Thoughts for Tish B'Av

Today is a very special day on the Jewish calendar. It is known as Tish B'Av - the ninth of Av. It is a day of fasting, mourning, and special prayers. Special prayer services are held at the Western Wall (the Kotel). I know you are asking, "Why should I care what Tish B'Av is?" Let me share with you what that day signifies.

In the year 586 BC, the armies under Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon assaulted and destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Nothing was left standing in place. Those residents of the city and of the country of Judea who survived were led captive into the land of Babylon where they would remain for seventy years. Upon their return from captivity during the days of Cyrus in 536 BC, the Jews began rebuilding their Temple, but work was stopped because of the complaints of Jerusalem's neighbors. Finally, Zerubbabel completed the project in 516 BC. This Temple paled in comparison with the one Solomon had built. When Herod the Great ascended the throne in Jerusalem as King of the Jews, he began to rebuild the Temple - a project that would take over 60 years to complete. Then in 70 AD, while putting down a Jewish revolt, the Roman army under Titus destroyed the Temple once again. Now, here is where the story gets very interesting: both destructions occurred on the very same day, some 656 years apart: Tish B'Av.

What makes this day so interesting is that in the year 1492, on Tish B'Av, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain ordered that all Jews be exiled from Spain. It was also on Tish B'Av in 1914 that World War I began, which would eventually culminate in the rise of the anti-Semitic Nazis and their leader Adolph Hitler. I think now you can begin to understand why it became a day of national mourning.

But, what about us? Yesterday we witnessed one of the six worst days in the history of Wall Street. Millions of Americans saw their portfolios decline by thousands of dollars. Now our leaders are playing the blame game as to who is responsible. I have the answer - are you ready to hear it? We all are responsible! For too long we have grown accustomed to our government helping us out, whether it was with cheap student loans, guaranteed mortgages for our homes, subsidized prices for our crops, well, you can add to the list. It has brought us to the point where now our government has more obligations than it has cash to pay for them. Something had to give.

Then witness what happened over the weekend in London. Riots that literally set portions of that great city on fire. And I am sure that many of those taking to the streets have no idea why they are rioting. London is a portrait of what could happen across Europe.

Finally, there was the tragic loss of 31 American servicemen with the downing of their helicopter in Afghanistan. Just another reminder that after ten years of war there, we seem no closer to seeing the end. Now the cry is to bring all of our troops home. Mission: unaccomplished. Could it be another Vietnam all over again? It seems that as Americans we have lost the will to win! Since World War II - which, by the way, was a great victory of the American people and their spirit - we have not won a war.

Tish B'Av - a day of mourning for the past. Tish B'Av - a day of mourning for the present. Tish B'Av - a day of mourning for the future? That certainly appears to be the case unless we can resolve to do the difficult things. Unless we can determine that it is no longer about who we are as individuals, but what our nation is all about. Unless we once again adopt that phrase from John Kennedy's inaugural address in 1961 - "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."

Tish B'Av - as God destroyed that symbol of His presence among His people Israel, so God is beginning to destroy those symbols that we have clung to for so long. Will this mourning lead us to a turning to God, or to an anger directed toward others? Something to think about on this Tish B'Av 5771, or August 9, 2011.