Devarim - When Love Feels Like Hate: The Wound Behind Tisha B’Av

How could Klal Yisrael look at everything Hashem had done for them—the miracles of Mitzrayim, Krias Yam Suf, the mann in the desert—and conclude: “Hashem hates us”?And why did one night of misplaced tears become a night of crying for generations?In this shiur, delivered at Michlelet NCSY, Rav Burg explores the deeper wound behind the sin of the Meraglim. Their fear was not merely that they would lose the battle for Eretz Yisrael. Beneath their fear was shame—the belief that because of their past, they were no longer worthy of Hashem’s love.When a person believes he is unworthy of love, even love itself can begin to feel threatening. Care is reinterpreted as rejection. Guidance feels like punishment. A gift feels like a trap.The tears of that night revealed a profound breakdown of trust between Klal Yisrael and Hashem. That wound did not disappear. It continued producing distance, exile and tears throughout Jewish history.Tisha B’Av is therefore not only about mourning what was destroyed. It is about repairing the deepest rupture of all: learning to believe that even after failure, we are still loved—and allowing that love to bring us home.