From Kinot to Tikun, A Message of Hope
Monday evening, we had the privilege of hearing Mrs. Penina Lewis share the remarkable story of her Yemenite parents, whose lives were marked by tremendous hardship, yet defined by unwavering emunah and bitachon, faith and trust in Hashem. More than the history they lived through, it was their complete reliance on HaKadosh Baruch Hu that left such a lasting impression on everyone who attended.
The following insight, adapted from a dvar Torah by Moshay Cooper, beautifully connects the themes of Tishah B'Av, emunah, and the hope for redemption. Throughout every challenge, Penina shared, her father returned again and again to one pasuk that became the guiding principle of his life:
הַבּוֹטֵחַ בַּה׳ חֶסֶד יְסוֹבְבֶנּוּ
Ha'botei'ach baHashem chesed yesovevenu
"One who trusts in Hashem will be surrounded by kindness." (Tehillim 32:10)
As Tishah B'Av approaches, I'd like to share one final thought that beautifully captures the message of the evening.
We ended Monday night by reading several ancient kinot (lamentations) written by members of the Yemenite community. They are filled with longing, loss, and the pain of a generation that experienced unimaginable upheaval.
Tishah B'Av is our national day of mourning, but it is also deeply personal. Each of us carries our own kinot, our own losses, our own unanswered questions, our own moments of heartache.
Yet Chazal teach us something remarkable. Hidden within Tishah B'Av is the seed of redemption. One day, this very day of mourning will become a moed, a festival.
How can that be? How can redemption emerge from such pain?
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, in Likutey Moharan, offers a beautiful remez, a hint.
The letters of קינות (kinot) can be rearranged to spell תיקון (tikkun).
When life feels broken, we experience kinot. We mourn. We cry. We ask questions that seem impossible to answer.
The Gemara has a word for an unanswered question: תיקו (teiku)
Sometimes life itself feels like one long teiku. We look at suffering, at tragedy, at the pain of Klal Yisrael and our own lives, and we simply don't understand.
But if we add one final letter—the ן, the nun sofit (final nun), teiku becomes תיקון (tikkun).
What is that final nun?
The nun sofit reaches down from Shamayim to this world. It reminds us that our connection to HaKadosh Baruch Hu extends even into the darkest moments of our lives.
The numerical value of the letter nun is fifty, alluding to the נ׳ שַׁעֲרֵי בִינָה , Nun Sha'arei Binah, the Fifty Gates of Understanding. Today, we don't yet have that complete understanding. There are questions we cannot answer and tragedies we cannot explain.
But with the coming of Mashiach, the world will reach its ultimate tikkun, when the words of the Navi will be fulfilled:
וּמָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ דֵּעָה אֶת ה׳ כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים
U'mal'ah ha'aretz de'ah et Hashem kamayim la'yam mechasim
"The earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea."
Until then, what are we meant to do?
Penina gave us that answer through the example of her parents. Despite unimaginable hardship and heartbreaking loss, her father never let go of his bitachon.
Perhaps that is the final nun we are searching for.
The last letter of ביטחון (bitachon) is also the nun sofit.
When we hold on to bitachon, we hold on to that connection with Hashem. Even when we cannot see the whole picture, we know that He is guiding history and guiding each of our lives with purpose, wisdom, and love.
May we be zocheh to transform every teiku into tikkun, every kinah into geulah, and may HaKadosh Baruch Hu bring us speedily to the תיקון השלם (tikkun hashalem), when all of our questions will be answered, all of our tears will be wiped away, and Tishah B'Av itself will become a true moed.
