Saturday 21 July 2018

Tisha B'Av, Mourning the Loss of Our People and of Our Family

Dear Friends and Family,

This Shabbat, 9th of Av on the Jewish calendar (7/20-7/21) marks the saddest day in Jewish history as well as the saddest day in my family's history. For those unfamiliar with the general and personal stories behind Tisha B'Av, please take a moment to read further.

Tisha B'Av, the "9th of Av," marks the saddest day in Jewish history. Each year, we Jews observe the Fast of Tisha B'Av (this year it falls on Sunday since it is not observed on Shabbos), as a culmination of a three-week period of mourning starting from 17 of Tammuz. It was instituted as a national Jewish fast day nearly as stringent and significant as Yom Kippur that all Jews are incumbent to observe through fasting and mourning. The greatest calamities in Jewish history are remembered on this sad day, many of which happened on or around Tisha B'Av itself. This is a rare occasion that I recommend reading Wikipedia for something Jewish, but they have a helpful article worth reading. Courtesy of Wikipedia, here is a list of some of the calamities mentioned:

"According to the Mishnah (Taanis 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting:
  1. The Twelve Spies sent by Moses to observe the land of Canaan returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the Children of Israel to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "Promised Land". For this, they were punished by G-d that their generation would not enter the land. The midrash quotes G-d as saying about this event, "You cried before me pointlessly, I will fix for you this day as a day of crying for the generations", alluding to the future misfortunes which occurred on the same date.
  2. The First Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BCE, and the population of the Kingdom of Judah was sent into the Babylonian exile. The First Temple's destruction began on the 7th of Av (2 Kings 25:8) and continued until the 10th (Jeremiah 52:12). According to the Talmud, the actual destruction of the Temple began on the Ninth of Av, and it continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av.
  3. The Second Temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land that continues to this day.
  4. The Romans subsequently crushed Bar Kokhba's revolt and destroyed the city of Betar, killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians (approximately 580,000) on August 4, 135 CE.
  5. Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Roman commander Turnus Rufus plowed the site of the Temple in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, in 135 CE.
Over time, Tisha B'Av has come to be a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for later tragedies which occurred on or near the 9th of Av. References to some of these events appear in liturgy composed for Tisha B'Av
  1. The First Crusade officially commenced on August 15, 1096 (Av 24, AM 4856), killing 10,000 Jews in its first month and destroying Jewish communities in France and the Rhineland.
  2. The Jews were expelled from England on July 18, 1290 (Av 9, AM 5050).
  3. The Jews were expelled from France on July 22, 1306 (Av 10, AM 5066).
  4. The Jews were expelled from Spain on July 31, 1492 (Av 7, AM 5252).
  5. Germany entered World War I on August 1–2, 1914 (Av 9–10, AM 5674), which caused massive upheaval in European Jewry and whose aftermath led to the Holocaust.
  6. On August 2, 1941 (Av 9, AM 5701), SS commander Heinrich Himmler formally received approval from the Nazi Party for "The Final Solution." As a result, the Holocaust began during which almost one third of the world's Jewish population perished.
  7. On July 23, 1942 (Av 9, AM 5702), began the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.
  8. The AMIA bombing, of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killed 85 and injuring 300 on 18 July 1994 (10 Av, AM 5754).
  9. The Israeli disengagement from Gaza began in the Gaza Strip, expelling 8000 Jews who lived in Gush Katif; 15 August 2005; 10 Av, 5765."

For our family, Tisha B'Av marks a particularly sad day because it was on the 9th of Av 5776 (2016) that my sister Julie suddenly passed away.

While Tisha B'Av represents the many, many tragic events that scar our People's past and present, the central theme focuses on mourning the loss of our First and Second Temple. Why do we single-out the loss of these two "brick and mortar" buildings as the focus of our loss when the same day relates to the loss of millions of Jews throughout history? How can we relate to such an abstract and distant event in 2018?

I believe one answer is the fact that our Temples represented G-d's Divine Presence in our world. It is utterly impossible for a Jew in 2018 to relate to life during the Temple era and the abundance of open miracles and overflow of Divine Presence that was "every-day life" at that time. So too, it would be impossible for someone 2,000 years ago to relate to (or even believe) the idea that one brother on one continent could hear another brother on another continent whisper (ie via a telephone); or that one could fly like a bird from country to country in a matter of hours. What we can relate to, however, is having Divine Presence in our every day lives; whether through the little and big "coincidences" and miracles--for those that wish to open their eyes and see them. Our Talmud (Yoma 9b) states that the First Temple was destroyed due to Jews sinning through idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed, the three cardinal sins that are so grave that a Jew must sacrifice his life rather than transgress any one of them (which is not the case with other commandments). The Talmud then asks a perplexing question: "during the Second Temple, the Jews occupied themselves with the Torah (observing and learning), mitzvos, and acts of kindness; why was it destroyed? Because of baseless hatred that existed [between Jews]."

Our Holy Temples were a microcosm of the Universe. The intricate, beautiful, and profound service, customs, and life that encompassed our Temple set an example of how we should shape our lives and model society. It is indisputable that the one intrinsic thing that all Jews have in common over the past 3,000+ years is our embracing of the Torah as a guide to life, which continues as the center and focus of our continued existence and purpose as a People. The common fault that the Jews of both the First and Second Temple eras share is that they did not appreciate the important role that the Torah played in their everyday life. As such, they were not able to recognize the importance of their personal role in society nor did they appreciate the importance of others and their roles in society. How could Jews, the Holy People, in the First Temple era fall victim to idolatry, immorality, bloodshed? Because they did not value the morality and ethics that the Torah brings into the world, they did not recognize their own responsibilities in morality and ethics and would never achieve the greatness that connection to the Torah brings. When one has no value or sense of purpose in life, one is capable of committing the worst acts, even idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed.  

The generation of the Second Temple, however, recognized this divine spark and kept Torah and mitzvos in as much as it served their daily lives. However, they did not fully-embrace the profound depths of the ethic and moral teachings of the Torah and they saw only purpose and value in their own lives, not the lives of others. As such, "holy" Jews hated other Jews for no reason at all. The crimes committed during that generation were not coming from a lack of purpose in their lives; the source was a lack of love, respect, and appreciation for their fellow Jews and their unique role in this world. When one has no value for another, one will hate and sometimes even harm the other.
This theme of "baseless hatred" or gratuitous hatred is perhaps the most common theme each Tisha B'Av because as a people we realize that our Third Temple cannot be rebuilt until we have gratuitous love for our fellow Jews--to fix the fault of our forefathers many years ago.

My sister Julie was someone who had gratuitous love for others. She had a big heart full of love. Being Jewish meant a lot to her and she did not look at her fellow Jews as orthodox, conservative, or reform, despite the differences. As such she harbored no baseless hatred as others might harbor by stereotyping and judging based on affiliation. She was Jewish and she practiced what she knew; and whenever she learned about new Jewish ideas or practices she was eager to listen and learn.

The Talmud teaches us that each generation that does not merit to rebuild the Temple is considered as if it destroyed it. How can we merit to rebuild the Temple in our generation? By learning and bringing the depth and wisdom of the morality and ethics of our Torah into our daily lives, by recognizing and building a connection with the Divine spark in all of us, and by seeking and valuing the greatness in ourselves and in our fellows.

As my family remembers Julie (Hebrew name: Feyga bas Chaim) on her second yarhzeit this Shabbos, 9th of Av, I call on my friends and family to do something lasting and meaningful in Julie's memory. Connect, even just once a week, to the rich heritage of our people. Learn one new Torah lesson in ethics and morality; do one mitzvah; take one minute to connect with your Creator. Do something to reconnect with our eternal heritage and perhaps we will feel a closer connection to those who are no longer with us, but whose memory and souls will live on eternally.

Good Shabbos,

Andrew (Efrayim) and family

Please feel free to forward this to friends and family.