I remember Tisha B'Av 5 years ago just before the Disengagement.
Instead of concentrating on destruction and mourning, the feeling was much more like that of Yom Kippur; a day of prayer, atonement, and hopefully salvation from the decree to destroy the homes of Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron, and the eviction of their Jewish residents.
Despite all the prayer, the destruction came anyway.
A lot has happened in the past five years.
Soldiers were kidnapped and murdered. Gilad Shalit languishes in a Hamas hell-hole in Gaza. Two wars were fought -- the Second Lebanon War in the North, and Operation Cast Lead in the South. Thousands of rockets have rained down on Israel. Israel can't even defend itself from Gaza's terror without resounding world condemnation, led by Jews such as Goldstone. Israel can't even enforce a naval blockade around Gaza to prevent the flow of weapons to Hamas, without the world's scathing criticism, joined by the unholy chorus of J-Street and New Israel Fund recipients.
The period of the "3 weeks" is always traumatic, yet this year it seems to be far worse and closer to home from horrific traffic accidents to plane accidents.
May this be the last year when the "3 weeks" are one filled with trepidation and sadness and Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning.
May next year be one of rejoicing, rebuilding, and redemption.
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5 comments:
Amen!
Thanks for this beautiful and meaningful post. I don't think anyone who wasn't here in Israel on that fateful Tisha B'Av can possibly imagine the prevailing mood. Our heads told us that it was hopeless, but our hearts continued to daven and yearn for salvation.
.צום קל ומועיל
Amen, Jameel. Nice summing up.
I am not in a position to disagree with my friend Mrs. S., as I wasn't here. But I can tell you that there were those of us out there, sitting in front of our computers as if nothing else mattered in the world, who prayed and believed in miracles, and who wept bitterly when the miracles didn't come. Viewing "Home Game" still brings the most real tears for me on Tisha B'Av, because the Gerush is the most recent collective experience of the destruction of the Temple that I can wrap my head around.
May we merit to see the Geula together.
I am a proud Jew and I don't fast on Tishah b'Av. Why? Because I don't worry about the destruction of temples thousands of years ago. I'm more concerned with the destruction of human beings that is going on today. How dare we have the chutzpah to mourn our ancient temple while at the same time making life a living hell for innocent Palestinians in occupied Palestine? Let's turn over a new leaf, apologize to our Palestinian brothers, make restitution, and think about the future, not the past. If we Jews are to have a vital and valid future, we must start obeying international law, allow Palestinians to exercise the right of return, and start having respect for the lives and liberties of all people, not just Jews.
And don't forget to dismantle the State of Israel while you're at it.
"Proud Jew" (even if I cannot understand what your conception of being jewish is if it's not tied to judaism and its traditions),
Tisha B'av is THE fast that is the most about the future.
It's about our sin, as we are not united and still doing Sinat Hinam, it's all about making a self-introspection to improve this, with the final goal being the construction of a Third Beit Hamikdash.
So you see, why you're still trying to mend some consequence of the present, we, proud, more or less religious, jews, we are healing the worse while preparing for the world to come.
The Rav Kook used to explain that one of the reasons we had to conquest in a such a way Eretz Israel after the death of Moshe Rabeinu, it's because we hadn't yet managed to improve ourselves to such a level that our ennemies would understand that it's our rightfull place.
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