Tisha B'Av is Greater than Yom Kippur: The Secret of the Burning of Sins and the Virtue of the Ten Martyrs

Specifically on the day when we sit on the ground and weep over the destruction of the Temple, our teacher Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a teaches that Tisha B'Av is a great and exalted day — even greater than Yom Kippur. From a lesson delivered on the night of Tisha B'Av, regarding the secret of the burning of sins, the power of the Ten Martyrs, and the secret of the weeping of our matriarch Leah.

Tisha B'Av — Greater than Yom Kippur

It is written in the holy books that Tisha B'Av is thousands of times greater than Yom Kippur. Why? Because the moment the Holy Temple was burned — all the sins were burned with it. Just as the fire consumed the Temple, so too it consumes all the sins of Israel. Therefore, one must remain and recite the Kinot (lamentations) until midnight, and afterward travel to the graves of tzaddikim and spend the entire day in prayer — exactly like Yom Kippur, where one stands in the Amidah prayer and does not move, to atone for all the years and all the reincarnations.

The Ten Martyrs — Atonement for All Generations

Tisha B'Av connects to Yom Kippur through the Ten Martyrs: Rabbi Akiva was combed with iron combs on Yom Kippur, and through this, Yom Kippur is bound to Tisha B'Av. These ten tzaddikim, who gave up their lives with self-sacrifice for the sanctification of Hashem's name, took upon themselves all the suffering of all generations — so that a Jew would not have to shed a tear throughout the entire year. Whoever recites the "Ten Martyrs" with intention — on Tisha B'Av and on Yom Kippur — is guaranteed that the entire year will pass successfully for him, and all his sins are atoned for. And just as whoever sheds a tear over Nadav and Avihu is guaranteed a place in the World to Come, so too one who weeps while reciting "Arzei HaLevanon Adirei HaTorah" (Cedars of Lebanon, Mighty Ones of Torah), knowing that everything the Ten Martyrs endured was to atone for all generations — merits complete atonement.

The Secret of Leah's Weeping

"And Leah's eyes were tender" — Leah wept her entire life so that she would not fall into the portion of Esau. In the merit of her weeping, she merited to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah, which Rachel did not merit. Leah would go every day to the crossroads and ask the passersby to tell her of the disgrace of Esau and the virtue of Jacob — because the tears of yesterday are not the tears of today, and the tears we will shed tomorrow are not the tears of today. In our generation, where Esau is found inside the heart, inside the mind, and inside the devices in our hands — a person must shed tears like water, in the aspect of Leah, so that he will not fall into the portion of Esau.

The Three Weeks — A Time for Building

Specifically during these Three Weeks, it is possible to merit the revelation of King Mashiach and the building of the Holy Temple. The weeping, as we sit on the ground and cry until midnight, draws down lights that are not revealed throughout the entire year — "seventy lights" that shine specifically on Tisha B'Av. And whoever nullifies himself to the true tzaddik — who includes within himself all the Ten Martyrs and even higher than them to infinity — merits that all harsh decrees are nullified, and he enters the World to Come without any judgment.

From a lesson by our teacher Rav Eliezer Berland shlit"a, the night of Tisha B'Av 5766.