Tisha B’Av: To Break and to Build

Beginning tonight at sundown through tomorrow, August 13th at sundown is the solemn holiday of Tisha B’Av (translates as the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av). Tisha B’Av commemorates the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples (586 BCE and 70 CE), as well as other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the years. It is a communal day of mourning, a day when Jews across the world pause to mourn various tragedies as a nation and as a people throughout history. This year the grief and mourning feels especially fresh and raw.

Central practices of Tisha B’Av, similar to Yom Kippur, include fasting, not washing, not using special perfumes, and not wearing leather shoes. It is also customary to read from the Book of Lamentations (Megillat Eicha) during services. All of these customs are meant to evoke a sense of loss, mourning and sadness. Frequently in Judaism, tragedy is connected to fasting and abstaining – we remember by refraining from things that bring us joy, like food, showering, make-up, perfume, comfy shoes etc.

Trying to wrap their heads around these tragedies, the Ancient Rabbis came up with different rationales as to why the Temples were destroyed. One answer they give can be found in the Talmud (Yoma 9b), where they say the First Temple was destroyed because at the time the Jewish people were exemplifying the worst characteristics of humanity, and the Second Temple was destroyed because of “hatred without cause.”

Looking at this, the very things that destroyed the Temples are destroying our world right now. The world is breaking because so many people in the world are exemplifying the worst characteristics of humanity, and the amount of “hatred without cause” is untenable.

However, it is not too late to change our trajectory. We can learn from the lessons of Tisha B’Av. History has also taught us that we can build a better world through being our best selves, and love. The choice is ours to make. Jewish musician Ellen Allard says it best in her song, “Building a Better World,” “We’re building a better world / One person at a time… We’re building a world with love… with peace… with friends.” We all can do our part in building a better world as long as we do it with love, peace, and friendship.

Let Tisha B’Av be our clarion call that we all have the power to build a better world, even while it is breaking. Like Rabbi Nachman of Breslov once said, “If you believe that we can break things, believe that we can repair.”

B’Shalom (In Peace),

Rabbi Ariel