This question hit home when I attended the recent Zohar Conference in Tel Aviv. During one of the sessions, Yael Leibowitz posed this as the fundamental question, and every other question is secondary.

“How do we make sure we never lose the Land again?”

At first, it sounded like a question about military strength, diplomacy or national security. But as I reflected on it, I realised she was asking something much deeper. It was the very question that lies at the heart of Tisha B’Av.

Every year we mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples. We sit on the floor, read Eichah and recite the Kinnot, remembering exile, persecution and loss. Yet Tisha B’Av is not simply about remembering what happened. It challenges every generation to ask why it happened—and, more importantly, what we must become to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

The Torah’s answer is both inspiring and demanding. The Land of Israel is not merely an inheritance; it is a covenantal responsibility. Again and again, Moses reminds the Israelites that remaining in the Land depends not only on military victories or political sovereignty, but on the kind of society they build. Justice, compassion, responsibility for the vulnerable, humility before God and fidelity to the covenant are not optional virtues. They are the conditions for remaining in the Land.

As I left the conference, I found myself approaching Yael’s question from an unexpected direction—not as a theologian or historian, but through my original reflection that I had prepared for Tisha B’Av. Without knowing, I probably had answered it.

It starts with a lesson I had learned years earlier in a corporate boardroom.

As a CFO, I have worked with many exceptional CEOs. I have also worked with one whose leadership style made every meeting unpredictable. Discussions could change direction without warning, criticism often arrived unexpectedly, and conversations frequently became emotionally charged. Eventually, it was decided that both the CEO and I should undergo executive coaching.

I entered those sessions convinced I was there to learn how to manage someone else’s behaviour. Instead, I discovered that the person whose reactions I first needed to understand was myself.

My coach introduced me to emotional intelligence. She explained that effective leadership is rarely about winning the immediate argument. It is about recognising your own emotions, understanding the motivations of others and resisting the temptation to react impulsively. Good leaders pause before responding. They ask what lies beneath the surface, consider the consequences of their actions and only then decide how to act.

Those lessons resonated deeply because, as a teenager, I played provincial chess. Chess is never simply about the next move. Strong players think several moves ahead, anticipating not........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)