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Sponsor |  KwanYin | Jul 21, 2006 4:13am | Tisha B'Av is almost upon us. My friend sent this to me and I wanted to share it with all of you.
Shabbat Shalom to you and yours.
Dear Friends,
This obviously a very critical time for Israel and the Jewish People. This past week has seen a host of programs and prayer sessions offered in hope of a safe ending to the current crisis. The fact that we find ourselves at the saddest period in the calendar only adds to our anxiety and solicitude.
I was asked to write a D'var Torah for The New Standard for this coming issue. I chose to incorporate the topic of the current situation along with Tisha B'Av into one piece.
The following is a sneak preview.
Please keep davening for the welfare of Israel and her people.
Good Shabbos,
RJR
The Talmud relates a story about a Rabbi who was once incarcerated by the Jewish authorities. His crime? He happened to publicly display symbols of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem. The authorities felt that this Rabbi's actions smacked of hubris. After all, it's not just anyone who can show off that he understands the loss of the Holy Temple and the painful exile of the Jewish People.
As we enter the saddest period of the Jewish calendar with the Ninth of Av looming, this story speaks directly to us. Allow me to explain. I remember when I was growing up in Columbus; the period known as the Three Weeks (from 17 Tammuz -9 Av) was quite predictable. These weeks always seemed to be an unwelcome interruption to what was a very blissful summer. The laws of mourning felt oppressive and were viewed as a nuisance. The day of Tisha Bâ€Av was long and arduous. The passing of each minute seemed more like an hour. We thought it would never end. Finally it did and we then could salvage what was left of the summer.
This was the routine year after year. There were no surprises, just the monotony of the mourning cycle. The most difficult aspect to all of this outward mourning was the fact that it appeared so contrived. Life was good. The world seemed pretty safe. No wars were being fought. American soil was years away from its first experience with terrorism. Even life in Israel was relatively predictable by Israeli standards. I would venture to say that back in those days if someone actually would have cried and shown tears to others on Tisha B'Av, that individual would have been suspected of playing to the crowd. "Who is he to portray the agony of Jerusalem and the Jewish People more than I?" The story of the Talmud would have been playing out before our very eyes.
Now fast-forward to today. The world is not the same place. America has seen its fair share of terrorism and the lingering effects. Air travel will never be the same. The concern for security wherever we go is always on our minds. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but ever present. The US is at war. Mothers and fathers whose sons and daughters are in Iraq are tormented with the fear of what tomorrow will bring. They take their worries with them to sleep and are reminded of them the moment they wake up. It cannot be easy.
What about Israel? No matter how much she tries to make overtures of peace, those sincere pragmatic gestures are reciprocated with treacherous violence of the worst kind. Are our abducted soldiers still alive? If the answer to our prayers is affirmative, then how are they fairing? How many rockets can Northern Israel sustain? Even if they physically survive the onslaught, what about the emotional wear and tear?
The sobriety these questions bring to the fore is enough to drag even the most sanguine of individuals down. We live in difficult, uncertain times. There are those who go out on a limb and profess what we are witnessing are no less than birth pangs of the Messiahâ€s arrival.
No one really knows the answers to our questions. But here's the point. If one is feeling saddened with all the chaos in the Jewish world as well as the world at large, there is a remedy. The balm is Tisha B'Av. The purpose of all the ritual mourning is not just to recall an event that happened almost two thousand years ago. All the pain and suffering we are witnessing today are a derivative of that cataclysmic event. The tears of Tisha Bâ€Av can be therapeutic. The more we become in touch with our past through the travails of the present, the closer we come to the cure to our woes. Judaism does not promote sadness. However for one day out of the year it behooves us to take time and reflect about our people. It was equally warranted years ago. We just lulled ourselves into believing things were better than they actually were. Fortunately or unfortunately, we presently do not have that luxury. So it would not be incorrect to say that on this Tisha B'Av let the tears flow. Cry for the missing soldiers and their families. Cry for the victims of the Katyusha rockets. Cry for the children who have become orphaned and the husbands and wives who have become widowed. Let it all out. And hopefully G-d will see the sincerity of our tears and make sure that this is the last Tisha B'Av we ever have to cry.
_____________________
Rabbi Jonathan Rosenberg
Congregation Ahavas Sholom |
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|  shifrah | Jul 25, 2006 12:54pm | | Thank you for this post. Praying for the peace of Jerusalem, Israel, and all her people, and all people of the book. |
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