As we know, we are mourning the destruction of our Temple. And we also know that G-d expressed some level of mercy in destroying the Temple, which is a building and not destroying the Jewish People.
And that it is our mission in this generation, to re-build the Temple through our merits. That our merit is earned by bringing ourselves closer to Hashem and His ways. When we elevate our Neshamos, then we will merit the return of the Temple and the Shechina.
So too, with our SA addiction - we have destroyed our Temple - our bodies. The addiction gives power and a voice to our bodies.
Yet, even in our own wrecked bodies still lives a precious Neshama. And that it is our mission and our struggle: to give our Neshamos a bigger voice than our bodies.
THE 12 STEP Program helps us work on our egos, find humility and Deveikus with Hashem.
And when we "enlarge our Spiritual Life" and give power to our G-dlly Neshamas, then we will truly bring back the Shechina.
Have a easy and meaningful fast,
Duvid Chaim
There are many beautiful threads in the "Beis Medrash" on our forum (like this one) with many inspiring Divrei Torah and perspectives on the lessons of Tisha Be'av and our struggle with addiction. We encourage everyone to visit the Beis Medrash.
For a good historical and Halachic overview of Tisha Be'av, see this page on Matzav.com.