Nomi Kaltmann
The Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, is considered the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. Each year, it commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago.
In the Middle East, the month of Av falls during the height of summer, when temperatures are at their most intense. The destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem during this period compounded the suffering of the Jewish people. The city was under siege, entry and exit were restricted, and many people died from starvation and thirst.
On Tisha B’Av itself, Jews fast for 25 hours, with both food and water forbidden. On Tisha B’Av we sit on low stools and encourage physical discomfort. The day is spent in solemn reflection and prayer, and it is forbidden to study the Torah until midday, or do anything that provides comfort or joy such as putting on perfume or wearing leather shoes.
Yet Tisha B’Av has never solely been only about ancient history. Throughout the centuries, it has continued to be a day of Jewish suffering. During the Second World War, on Tisha B’Av in 1942, the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp began. Tragically, throughout history, the weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av have often been marked by mass tragedy and calamity for the Jewish people, including the expulsion of the Jewish community from Spain in 1492.
Jewish communities mark the three weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av, which begins at sundown this Wednesday and finishes 24 hours later, ceasing listening to music, getting haircuts or holding parties, including weddings, and not eating meat or drinking wine other than on Sabbath.
As a child, I remember marking Tisha B’Av by fasting and watching a Holocaust movie. As an adult, I usually try to get through the fast, albeit with a slightly more manageable experience than those observing it in the northern hemisphere because of our winter weather in Australia.
As I spend the day fasting, I think about the exile of the Jewish people after the destruction of the Temples. I think about the generations before me, including my relatives who did not survive the Holocaust, and the suffering they endured. But I also think about the importance of remembering history itself.
Perhaps this is why I continue to find Tisha B’Av so resonant. It is not only a day to mourn what was lost, but a reminder of what we as a Jewish people must protect.
Jewish history contains plenty of examples of extraordinary tragedy and destruction, but it also contains the eternal Jewish will for survival and renewal after destruction. In remembering the worst moments of our past, we are also reminded of the remarkable endurance that carried us into the future.
Nomi Kaltmann is an Orthodox rabbi.
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