Tisha B'Av - What's the big deal??

As the sun begins to set here in New Jersey, and the Jewish calendar flips to the 9th day of Av, I am, as always, hit with a question, that many Jews around the world are pondering right along with me; what's the big deal? (Perhaps in not so crass a fashion, but the message is one and the same.)  

The 9th of Av, otherwise known as Tishah B'Av, is the holy day when Jews across the planet mourn the many great historical tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people. Most of all though, it falls out on this particular date because on the ninth day of Av, we, the Jewish People, were twice ripped of our most valued national possession... our two Holy Temples.  It is admittedly very difficult sometimes to relate to a loss so far removed from anything any of us have ever seen or experienced, and still every year I take time to wonder to myself... how can I relate to this?  How can I properly mourn something that even my great-great-great-great grandparents had never seen, much less myself?! Every year these thoughts run through my mind and somehow each year I find a new significance to this day and a new way to relate... this is one of two that I came up with this year.

A number of years ago I was a madricha (counselor) on a collegiate birthright trip to Israel.  What made this trip so unique for me was that I was privileged to be taking part in a program which was introducing the land of Israel to Jewish young women from across the United States and Canada for the very first time.  My heart was filled with excitement as I knew how lucky I was to be taking part in others’ spiritual growth, because always, and inevitably it has an equal if not greater impact on my own spirituality.  It was a journey I was ecstatic to be taking part in!

Among the many sites and experiences that we had planned for the group, the one I looked forward to the most was presenting them, for the very first time, with the place where my soul is immediately at peace and my heart soars with excitement… my beautiful Yerushalayim!   We had already spent the day at different sites in the “New City” and it was all about to come to its glorious conclusion at the heart of it all… the Old City of Jerusalem!  Exiting the bus, I was filled with an excitement much akin to that which I felt the very first time that I myself had approached the Kotel! Standing in the plaza that day watching them touch those ancient stones, I could not read their minds or thoughts but I was certain that when we “debriefed” later that evening I would be reintroduced to the excitement and joy that only your first trip to Jerusalem can elicit!

As we all gathered that evening, in our beautiful “home base” of Kibbutz Kfar Etzion, I was filled with anticipation, waiting to hear their reactions to the day’s events.  As the room grew quiet I stood in my place and asked the girls “So, what did you all think about your first trip to Yerushalayim???”  I had hoped for an immediate response, but it seemed that since we were so early on in the program people were still somewhat hesitant to offer up their thoughts so quickly, and so I began by sharing my own thoughts.

I began with my thoughts on the Kotel and then moved on to the greater city of Jerusalem.  I pointed out how beautiful it is to see men with their eyes steadfastly trained on the pages of a Gemara while they stand waiting at the public bus stops.  I spoke of the beauty in hearing the guitarists play their Jewish music on the corners of Kikar Tzion and Ben Yehuda Street.  I discussed the fascinating and inspiring museums of Jerusalem and the poignantly and deeply religious communities of Meah Shearim and Geulah.  I related to the group the extreme beauty I find while walking through the Machaneh Yehuda Market, listening intently as the Jewish merchants peddle their wares in what, to me, becomes a gorgeous hum of modern-day Hebrew; bearing testimony to the thriving and ever growing State of Israel that we are blessed with today.  Truly, there was not one piece of the incredible puzzle that is Jerusalem today that went unacknowledged.  For me, there was beauty and inspiration in every doorway and on every corner.

As I finished speaking I saw one young lady raise her hand! I could not wait to hear her thoughts on the matter! Her response, however, left me shocked.  She looked at me with all of the seriousness in the world and said, “I’m sorry Beth, but I just don’t see how it is so different from where I live in New York!”  As you might imagine, it took all of my strength to calmly ask her to elaborate and explain what she meant; a request which she was all too eager to honor.

“You see, where I live, every bus stop has men learning Gemara and certainly there is no lack of a spiritual and religious community from which to glean inspiration! Our shops are nearly all Jewishly owned and inside you will find a combination of Hebrew and Yiddish joining together in what can only be described as a beautiful Jewish medley!  On the streets you can hear our music reverberating from inside the Jewish music stores and there are plenty of museums containing fascinating Jewish relics for all to experience.”  I was absolutely dumb founded when, just then, she hit me with “To be honest, I think that it is better in New York because in Yerushalayim there are some of the holiest sites on the planet and literally within walking distance you can find Jews of all different denominations frequenting bars, non-kosher restaurants and committing all sorts of misdeeds!  How terrible! I would far prefer to be in America where there are no holy sites being disgraced, rather than being in Yerushalayim where our holiest of sites are being flanked by such impurity.”

I sat in my seat listening intently when immediately her words pierced straight through to my soul, and finally I understood what she was saying; and even more importantly, why what she was saying was, in my opinion, so very wrong.  I looked at this very intelligent young woman and responded with the following:

“I understand what you are saying, and it is seemingly very sensitive of you.  You are absolutely correct that in America we don’t have our holy sites being disgraced by nearby un-holiness; however maybe, just maybe, that is the problem!

In the United States it is often easier for us to ignore the fact that we are in Galut.  The United States is not an intrinsically holy land.  There is much in the United States that is good and holy, but not because it is inherently meant to be so.  Therefore, when we observe this goodness and holiness we have no choice but to be impressed by it; while the un-holiness (if you will) that is commonly found across the country is mostly people behaving as the “land” would have expected of them.  They are not “misbehaving”; they are simply just living their lives in, what most Americans would label, “freedom.”

In Israel, and Yerushalayim most specifically, the land itself contains a holiness that is intrinsic to its very being.  In Jerusalem, when ones sees their fellow Jews breaking G-d’s commandments there is an inherent dichotomy that is difficult to come to terms with.  The land itself has set the expectations, and it is up to US to live up to those expectations.  The religious bar has been set much higher in a land imbued, by G-d Himself, with holiness; and therefore when we see that holiness defaced we cannot help but to notice it, be bothered by it and feel uncomfortable with it.

Perhaps the answer is that while yes, we are blessed to once again have this holy city in Jewish hands, it is not the TRUE Jerusalem that we all aspire to hold. Yes, we certainly celebrate her for what she is, but we must definitely mourn her for what she has not yet returned to.   She is a Jerusalem bereft and stripped of her most important element… the Beit Hamikdash (the Holy Temple).  When we walk the streets of modern day Jerusalem one cannot help but recognize this all-essential missing piece.  The diaspora is palpable.  The Yerushalayim that we all dream of returning to is one replete with all of the holy trimmings it was designed to house.  Our holiest of locations, the Temple Mount, stands shamed with an all too foreign edifice prominently displayed on her beautiful facade. 

The Jerusalem we dream of is one of unequivocal physical, spiritual and emotional connection to G-d.  The Yerushalayim we sing of is one wherein a pillar of fire rises up from her heart, announcing to the world that G-d has accepted yet another person’s gift and dedication to Him.  The city we dream of is one wherein the sounds heard above the city are the songs of praise being offered up by the Levites in the Holy Temple.

No, the Jerusalem of today is not perfect, but when here, you KNOW that you are in galut.  You can feel it because we are so close yet so unimaginably far at the very same time.  Life in Jerusalem today can be so spiritually fulfilling, but at the same time it leaves us thirsting for more. Perhaps the greatest gifts that modern day Yerushalayim has to offer are insight and awareness, two very important elements that you just simply cannot find in the same abundance or quality when you are in New York.”

It was at that very moment that I began to see hand after hand rise into the air above the girls heads; and I realized that even if they did not all agree with me, Yerushalayim had worked her magic once again, and brought Jews of many different backgrounds to the table in discussion of spirituality and holiness; and really what more can one ever expect from one little “Old City!!!”