Rabbi Howard Morrison

Next Monday night and Tuesday are the Fast Day of Tisha B'Av.

Classically, this saddest date on the Jewish calendar commemorates the destruction of both, the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem.

The Mishna enumerates five calamities which befell our people on Tisha B'Av, including the divine edict that the generation which experienced the Exodus from Egypt would not enter the Promised Land after the episode of the spies.

It is noteworthy to consider that other calamities occurred on the date of Tisha B'Av including the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 and the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.

Tisha B'Av has become a sad day to recall all Jewish historical suffering. The Kinot, elegies, which have been composed over the centuries, cover many eras of persecution. Kinot were even composed after the Shoah. We will recite one of them on Tisha B'Av morning.

This year, we and many other synagogues will add dirges for October 7 and its aftermath.

The name of the book of Lamentations is Eicha, literally, "How!?", to which there is no adequate response. Knowing this, our Sages revocalized EICHA into the word AYE'KA, which means "where are you?" The origin of "where are you?" appears after Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit.

We may not be able to answer the "How" of our history of tragedy. We can answer " Where are you?" during times of peril. Where are we now? - what are we doing to support Israel and help stem the tide of anti-Semitism?

Where will you be Monday night and Tuesday? I invite you to join us at Beth Emeth.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Howard Morrison