CLAL Holy Days
Welcome to CLAL Holy Days, the place where you will find the latest thoughts and reflections by CLAL faculty and associates on upcoming Jewish holidays.
TISHA B'AV
Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of Av, is the most somber day on the Jewish calendar. On this day, when Jews commemorate the destruction of both the first and second Temples, together with other tragedies that befell the Jewish people, it is customary to fast and refrain from all pleasurable activities. We become a nation of mourners, sitting on the floor and reciting dirges.
But why are we mourning? Jews have returned to the land of Israel and there control their own destiny. Jerusalem has been reunited. True, the Temple has not been rebuilt, but for many Jews this is not a cause for dismay. Why then, does Tisha B'Av remain on the calendar as a day of mourning?
One answer may lie in one of the rabbinic explanations for the destruction of the Temples. The Talmud (Yoma 9b) comments:
Why was the first Temple destroyed? Because of three things: idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder.... But why was the second Temple destroyed when the Jewish people was engaged in Torah study, commandments and deeds of loving kindness? Because of senseless hatred.
After the destruction of the first Temple, the Jewish people apparently repented of their behavior, behavior they felt had led to their misfortune. In the second Temple period, the Talmud claims, Jews were engaged in praiseworthy acts. But they also hated each other and without cause. This hatred between Jews led to the destruction of the Temple and the collapse of the Jewish state.
Regrettably, senseless hatred still exists within the Jewish community. We have overcome the loss of the Temple, but not the behavior to which its loss is attributed. On Tisha B'Av, we mourn the state of the Jewish community that has regained symbols of its unity, but has yet to retrieve a true sense of togetherness.
(Dvora Weisberg)
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