Tisha B’Av – Is the observance of the 9th Day of the Hebrew month of Av noted for its many disasters in history including the the destruction of both the first and second Temples in Jerusalem and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain.
Yet, in our time Yom Hashoah is ‘the’ great calamity. When we have so recent an event of epic proportions in many ways it eclipses the traditional holiday of the 9th of Av, so much so that the Holocaust has its own Day of Remembrance.
In the Reform movement, there is observance of Tisha B’Av by some as a fast day or partial fast day, yet there are few restrictions associated with the holiday.
Why do we observe a day such as this when we are so removed from this time in history? On one level the calamity marked the end of the ancient Jewish kingdom only to see it rise again and then fall again.
Yet, in modern times we have so much to be grateful for with the creation of modern Israel through Zionism, a love of the Land of Israel and a belief that there is an eternal connection between the Jewish People and the land. Yet, even in Israel there is massive observance by the religious community of this day and an outpouring of stirring prayers and presence at the remaining ancient wall, an outer wall of the Temple Mount.
Each year I try to understand why we keep mourning when there is so much to be grateful for in the United States and Israel. Why is it that the rabbinic instruction not to mourn forever, that life is not for mourning, does not seem to end our mourning for the Temple?
Part of the reason for its continued importance is that the observance is historic and like many prayers, it is a cry “out of the depths” for the human condition, and specifically for the predicament Jews have found ourselves in throughout history. This is true as well as we are currently experiencing an irrational hatred towards Jews in many parts of the world.
In contrast to this, in our moment of sacred time, we once again make a community. We discover that we are not alone in our communal concern, not alone in the world. We rise from this observance stronger.
My own answer to Tisha B’Av is Jewish celebrations: more Weddings, B’nei Mitzvah (including Adult B’nei Mitzvah!), Baby Namings, Brit Milah. Only by asserting the positive in our willingness to state that life is good and is worth all the ‘tsores,’ worth the troubles, do we answer the mourning of the 9th day of Av. The Song of the Partisan says ‘Do not say you are traveling on your last road…instead we resoundingly say – “We Are Here” in spite of history, hatred, prejudice, and past defeats.
Judaism is a celebration of life, a celebration of being the origin of the beliefs of half the people on the earth. As the 9th of Av is observed, I can only marvel at the profound religion, beliefs, history and people which are the foundation of our tradition.
Rabbi Arnold Saltzman
Rabbi, Sha’are Shalom Congregation,
Waldorf, Maryland