Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
Today marks 20 years since the passing of Shalom Noah Berzovsky, known as "Netivot Shalom" (Paths of Peace), the title given to his collected works. He was a rebbe whose Hasidic court was small, but his books have become popular throughout the religious world and beyond. Here are a few of his thoughts concerning Tisha B'Av.
"We are not mourning over what was and is no more since the nation of Israel does not preserve memories of the past unless they are connected to the present and the future. Our mourning is a refusal to accept the present and a desire to change it."
"There are two forms of weeping: weeping that comes from despair and weeping that comes from hope. Our weeping over the destruction comes from hope, not over what is gone but over what will be."
"Rebbe Moshe of Kubrin once said: The very worst thing is to accept your situation as is."
In his memory.