By Rabbi Gabrielle Pescador
Tisha B’av, Wednesday July 26th, 8pm-9:15pm, Hybrid at the JCC of Ann Arbor and Zoom.
Tisha B’av, the ninth day of the month of Av, marks a day of communal mourning in the Jewish calendar. The holiday is most noted for commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem (586 B.C.E. and 70 C.E. respectively). According to the chronology of the Talmudic rabbis, many catastrophic events during the biblical period occurred on the 9th of Av, including the shattering of the 10 commandments and the worshipping of the golden calf. The rabbis in later periods made connections between Tisha B’av and the expulsions of the Jews from England and Spain, as well as other disasters.
Tisha B’av observances include fasting and abstaining from activities of pleasure and comfort such as washing, sexual activity, using perfume and make up, and wearing leather. On the Eve of Tisha B’av people gather in the synagogue to hear the chanting of Eicha (The Book of Lamentations) and kinot (mournful liturgical poems). The lights of the synagogue are dimmed and many people sit on the floor or on low stools as expressions of mourning. People also have a second opportunity to hear the chanting of Eicha during the morning service the next day.
Eicha is one of the five megillot (scrolls), which is part of the section of the Tanach called Writings. Eicha laments the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem and the exile of the tribe of Judah. Attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, Eicha is an intensely poetic exploration of the suffering of a personified Jerusalem and its former inhabitants.
The Talmudic rabbis attribute the destruction of the Second Temple to “sinat chinam,” baseless hatred among Jews, highlighting the importance of following mitzvot concerning our interactions with and obligations toward others, “mitzvot beyn adam lachavero.” Torah teaches us to love our neighbors and it also teaches us not to hate them, harbor resentment or hold a grudge (Leviticus 19:17-18).
On Tisha B’av, AARC will gather to observe the holiday in a lamenting circle, to hold one another as we sit with our grief and share what is troubling us about the world today. Tisha B’av is not a day to come up with solutions or be called to action. It is a day to grieve collectively and lament; it is a day to listen from the heart and chant niggunim from Eicha, our ancient text of deep sorrow. As a ritual of communal mourning, Tisha B’av reminds us that we do not need to grieve by ourselves. We are not alone; we have one another.
Links:
Niggun from Eicha 3:22, https://youtu.be/7HD6WmUHIUo
Eli Tziyon, Ashkenazi Liturgical Poem for Tisha B’av, https://youtu.be/w1_8fMwQNIY
Contemporary Kinah, “Kinah L’khurban Gan Eden,” by Richard Kaplan, an Eco-Lament (lyrics below), http://www.neohasid.org/audio/khurban.mp3
