Rabbi Chanan Gordon - Tisha B’av 2026 Day of Inspiration

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Rabbi Chanan Gordon’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

Friends, welcome back to Jewish anytime here on Tisha B'Av 20 26. So, one of the most confusing statements of our sages that appears in the Talmud, the oral law, relates to the reason why the first temple was destroyed. The answer given seems astonishing. It says the land was destroyed because our ancestors did not recite the blessing over the Torah before learning it. it. Footnote, before we study the Torah, there's a specific blessing we have to say. That was the cause of the destruction of the temple? Not idolatry, not murder, not immorality? How can failing to say a blessing before learning Torah create such a gulf between the Jewish people and God that it resulted in the destruction of the temple and an exile that has lasted 2,000 years? So, one of the contemporary commentators suggests a profound answer. The problem was that the Jewish people had lost sight of what that blessing had lost sight of what that blessing represents. So, let's focus on eight simple words that we say every morning. Quote, "Who chose us from among all the nations?" So, these words are statements of responsibility. God chose the Jewish people to become his ambassadors in the world, to become the benchmark of morality, to become the embodiment of integrity, to demonstrate that a human being is capable of rising above instinct, above ego, and living according to God's will. If we forget why we were chosen, why should we expect

Jump to a moment

1. 0:00Friends, welcome back to Jewish anytime here on Tisha B'Av 20 26. So, one of the…
2. 0:30it. Footnote, before we study the Torah, there's a specific blessing we have to say. That…
3. 1:01had lost sight of what that blessing represents. So, let's focus on eight simple words that…
4. 2:04become famous. I want influence. These goals have become the measuring stick of success in modern…
5. 2:34status, recognition, influence. Yet, privately many confess to profound loneliness, anxiety, emptiness, and despair. This is…
6. 3:34that the Torah has taught for thousands of years. People can survive incredible hardships if they…
7. 4:04is stronger than cruelty, that truth matters, that family matters, that Shabbat matters, that God matters.…
8. 4:34Happiness is not the destination, it's a byproduct. A byproduct of living a life aligned with…
9. 5:36culture. Don't envy the world that the algorithm celebrates. Don't measure success by followers. Don't measure…
10. 6:07He chose you to become a light unto the nations. To demonstrate that genuine greatness is…

Every second of this shiur plays inside Lehallel — a filtered YouTube library where each video was reviewed against one written standard before it could appear. No ads, no comments, no autoplay into anything unapproved.