The day of national solidarity
Tisha Be’av is the day we come together as One people to commemorate and mourn every tragedy and loss that has befallen our people.
The Talmud teaches “Whoever mourns for Jerusalem will merit seeing its joy”
The words of Jeremiah’s lamentation open with the powerful words “Alas! Lonely sits the city Once great with people!”
To relate to spiritual exile and the destruction of the Temples is very hard. The further we are from a tragedy the less its impact. But during Covid many of us have experienced intense isolation and the loneliness that comes with this so we can relate a little more to Jeremiah’s bitter cry.
At the end of the Shemonah Esrei in the last blessing for peace we ask Hashem “Bless us our father, all of us as one”.
This can be understood that the vessel for the blessing of the Jewish people is when we are united. This translates into feeling both the pain and suffering of each other as well as sharing in our joys together.
Sometimes we struggle with relating to the stranger but other times its those that are nearest and dearest to us that we can take for granted. Tisha Be’av is a time to develop and inspire ourselves to improve our interpersonal relationships; to develop a deeper empathic compassion.
We saw this week the power of unity and solidarity in the nation coming together rallying behind our England team. Even those uninterested in football could not help but notice and be affected by the powerful feeling of shared hope. Yet we saw in the aftermath of defeat how quickly these feelings can dissolve into dissention.
I would like to say as a Rabbi of our community how abhorrent the racist abuse was of some of our wonderful English players. I am genuinely proud of how our players conducted themselves both on and off the pitch in representing our country (something that political leaders could certainly learn from.) There is no place for such abuse and I hope and pray that these perpetrators are brought swiftly to justice.
This national solidarity however brief is a message we as Jews must take to heart. Tisha Beav is a time to reflect on our sense of duty and love for every single Jew no matter what their background or which community they belong to (or none). It is a day to reflect on our shared history and mission “to be a light to nations”.
Sometimes we can be guilty of negatively stereotyping other Jews without any rational basis but based on toxic sensationalist media headlines that are driven by agendas far from Torah values of unity.
Let us come together as a community with bonds of love.
I look forward to seeing many more return to shul in the coming weeks as restrictions are lifted.
As much as Tisha Be’av is about mourning the past it is also about envisioning a brighter future.
This explains the ancient tradition that Moshiach will be born on Tisha Be’av.
Post Covid we want to rebuild engagement with our community.
I am very excited for a first major event with the Shul Annual BBQ and Please God in the coming months we will have more exciting opportunities for you to connect with community, your Jewish identity and to feel part of something greater!
Shabbat Shalom