call Phyllis. 

Tony’s star began to rise and everyone wanted him to paint their home. 

Goldie Schwartz was redecorating and she only wanted the best 

(I told you this a stereotypical story) so she hired Tony for the job. 

When Tony arrived to begin work, Goldie was ready for him. 

She told him all of her requirements in rapid fire instruction and concluded her soliloquy by saying “Tony, you are the best in the business. I hired you because I want it to be perfect!”

A smile spread across Tony’s face. 

“Let me tell you what I learned from my Rabbi” he said. 

This is where the story starts to veer from stereotypical. 

Goldie was shocked. 

In her vast experience, Italian house painters did not have Rabbis. 

“You have a Rabbi?” She asked incredulously, “who is your Rabbi?”

Tony took out his wallet and removed a photograph. It was the picture of a saintly looking man with a beautiful smile. It was indeed a photograph of the Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam, a Holocaust survivor and leader of a Hasidic dynasty. 

Tony told Goldie how he initially met Rabbi Halberstam. 

“It was the beginning of my career, one of my first jobs, and I nervously knocked on the door of the client. The door was opened by a smiling rabbinical figure. He welcomed me warmly and ushered me in. 

“We need to talk” the Rabbi said. I was ready for the standard speech about doing a perfect job. Imagine my surprise when the Rabbi asked  me instead if I had eaten breakfast. When I responded in the negative, the Rabbi sat me down and proceeded to prepare a hearty  breakfast for me! 

After breakfast the Rabbi asked me if I had ever heard that the Jewish people had a Temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed thousands of years ago. 

The Rabbi explained that when the Temple stood it was the ultimate in perfection. However, due to our sins, the Temple was destroyed and since then there is nothing perfect. 

“So Tony” the Rabbi said, “I know you will do a job to the best of your ability, do the best you can, but don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be perfect, because it can’t be!”

Tony concluded his story and painted Goldie’s house to the best of his ability. 

Not perfect. 

But close. 

Tonight we begin a period of time we call The Nine Days. 

It is the first 9 days of the Hebrew month of Av and culminates on the 9th day of Av, the date of the destruction of the two Temples which stood in Jerusalem. 

The first Temple was destroyed in the 6th century BCE and the second was destroyed in 70 CE

on the 9th of Av in those respective years. 

We are taught that the second Temple was destroyed due to the lack of respect, or even hatred, that was expressed from to one to another. 

Centuries have passed and we remain desolate, we have clearly not brought about the repair that is expected of us. 

Perfection is not in our grasp, as we have not managed to heal the breach. 

The Nine Days, a time when we feel the weight of our loss, culminates on the 9th of Av, a day of fasting, mourning and introspection. 

The story is told of Napoleon Bonaparte who was walking through the Jewish quarter of Paris on the 9th of Av when he heard sounds of crying. He asked his adjutant why the Jews were keening. When he heard they were mourning their lost Temple, he assumed it was a recent loss. He was shocked to learn it was a tragedy from the distant past. 

Napoleon proclaimed that a nation that is attached to its past in such an eternal manner will surely see its Temple rebuilt and achieve the ultimate eternity. 

As we enter this somber time the message we can take to heart is the message of Rabbi Halberstam. 

The way we can commemorate the destruction of the Temple and do something to course correct is by remembering his  lesson. 

Our job in this world is not to be perfect, rather it’s to exhibit kindness to one another, to act in a way that brings light to the world. 

To do the best we can. 

Only through that type of behavior can we hope to bring perfection back to the world, the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.  

Each person can do this in the daily actions of their lives, by providing a smile, or a breakfast or an encouraging word. 

That is how we break the stereotypes and bring the world back to a place of perfection. 

That will put the world back to its proper place. 

Ask Tony. 

He’ll tell ya. 

Shabbat Shalom and so much love.