Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 25, 1985 Page: 2 of 20
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TEXAS JEWISH POST THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1985 PAGE 2
Tisha B’ Av: Holiday Of Mourning
In the long history of the
Jews, there have been no
places in the whole world as
important to them as the
two Temples in Jerusalem.
There were two because the
first was wrecked by an
enemy of the Jews and a
new one built in its place. It
was also destroyed — by
another enemy.
It is believed that both
were destroyed on the same
date but, of course, many
years apart. That date is the
ninth day of the Hebrew
month of Av, or in Hebrew
Tisha b’Av, which occurs at
the end of summer. Because
each Temple meant so much
to them, Jews have mourn-
ed and fasted on this day
ever since.
The first Temple was built
by King Solomon. From
descriptions in the Bible, we
know that it was a very
beautiful building, like a
palace. It was made of the
best wood, decorated with
gold and fine fabrics. The
second Temple was built
with a lot of marble.
These Temples were the
center of Jewish life and
religion. All sorts of cere-
monies took place there with
prayers, music, the sound of
the shofar and sacrifices. It
was to these Temples that
the Jews came on holidays,
especially on Passover,
Shavuot and Sukkot.
The first Temple was
destroyed about two thous-
and five hundred years ago
by the king of Babylonia,
who not only destroyed the
Temple, but also took the
Jews into exile in his
country. About seventy
years later, under another
king, the Jews were per-
mitted to go back to their
land.
One of the first things
they did was to rebuild the
Temple on the site of the old
one. For about six hundred
years, the second Temple
was in use. At one point
during that time, when the
Greeks ruled the Jews, they
put in idols, making the
Temple unholy, and almost
succeeded in ruining it. But,
as we are told in the story of
Hanuka, Judah Maccabee
and his soldiers chased the
Greeks away. They then
cleansed and repaired the
Temple, and it was used
again by the Jews for many
years.
Then, about one thousand
nine hundred years ago, the
Romans conquered the coun-
try, and burned and destroy-
I
hese Temples were the center of Jewish life and
religion. All sorts of ceremonies took place there with
prayers, music, the sound of the shofar and sacrifices.
Prayer at the Wailing Wall on Tishah Bav.
ed the second Temple. Ever
since, there has not been a
Temple in Jerusalem. Only
one thing has remained on
the site:part of the western
wall which surrounded the
Temple. The western wall is
also known as the Wailing
Wall because people cried so
much there. It is very holy
to the Jews.
For many years, Jews
could not visit the Wailing
Wall. The land on which it
stands was ruled by Arabs,
and Jews were not permit-
ted to go there. But in 1967
that part of Jerusalem was
retaken by the Israeli Army ;
ever since, everybody can
visit to pray or cry at the
wall when they have private
problems. Some people
write notes with prayers to
God and put them in cracks
in the wall.
On Shabbat and other
holidays, the yard in front of
the western wall is filled
with thousands of celebrat-
ing and praying people.
Many boys and girls from all
over the world come there
for the ceremony of their
Bar or Bat Mitzvah. There
are especially large crowds
on Tishah b’Av.
Even though the wall can
now be visited, Jews miss
the Temple itself. That is
why Tisha b’Av is a sad day
for Jews everywhere —
many behave as if somebody
very dear to them had just
died. Many religious Jews
don’t eat or change their
clothes on that day.
In many synagogues, the
ark housing the Torah
scrolls is covered with black
cloth. Lights are dim. People
take off their shoes and sit
on the floor or on low
benches. Their prayers are
sad, and so are their
melodies. The prayers tell
about the destruction of the
Temples and about other sad
events in Jewish history.
Tisha B' Av:
How It Is Observed
The day of Tisha b' Av is
second in importance to Yom
Kippur as a fast day, but less
widely known and probably
less widely observed.
Pious lews start mourning
the Temples three weeks
before Tisha b' Av on the 17th
of Tammuz, which
commemorates the breaching
of the Temple walls. They
avoid eating meat, drinking
wine (except on Shabbat for
Kiddush), wearing new clothes,
or scheduling happy events,
such as weddings and house
dedications.
On the eve of the fast,
instead of havinga meal of a
few courses, they eat only one
food. Some lews eat only
hardboiled eggs sprinkled with
ashes, reminiscent of the food
of mourners returning from a
funeral.
The synagogue's appearance
and routine also are changed
for Tishah b'Av. The curtains
of the ark and the Torahs are
draped in black; the curtain may
be removed altogether. The light
is dimmed coming only from
the Ner Tamid and a few can-
dles. Congregants sit on the
floor or low stools. They wear
no shoes, just socks or slip-
pers. Like mourners, the con-
gregants do not greet each
other.
In addition to the regular
daily service, the Book of Lam-
entations is read. Attributed to
the prophet leremiah, this book
is full of laments over the des-
truction of lerusalem and the
first Temple; it includes an
eyewitness account of how it
happened. Special mourning
prayers called kinot, most of
which were written during the
Middle Ages, also are recited.
Whether by coincidence or
not, Tishah b'Av has a history
of tragedies for the lews. On
that day in 132 c.e., for ex-
ample, the Romans plowed
over the holy places of lerusa-
lem and started building on
the sites, thereby ending any
hope that the lews had for re-
building the Temple.
In 135 c.e., Betar, the last
stronghold of Bar Kochva and
his rebels fell on this day,
ending the revolt against the
Romans.
In 1492, after the lews of
Spain were ordered to leave
the country, over 100,000 chose
to do so on Tishav b'Av. And
in 1670, the lews of Vienna
were expelled from the city
on this date.
I
I
I
Postorial
BY RABBI EZRA
BOYARSKY
Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av)
— the 24-hour fast day
commemorating the destruc-
tion of both the First and
Second Temples, will be
observed on Sunday, July
28 in deference to the
sanctity of the Sabbath
when public mourning is
prohibited.
In consequence of both
these national castastro-
phies, the Jewish people
have been driven out of their
homeland and exiled into
foreign fiendish soil. In rela-
tion to the first, second
banishment was immeas-
urably more severe and of
an infinitely longer dura-
tion.
This national day of
Tisha B'Av - A Sobering Reminder
mourning evokes a double
imagery. On the one hand it
serves as a flashback to the
pristine glory of Jewish
national sovereignty but
more poignantly it conjures
up and underscores the
ignominy and fragility of
diaspora existence so grap-
hically and incisively de-
scribed in Jeremiah’s Book'
of Lamentations.
But now that the Land of
Israel has been reclaimed
and Jewish political indepen-
dence has been reestablish-
ed, what justifies the contin-
uance of Tisha B’ Av as a day
of national mourning? And
does not the reunification of
Jerusalem, its annexation
and restoration to its histori-
cal status as the capital of
the reborn Jewish State
make weeping for its des-
truction incompatible with
reality?
In the height of exuber-
ance over the establishment
of the State of Israel after
nineteen centuries of a
morbid, stateless and vaga-
bond existence, such an emo-
tional reaction is psychologi-
cally understandable and on
the surface appears quite
rational. Upon cool reflec-
tion, however, such ap-
proach reveals a shallow,
simplistic appreciation of
Jewish history and a myopic
evaluation of the contem-
porary Jewish scene in the
Lands of Dispersion.
The tragic events that
followed the destruction of
the Temple in Jerusalem in-
clusive of the Holocaust in
our own time, have left deep
and indelible scars on all
Jewish communities
throughout the world.
With the emergence of the
State of Israel it was
logically anticipated that
these communities would, in
concert with the phenomen-
al development of the State,
be infused with a renewed
spiritual and cultural vit-
ality. But despite the truism
that Israel has undeniably
raised the statute and
morale of Jews everywhere,
this assumption proved to be
a prematurely optimistic
pipedream.
Figures don’t lie and they
indicate that the scourge of
assimilation in various
shapes and forms has not
only not lessened in the last
several decades in the coun-
tries of the free world but is
on the increse; in the case of
the U.S. it has made a track
record and continues to
burgeon to frightening pro-
portions.
Remotely as it may seem,
these disheartening facts
cannot entirely be dissocia-
ted from what has transpir-
ed on Tisha B’Av 1900 years
ago. By the same token this
doleful date in Jewish
history cannot be dissociat-
ed from the irrefutable fact
that it also fuelled the irre-
pressible hope and resolve of
the Jewish people to regain
national independence in
their ancestral homeland.
The religious Jew regards
the renascence of Israel as
an independent state only as
the partial fulfillment of his
hopes and prayers; he pro-
jects into the future when
the Temple will be rebuilt
and the priestly service is
resumed in full regalia. Thi:
is what he pleadingly ap
peals for the year round and)
more so on Tisha B’Av.
The nationally oriented *
Jew realizes full well that
more political and military
bouts are inescapble before
a peaceful and secure era foratt
Israel is finally achieved. ToMB
him too, Tisha B’Av is a^^®
sobering reminder that the
redemptive task is yet
incomplete.
And the Talmud in Ta’anit
30(a) sums it up best: “AU»
those who mourn for Jerus-H
alem will merit to witness™
her rejoicing.”
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 25, 1985, newspaper, July 25, 1985; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth753080/m1/2/: accessed May 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .