Since the establishment of the State of Israel, Jews have debated the relevance of Tisha B'Av. Some have argued that, now that there is a Jewish State with Jerusalem as its capitol, our mourning should be less intense. However, Tisha B'av long ago ceased to be a day on which we merely mourn the destruction of the Temples. Already in Talmudic times, the rabbis saw a broader purpose for Tisha B'Av. After reading the Mishnah below, how would you characterize the purpose of Tisha B'Av according to the rabbis?
(ו) חֲמִשָּׁה דְבָרִים אֵרְעוּ אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר בְּתַמּוּז וַחֲמִשָּׁה בְּתִשְׁעָה בְאָב. בְּשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר בְּתַמּוּז נִשְׁתַּבְּרוּ הַלּוּחוֹת, וּבָטַל הַתָּמִיד, וְהֻבְקְעָה הָעִיר, וְשָׂרַף אַפּוֹסְטֹמוֹס אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, וְהֶעֱמִיד צֶלֶם בַּהֵיכָל. בְּתִשְׁעָה בְאָב נִגְזַר עַל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁלֹּא יִכָּנְסוּ לָאָרֶץ, וְחָרַב הַבַּיִת בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה וּבַשְּׁנִיָּה, וְנִלְכְּדָה בֵיתָר, וְנֶחְרְשָׁה הָעִיר. מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אָב, מְמַעֲטִין בְּשִׂמְחָה:
(6) The mishna discusses the five major communal fast days. Five calamitous matters occurred to our forefathers on the seventeenth of Tammuz, and five other disasters happened on the Ninth of Av. On the seventeenth of Tammuz the tablets were broken by Moses when he saw that the Jews had made the golden calf; the daily offering was nullified by the Roman authorities and was never sacrificed again; the city walls of Jerusalem were breached; the general Apostemos publicly burned a Torah scroll; and Manasseh placed an idol in the Sanctuary. On the Ninth of Av it was decreed upon our ancestors that they would all die in the wilderness and not enter Eretz Yisrael; and the Temple was destroyed the first time, in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, and the second time, by the Romans; and Beitar was captured; and the city of Jerusalem was plowed, as a sign that it would never be rebuilt. Not only does one fast on the Ninth of Av, but from when the month of Av begins, one decreases acts of rejoicing.
Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, the list of tragedies that happened on Tisha B'Av grew. Among the events that are said to have happened on Tisha B'Av are:
1. The First Crusade was announced by Pope Urban (1096) (This tradition may have been based on the date of the planned departure of the Crusaders from Rome, which happened on August 15th)
2.The Expulsion of Jews from England (1290)
3. The Expulsion of Jews from Spain (1492)
4. The Chmielnicki pogroms of in the Ukraine began/took place on Tisha B'av. (1648)
5. The outbreak of World War I (1914)
6. The remaining Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto were sent to Treblinka (1942)
Does the long list of catastrophes that are said to have occurred on Tisha B'Av mean that it is somehow a "cursed" day on the Jewish calendar? Or are we just more attuned to abundance of tragic events that have occurred in Jewish history on this day?
To answer this question, we need only look at the many Kinot (poems of lamentation) that have been written for Tisha B'av. In traditional collections of Kinot, we find poems written in response to:
1. The pogroms in Speyer (May 1096)
2. The Massacre of the Jews of York (1190)
3. The burning of Torah Scrolls in France (1242)
4. Special Kinot written in response to the Holocaust.
In short, Tisha B'av has evolved into a day--but not the only day-- when we remember tragic events in our history, not only those that happened on the 9th of Av, but on other days as well.
We already recognize that the massacres of October 7th were one of greatest tragedies in Jewish history. In what ways do the events of October 7th resemble the other calamities that we remember on Tisha B'av. In what ways is October 7th different from these calamities?
Here is the text of one of these new Kinot, A Kinah for Kibbuttz Be'eri. Let's read the Kinah and share our reactions.
A Lament for Be’eri
By Yagel Haroush
Translated by Sara Daniel
אֵיכָה בְּאֵרִי/ הָפְכָה לְקִבְרִי
וְיוֹם מְאוֹרִי/ הָפַך ְ שְׁחוֹרִי
וְהֻשְׁחַת כָּל פְּרִי / וְנֶהְפַּך ְ שִׁירִי
עֵינִי נוֹבְעָה מַיִם / מֵעֹמֶק שִׁבְרִי
אֵיכָה תּוֹרָה / עֲרוּכָה וּסְדוּרָה
וְכָל פְּאֵרָה ּ / לֹא עָמַד לְעֶזְרָה
וּבְיוֹם הֲדָרָה ּ / הֻשְׁחַת תָּאֳרִי
עֵינִי נוֹבְעָה מַיִם / מֵעֹמֶק שִׁבְרִי
אֵיכָה יִשְׂרָאֵל / בְּיוֹם קְרוֹא אֵל
וְחַיִּים שׁוֹאֵל / וּמְהוּמָה קִבֵּל
זָקֵן וְעוֹלֵל / בְּדַם מִתְגּוֹלֵל
וְחַגּו ֹ חִלֵּל / אוֹיֵב אַכְזָרִי
עֵינִי נוֹבְעָה מַיִם / מֵעֹמֶק שִׁבְרִי
אֵיכָה אִמָּהוֹת / וִילָדוֹת וּנְעָרוֹת
בִּשְׁבִי מוּלָכוֹת / כְּבִימֵי פְרָעוֹת
וְנִפְרְצו ּ גִּדְרוֹת / צֹאן יְשָׁרוֹת
וּפָסְקו ּ מְחוֹלוֹת / וּנְגִינוֹת מְשׁוֹרְרִי
עֵינִי נוֹבְעָה מַיִם / מֵעֹמֶק שִׁבְרִי
וְאֵיכָה אֶתְמַה ּ / בּוֹרֵא רוּמָה
עַד אָן אֻמָּה / תִּהְיֶה מְהוּמָה
עַד אָן קוֹמָה / תֻּשְׁפַּל אֲדָמָה
וְעַתָּה קוּמָה / לְהָאִיר נֵרִי
וּבְעֵין רַחֲמֶיך ָ / תְּרַפֵּא שִׁבְרִי
וְעֵינִי הַנּוֹבַעַת / תַּשְׁקֶה בְּאֵרִי
אֵיכָה
How did Be’eri / turn into my tomb
The day of my light / to the day of my gloom
Its songs silenced/ trampled fruit and leaf
My eyes well with tears / from the depth of my grief
אֵיכָה
How did the Torah / arranged and arrayed
In all her glory / not rush to their aid
On the day of her beauty / my countenance stained
My eyes well with tears / from the depth of my pain
אֵיכָה
How could Yisrael / when they call out to God
Asking for life / receive nothing but blood
Elder and child / till their blood overflow
Their joy violated / by bloodthirsty foe
My eyes well with tears / from the depth of my woe
אֵיכָה
How could mothers and daughters / torn from their home
Be led away, blood-soaked / like days of pogrom
Our dancing has ceased / our bodies are numb
Their fences breached / dragged through the dirt
My eyes well with tears / from the depth of my hurt
אֵיכָה
How we stagger and reel / Creator Above
For how long can a nation / bleed with love
Rise up now, shine forth / we will dance again
In Your great mercy / please, heal our pain
Heal our hearts / dispel our fears
Let us water Be’eri / from the well of our tears.
More Resources:
Kinot for October 7th written by two October 7th survivors:
Youtube Link: Kinah for Kibbutz Beeri