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Seven Reasons why we Need Tisha B'av (August 2/3, 2006)
Excerpted from Rabbi Mark B. Greenspan
Tisha B'Av is almost here (August 2/3,2006), but for most people in the
contemporary Jewish community, it will pass unnoticed and unacknowledged. It's
the most unlucky holiday: because it falls in the summer. The only people who
seem to observe this day of fasting and mourning with "enthusiasm" are young
people who attend Jewish summer camps. Imagine what Jewish life would be like if
Pesach fell in the middle of the summer and Tisha B'Av was in the spring!
There are arguments to be made for doing away with Tisha B'Av or at least
downplaying the observance of this day of mourning and sorrow.
With thousands of Jews traveling to Israel, it is hard to wrap our minds around
the destruction of the Temple or even the exile of the Jewish people from Spain.
Sure we can stand at the Kotel, but what we witness is a vibrant Jewish
community coming to pray from all corners of the world. Do we really think of
ourselves as living in exile? The word galut, exile, has been replaced in modern
times by the world tefutzot, Diaspora. We are the Jewish Diaspora, not the exile
forced to leave our land and pining away for Jerusalem.
And then there is the problem of theology. In the book of Aycha, Lamentations,
we chant, "Because Jerusalem has grievously sinned, she has become contaminated;
and "Why should a person complain when he is punished for his sins." We're
troubled by the idea of associating sin with suffering. Yet that idea underlies
every aspect of Tisha B'Av. It is hard for us to think about the Temple being
destroyed because of the sins of our people without reflecting on the reason for
the death of a million and half children, not to mention six million people in
the Holocaust. It is not possible to say that there is a connection between sin
and suffering for one without saying that the same is true for the other. So
what do we do with Tisha B'Av? Why should we observe it today?
Without solving this theological conundrum, I'd like to offer seven reasons why
we need to observe Tisha B'Av today. Whatever the theological truths of Tisha
B'Av may be, we cannot deny the historical truths of this day of sorrow. Jews
have suffered throughout the ages and we can no more forget this fact than we
can forget who our parents are. Let me suggest several reasons why we need Tisha
B'Av now.
- We need Tisha B'av today because Jews have still not learned to love one
another enough. The Talmud is very clear about this. The second Temple was
destroyed not because of idolatry or bloodshed, but because of sinat chinam,
causeless hatred, between Jews. When we hate one another, when Jews defame
one another, we threaten our very existence. Tisha B'Av, then, is a warning.
As Rav Kook taught, redemption will come not when one truth or another
prevails but when Jews learn to show ahavat chinam, complete and
unconditional love.
- We need Tisha B'Av because we are no less vulnerable today than we were
2000 years ago. At a time in history when terrorists can fly a jet plane
into the World Trade Center, there is no way that we can see ourselves as
safe from the dangers of zealotry and hatred. And only sixty years after the
Holocaust ended, who could imagine that anti-Semitism would be on the
upswing around the world. That's not to say that we have to live in a state
of panic and fear, but neither should we let our guard down, nor should we
assume that everything will be OK.
- We need Tisha B'Av because it's just as important to learn how to cry as
it is to know how to laugh and celebrate. Sorrow is a part of life and no
one is immune from tragedy. By ritualizing a day of national mourning,
Judaism teaches us that putting a stiff upper lip and sucking it in is not
necessarily a good thing. On Tisha B'Av we allow ourselves to cry.
- We need Tisha B'Av because the threats to our existence are just as real
today as they were in the past - only they are internal rather than
external. Anti-Semitism hasn't disappeared but our real fear has to do with
conflicts among Jews: secular and religious. Even deeper are the dangers of
apathy and indifference that we face in Jewish life. We are victims of our
own success. Will we still be here a generation or two from now? Maybe the
issue over which we should mourn is not the destroyed Temple, but an empty
synagogue.
- We need Tisha B'Av today because history is made up of both triumphs and
failures, and we need to acknowledge both. As Jews, we have much to be proud
of. But it is more important for us to understand why we have failed and
what we can learn from our past. In fact, there are no failures - only
lessons to be learned that can help us address the future.
- We need Tisha B'Av today because we need to remind ourselves that
Jerusalem is the heart and soul of Jewish life. Tisha B'Av is a powerful
reminder to us that Jews never forgot their land and that Jerusalem was
never far from the consciousness of the Jewish people. Whether it was
breaking a glass at a Jewish wedding or saying, "Next year in Jerusalem," on
the night of the seder, we have survived because Jerusalem has always been
our home and our heart. We need to remind ourselves of what Napoleon
Bonaparte said after passing a synagogue in Paris on Tisha B'Av and seeing
the Jews crying about the destruction of the Temple. "If the Jews are still
crying after so many hundreds of years, then I am certain the Temple will
one day be rebuilt!"
- Finally, we need Tisha B'Av because it is a powerful reminder that we
are interconnected as a people. We gather on this day not as individuals,
but as a community. We feel each other's pain, and we are reminded that when
a Jew suffers in one part of the world, anguish is shared by Jews in every
other part of the world. That shared connection is both geographic and
temporal. We remember the past and we know that we are connected to Jewish
communities everywhere.
So there may be problems with Tisha B'Av, but this fast day is the greatest
acknowledgement of Jewish people-hood. Even a secular Jew ought to be able to
identify with this holiday. No matter how you may feel about God, Tisha B'Av is
a reminder that all Jews share a common destiny.
As we observe Tisha B'Av, let us consider how our actions make a difference in
the world. Let us remember the words of the Psalms: "We may plant with tears,
but in the end we will reap with joy."
May Tisha B'Av teach us to renew our resolve to rebuild and renew our world.
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