One of the prohibitions that apply on Tishah B’Av is that we do not wear normal shoes. In the olden days, people would walk about barefoot on Tishah B’Av, whereas nowadays we have non-leather shoes or slippers that we wear. Fundamentally, though, Tishah B’Av is a day when we do not wear shoes.
Let’s look at the other times when shoes are not permitted:
· Yom Kippur.
· Kohanim serving in the Bet Ha’mikdash.
· When Hashem appeared to Moshe at the burning bush, He told him to take off his shoes, because it was a holy site.
· When Yehoshua saw an angel, the angel told him to remove his shoes.
If we take Tishah B’Av out of this list, we see a pattern: removing shoes is associated with holiness.
Moshe and Yehoshua were told to remove their shoes when they were speaking to Hashem, or to an angel. The kohanim remove their shoes when they serve in the sacred site of the Bet Ha’mikdash. On Yom Kippur, we achieve a special level of holiness, so we keep our shoes off.
The Rabbis explain that after the sin of Adam and Havah in Gan Eden, Hashem cursed the ground, and this is why we generally wear shoes. But when we achieve kedushah, we undo the curse, and so we remove our shoes. (This also explains why mourners don’t wear shoes – to show that their loved one has left this world, and is now in the next world, where there is no curse.)
BUT WHAT ABOUT TISHAH B’AV?
Why do we take off our shoes on Tishah B’Av?
The answer lies in a basic understanding of what Tishah B’Av is, why we mourn, and why we look forward to the time when Mashiah comes and the Bet Ha’mikdash is rebuilt.
Most people want Mashiah because all their problems are then going to be solved. But this is not the most important thing that will happen when Mashiah comes. At that time, the whole world will recognize Hashem. There will be a great kiddush Hashem. Hashem’s greatness will be seen and felt by EVERYBODY. This is what we hope for.
On Tishah B’Av we remove our shoes like we do on Yom Kippur and like the kohanim do in the Bet Ha’mikdash – because we look forward to the time when the earth with be filled with kedushah, filled with an awareness of Hashem.
But even while we wait for Mashiah, we can start achieving this goal, right now. Today.
And we do this by realizing that we represent Hashem to the world, and that we are able to bring glory to Hashem, to make a kiddush Hashem, by the way we conduct ourselves.
It does not matter AT ALL how religious you look. They know we’re Jews. And they’re watching us. Very carefully. So, the way we conduct ourselves is the way Hashem is represented to the world.
Making a kiddush Hashem, acting in a way which brings respect to the Jewish Nation and to Hashem, is not just about making sure the non-Jews like us. It’s so much more than that. It’s about being excited and proud about who we are, about having a special relationship with Hashem. If we are proud about our distinction as Hashem’s special nation, then of course we want to make a good impression. Of course we want to conduct ourselves in a dignified, respectable manner.
If an employee goes to a meeting on behalf of his company, then assuming his job is important to him, he will want very much to represent his company in a way which brings respect. The same is true of our Jewishness. If we are proud of who we are, then we want to represent our “company” in a way which brings us respect.
We don’t have to wait till Mashiah comes to fill the world with kedushah. We can do this right now, by acting in a manner which makes a kiddush Hashem, in a manner which brings glory to G-d and to His beloved nation.