A Day to Look Backwards

This Wednesday night we will begin the observance of Tisha B'Av, the fast of the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av.

Tisha B'Av is the saddest day of the Jewish year.  On this day, we commemorate the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE, as well as a series of other terrible events that continue to influence Jewish life.  

Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning, fasting, and remembering difficult and tragic periods in our long history.  It is a day to look backwards. 

The Mishnah (Ta’anit 4:6) explains that five terrible events occurred on this day in Jewish history:

  • The decree that the Israelites would wander in the desert for 40 years
  • The First and Second Temples were destroyed (the first by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the second by the Romans in 70 CE
  • Betar, the fortress headquarters of Simon bar Kochba fell to the Romans in 135 CE, ending the last resistance to the Romans in the post Second Temple era
  • The Roman ruler Hadrian established a pagan temple and rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city in 136 CE.

Additional tragedies were also experienced in this day, including,

  • The Edict of Expulsion of the Jews from England was signed by King Edward I in 1290
  • The Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492.

With the emergence of the state of Israel, and the glorious rebuilding of Jerusalem in our time, many have questioned the relevance or even need for this observance, and especially fasting on this day.  I am among those who maintain that despite our gratitude for Israel and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, Tisha B’Av remains vital, necessary, and relevant. It teaches us our responsibility to learn from the past.  It reminds us that we, like so many generations before us, are responsible to build the Jewish future.  Perhaps most importantly, it links us to past generations who suffered so bitterly, yet somehow carried on and bequeathed the Jewish tradition to us.

I hope you will make every effort to be with us for this observance.

 

All Tisha B’Av services will be held at the JCCP/CBT in the Bodeen Chapel. The services will also be available on Zoom.  

The Fast begins Wednesday Night July 26 at 8:18 PM

The Fast concludes Thursday Night July 27 at 8:59 PM

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