Sermon - August 8, 2008
“To Fast, or Not to Fast – that is the question.” –
A Reconstructionist look at Tisha B’Av
Rabbi Mark S. Kram, Temple Beth Or, Miami, FL
Here’s a short summary of Jewish history & every Jewish holiday: They tried to kill us; we won; let's eat!
OK, so it might not be so simple, but it’s close. What with all of the food at every Jewish event!
Tonight we’re going to roll up our sleeves and look at a holiday with which I’ve always had difficulty. It begins tomorrow night: Tisha B’Av – the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. It commemorates the Destruction of both Temples. Traditionally it is a day of mourning, fasting and prayer. (Ergo – “To fast or not to fast?”)
I’m sure, well, actually I’m POSITIVE that most of you don’t stay up nights worrying about this problem! Hey, but I’m your rabbi, so I do it for you!
The basic problem is that I can’t get around the fact that while this holiday marks the time of the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of both Temples, today we live in a different age – the age of rabbinic Judaism that developed after the Temples’ were destroyed.
Technically the Temple could be rebuilt right now after 2000 years. With the re-establishment of the Jewish commonwealth in Israel, the Jewish communities of the world could design, plan, and construct an amazing edifice in Israel. I could see it on the next Federation/UJC appeal – a special line for “The Temple – re-established”. I see the brochures, the DVDs the TV commercials, trips to visit the spot and…. And that’s where I get stuck.
Because then animal sacrifice would also be reinstated. The Cohanim (the Priests – anyone here?) and Levites (their Helpers) would take over the Temple operations and organize the pilgrimages we would make to bring our offerings for God.
For example, there would be no more Passover Seders – rather a Passover pilgrimage and huge BBQ at the Temple Mount with the whole Jewish community! Hmmm. I love BBQ, let me think... But on the other, I’m not in to the sacrificial cult. I prefer my job of rabbi as teacher, spiritual leader and guide. With the Temple rebuilt, Judaism as we know it would simply go out of business!
As I perused the sources about Tisha B’Av – Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist – each movement’s approach and its attitude toward the holiday was very apparent. The Orthodox community had the most material as they described the five specific events that warrant fasting and reasons for which we commemorate the 9th of Av as listed in the Mishneh [Taanit 4:6]. They are:
- The sin of ten of the twelve scouts sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan, who returned from their mission bringing a disparaging report about the land causing panic and despair.
- The destruction of the King Solomon’s First Temple by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and the Babylonian exile.
- The Destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE, commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land, and creating the Diaspora.
- Rome’s putting down the Jewish revolt in 135 CE causing a death sentence to bar Kokhba, the leader, and many others.
- And, the razing of Jerusalem.
Unfortunately, there are many, many more horrible and shocking deeds committed against our people that happened in August on Tisha B’Av. 1095, The First Crusade; the 1290, Expulsion of Jews from England; the 1492, Inquisition in Spain and Portugal; 1942, Deportations from Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp begin; 1994, The deadly bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Too many to mention.
By rights, that is enough for our Orthodox brothers & sisters to observe the holiday.
Conservative Jews also observe a day of mourning and fasting. But one Conservative rabbi suggests that Tisha B’Av offers an occasion for teshuvah, return to God. This works, especially as we prepare for the High Holidays.
The Reform website has one extremely short paragraph (only 79 words!) on Tisha B’Av (I guess they have the most problems with the day) and points to 2 other congregational websites (one of which points back to an Orthodox website I already came across). It says, “…In contrast to Orthodoxy, Reform Judaism has never assigned a central religious role to the ancient Temple. Therefore, mourning the destruction of the Temple in such an elaborate fashion did not seem meaningful.” The site then adds, “More recently, in Reform Judaism, Tisha B'Av has been transformed into a day to remember many Jewish tragedies that have occurred throughout history.” So, we’re back to square one.
In my view, perhaps the best interpretation of the holiday comes from a Reconstructionist rabbi, Rabbi Lewis Eron. (I’m not looking for R points!)
He describes Tisha b'Av as, “a dark day of mourning as we cried over our loses and bewailed our exile.” “On Tisha b'Av,” he continues, “we felt most keenly our sense of powerlessness and our feeling of separation from our spiritual center in our ancestral homeland. It was the day on which we acknowledged the emotional and spiritual pain of our people's exile.”
“But,” he acknowledges, “today, we are no longer in exile. Our people have returned to our ancient homeland and rebuilt our towns and cities. We are no longer powerless. Our world has changed and our needs have changed. To speak to us today, Tisha b'Av can no longer be the day on which we remember all the evil that has happened to us. It needs to become the day on which we understand that despite our setbacks, our struggles, our real loses and deep suffering, we, the Jewish people, have overcome the obstacles fate has set before us. Our existence today is a triumph of our people's spirit. Any commemoration of Tisha B'Av that does not acknowledge this reality is inadequate. There is something miraculous about the Jewish people, our culture, and our faith.”
Rabbi Eron continues, “We no longer need to find ways to mourn our losses but need to discover new paths to cherish all that we have gained. Thank God, our chief worry is not being crushed in our weakness but becoming arrogant and careless with our success and power. We need to enhance our sense of appreciation for the blessings that we have.”
“We need to refocus Tisha b'Av from a day of Jewish mourning to a Jewish Memorial Day. (No furniture sales! – my addition) Let us transform it to a day on which we can solemnly acknowledge all those of our people, who over the centuries accepted hardship, experienced sorrow and even suffered death so that we, the Jewish people, could survive. Let us make Tisha B'Av the day on which we give thanks to them for their loyalty to our people and our faith and the day on which we renew our commitment to the heritage they so lovingly and painfully bequeathed to us.”
“We, the Jewish people, are survivors and the descendants of survivors. Let us not forget all those whom over the countless generations of our people kept the faith in our God, in our Torah and in each other. Let us not forget to honor their struggles but, also, let us, also, not forget to celebrate their gifts.”
And so, I invite us this year to look at Tisha B’Av together– to redefine the holiday and appropriate observance. But for now, I offer a special prayer – please join me:
Dear God,
On this Erev Tisha B’Av, we remember those of all ages of our people who perished for the sake of our continued existence. Many of the nations which sought our destruction are gone; and yet, we remain. Our forebears added to our vigor and dynamism, built up the DNA of our character and hoped and fought that Judaism and the Jewish people would survive and thrive. We are their heirs. We are their heritage. As we remember them and commemorate Tisha B’Av 5768, may we be ever cognizant of their lives and may we rededicate our own lives to their and our efforts to make our world more humane, gentle, compassionate and civilized; a world where all nations benefit from Your caring and abundant love. May our holiday remind us of all the generations which have come before us; their struggles and their gifts to us. And may we be strengthened by them as we reconstruct Judaism anew.
AMEN