Today is the 9th day of the Hebrew month called Av (Tisha B’Av) and has been deemed a day of mourning since the 2nd Temple fell in 70 C.E.
The ‘fall of The Temple’ is an idiom, and emblematic, of the fall of the Jewish country (in the war with Rome). It’s like saying ‘the fall of the White House’ to express the total collapse of America.
Since that time, our rabbis have claimed that this inauspicious day (today) is the date when all the great tragedies of our people have occurred, ranging from the Golden Calf to the Spanish Inquisition. I don’t think that they actually thought that these all occurred on the same day of the year in history, but rather, that this one day of mourning was meant to symbolically capture all the tragedy of the Jewish people.
When ‘The Temple’ fell, it was after an extended siege by the Roman army. Picture all the Jews inside the Jerusalem city walls, surrounded by the Romans. Each trying to wait the other out. Inside the walls, our sages report that things quickly developed into a Jewish civil war, with many warring factions competing for resources and control. We weakened ourselves enough so that when the Romans decided it was time to breach the walls, we were exhausted and vulnerable. The term that our rabbis use to describe the motivation of the warring Jewish factions is Sinat Chinam (senseless hatred). Different Jewish groups hated each other senselessly and fought with each other, despite the real enemy crouching at their gates. This was our downfall.
In our Reform circles, very few of us commemorate the 9th of Av, because it seems so far away (and the modern state of Israel is a fact), but the lessons that the 9th of Av teaches us are not only timeless but incredibly relevant …today.
You have seen the news stories, and read the Op-Eds, about the demonstrations and strife in Israel. Ostensibly, this is about judicial reform (which most Israelis from the Left and Right agree needs to happen), but, in my opinion, this is also about power. It is ‘religious’ vs. ‘secular’. It is about who controls the courts and the policies. And it is about who gets the resources. It is about who is protected, and who is not. The best thought leaders whom I trust are sure that this moment in time will determine how Israel moves forward, as well as how Israel is viewed by her friends, and by her enemies.
Here is the good news. Like it or not, this is democracy at work. The current government is working within their system to do what they think is best, and the protesters have a right to protest loudly and often- which they are doing in numbers and with a fervor that has never before been seen.
Since the re-creation of Israel in 1948, the state, and her people, have been through a lot. I am confident that they will get through this current crisis as well. My hope is that the lessons of the 9th of Av, to avoid Chinat Sinam/senseless hatred, one Jewish group to another, is recalled. We cannot afford to fight one another. The world is watching, both Israel’s friends, and her enemies.
May the One who brings peace from the heights bring peace upon all of Israel.
…and to that, we should all pray: Amen.
