Since October 7th, Jews around the world are struggling. Antisemitic attacks are on the rise.
Historically, Jews are a convenient target; we have been designated as a template for the world’s woes. We have been blamed for economic downturns, the plague, creating and spreading Covid, controlling the banks and the world economy, blood libel: eating children, and harvesting their blood for ritual purposes among others. It sounds like a horror film.
We have suffered as a people, most horrifically, the Holocaust which has many deniers. We have endured the violence of the Holocaust, expulsion from Spain and other countries, and the Crusades. We have been ghettoized, banned from professions, and persecuted wherever we live. And finally, we are witnessing the delegitimization of Israel.
We have a holiday to mourn these seismic events, Tishah B’Av (the 9th of Av). This year it is in August.
Tishah B’Av commemorates the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples in Jerusalem. The holiday is also a remembrance of the loss of life our people have endured across millennia. It is the saddest holiday of the year and a fast day. Most of us do not celebrate Tishah B’Av, particularly in our synagogue where we do not hold services in the summer. But this year we can use the day to contemplate what we have battled.
Because tragedy lives amongst us now, this holiday serves as a uniquely poignant opportunity to mourn not only for our collective Jewish history but also for our contemporaneous troubles.
Mourning helps us heal and is an integral process in our human experience. We can use this day to connect with family and friends and tell the stories of our ancestors, to bring alive our narrative of survival and triumph. Mourning gives us all perspective on life; although we experience psychic pain during this process it may bring us to an appreciation of what and whom we still have. As the Torah teaches us, there is always a spark of hope. Being together on this holiday can kindle the promise of this hope. May we all feel and grow this spark and move out of the darkness into light.
Let us pray for peace!
Phyllis Sherman
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