When the Temple was destroyed, the people were thrown into exile. Jerusalem became a war zone and its people became refugees, forced to risk their lives to escape violence, famine, and devastation. The suffering was tremendous — “like deer, not finding a place to graze, walking without strength before a pursuer,” in the words of the Book of Lamentations.

The author(s) of Lamentations (Eicha in Hebrew), the biblical text traditionally read on Tisha B’Av, believed that what happened to the Jewish people was the result of divine judgment. But even though the book sounds like it’s about God punishing us, it’s not really a theodicy — that is, a justification of God’s actions. The question our ancestors faced was not whether the disaster could be reconciled with God’s goodness. Rather, the question was whether God still cared about them.

Choosing a God that cared enough to punish them was better than choosing a God that didn’t care at all. But the anxiety that maybe God doesn’t care is also woven throughout Eicha. In every chapter, the poet beseeches God to pay attention Lamentations 1:9 Lamentations 2:20, and in the very last verse, the poet wonders if God has rejected us forever.

This idea that exile and homelessness were punishment for our sins seems alien to many modern Jews. But the ancients were not as far from us as we think. In Eicha itself, most of the chapters describe the punishment God inflicted as excessive and abusive. Only in chapter 3 is Zion’s destruction consistently described as fair and just.

The real perspective of Eicha is summed up in verse 2:13: “What can I compare to you, daughter Jerusalem, that I may comfort you?” What images, what words, will help people bear the memory of tragedy? The poet is willing to say anything that will enable the people to find meaning and hope in the face of exile.

There is another way to understand the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of its people. According to the prophet Jeremiah, the traditional author of Eicha, the reason for the Babylonian exile was that the people did not let the land rest every seven years, as is biblically mandated Chronicles II 36:21. Since 490 years had passed without a sabbatical year, Israel had to go into exile for 70 years — one year for each sabbatical that was missed.

The Torah teaches that God will take the side of the land against the people if forced to, and that the land will “enjoy her Sabbaths” Leviticus 26:34 — even if that means the people are exiled or wiped out. What has intrinsic value is not humanity, but humanity’s potential to do justice.

The Torah outlines six curses for not observing the sabbatical year, which describe how the relationship between the people and the land unravels. Two curses involve children being eaten – by wild animals Leviticus 26:22, then by their own parents Leviticus 26:29. That image is repeated in Eicha — Lamentations 2:20, 4:10 — and it is the main connection between Eicha and Leviticus. But the idea that the destruction of Jerusalem came about because of how the Jewish people treated the land is not found in Eicha, where identification of the land with the people is total. Instead, Jerusalem’s downfall results only from the moral downfall in relationships between human beings.

In Jeremiah too, the fate of Jerusalem is sealed only after the rich, who briefly set their slaves free, re-enslave them when it looks like the danger has passed Jeremiah 34. The overall message of these texts is that how we treat the stranger (the refugee, the foreigner, the convert) and the poor determines whether we have the right to remain in the land.

Even though most people are uncomfortable with the idea of divine retribution, in an age when our ecological “sins” are coming home to roost, the connection between disaster and divine retribution is not so farfetched. And since Creation is also compared to the sacred Temple in the Midrash, it is natural to connect the story of the Temple’s destruction with the destruction of the earth and the sixth mass extinction initiated by human action.

But there is a very big difference: When the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed, there were other lands for the refugees to flee to. If we destroy the Temple that is the Earth, there will be no place untouched by tragedy.

As climate change puts more pressure on our ecosystems and our social systems, more and more people will become refugees like our ancestors, forced to flee areas no longer capable of sustaining human habitation. And for those fortunate enough not to live in such places, we will need all the spiritual resources we can muster to stay open to the humanity of the refugee and the stranger, while also taking care of our own communities.

All of these issues can become intertwined with the experience of Eicha and the story of Jerusalem’s destruction. Reading Eicha is an invitation to remember what it means to be a refugee, and to think about how we can move towards justice for all people, for all species, and for the land herself.

All translations are taken from Eikhah/Laments, Rabbi David Seidenberg’s original translation of the Book of Lamentations. Laments is designed to connect the reader on the most visceral level to the text and also includes more discussion. Laments can be downloaded here.

The post Why Tisha B’Av is Not Really About Mourning appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

This idea is reflected in the special Aneinu (“Answer Us”) prayer that is added to the silent Amidah on fast days. The prayer asks God to comfort us in our distress, to draw close and to heed our cry.

Answer us, Lord, answer us on our Fast Day, for we are in great distress. Look not at our wickedness. Do not hide Your face from us and do not ignore our plea. Be near to our cry; please let Your loving-kindness comfort us. Even before we call to You, answer us, as is said, ‘Before they call, I will answer. While they are still speaking, I will hear.’ For You, Lord, are the One who answers in time of distress, redeems and rescues in all times of trouble and anguish. Blessed are You, Lord, who answers in time of distress. (Translation from The Koren Siddur)

While this kind of prayer makes sense on most fast days, it’s an odd choice for Tisha B’Av, the fast day that commemorates the destruction of both ancient temples, as well as a host of other calamities that befell the Jewish people. Tisha B’Av is a day when, according to our tradition, prayer ceased to be effective, when the gates of heaven were closed to supplication.

In the Book of Lamentations, the mournful text read in synagogues on Tisha B’Av, we read: “And when I cry and plead, He shuts out my prayer.” For this reason, many synagogues customarily omit the line from the Kaddish prayer that asks God to accept our prayers. Tisha B’Av is not a day when prayers are answered.

So why do we recite Aneinu on Tisha B’Av? In fact, why fast at all if fasts are intended to help speed our prayers heavenward?

The answer can be found in another prayer we recite on Tisha B’Av. Nachem (“Console Us”) is recited during the Amidah in the afternoon Mincha service of Tisha B’Av and it differs from Aneinu in that it seeks not an answer from God, but comfort.

The prayer reads:

Console, O Lord our God, the mourners of Zion and the mourners of Jerusalem, and the city that is in sorrow, laid waste, scorned and desolate; that grieves for the loss of its children, that is laid waste of its dwellings, robbed of its glory, desolate without inhabitants. She sits with her head covered like a barren childless woman. Legions have devoured her; idolaters have taken possession of her; they have put Your people Israel to the sword and delibrately killed the devoted followers of the Most High. Therefore Zion weeps bitterly, and Jerusalem raises her voice. My heart, my heart grieves for those they killed; I am in anguish, I am in anguish for those they killed. For You, O Lord, consumed it with fire and with fire You will rebuild it in the future, as is said, ‘And I myself will be a wall of fire around it, says the Lord, and I will be its glory within.’ Blessed are You, Lord, who consoles Zion and rebuilds Jerusalem. (Translation from The Koren Siddur)

Nachem is a prayer that admits defeat. It accepts the reality of failure and loss. The rest of the year, our prayers hold out the promise of God answering our requests. Yet on Tisha B’Av, we confront the stark reality that, at a moment of national catastrophe, our pleas went unheeded.

So what do we do? We continue to pray — not in the hope of being answered, but for the promise of comfort and consolation, to draw close to God even in our time of loss.

One is reminded on Tisha B’Av of the victims of the Holocaust who offered up prayers to God from the ghettos of Europe and the death camps, who organized prayer services on Jewish holidays in the face of imminent death. Facing the horrors of the Nazi genocide, many must have wondered if prayer held the power to redeem them. And indeed, for many it did not. But those prayers, and the faith that underlay them, outlived the Nazi horror.

In his book Rebbes Who Perished in the Holocaust, Menashe Unger relates the story of Rabbi Shalom Eliezer Halberstam (the Ratzfiter rebbe), who was whispering a prayer to God even as the Nazis led him to his death. A Nazi officer asked him: “Do you still believe that your God will help you? Don’t you realize in what situation the Jews find themselves? They are being led to die and no one helps them. Do you still believe in divine providence?” To which Halberstam replied: “With all my heart and all my soul I believe that there is a Creator and that there is a Supreme Providence.”

Eliezer Berkovits, who cites the story in his book With God in Hell, observed: “In the moment before his death, the eighty-two year old Ratzfiter rebbe was more sure of himself and of what he represented in the world than the Nazi officer, behind whom stood all the might of world-conquering Nazi Germany. Rabbi Halberstam was not only expressing the thoughts of one hasidic rabbi, but was formulating the conviction of untold numbers of Jews from all strata of the Jewish people.”

On Tisha B’Av we recall those times in Jewish history when the power of prayer was inadequate to the moment. In acknowledging the suffering of our people, both past and present, we accept that prayer does not always have the capacity to undo all the pain of the world. Yet we still affirm the importance of prayer as a reflection of our deepest held values. Jewish beliefs and rituals have outlasted many enemies who have threatened us. Even in the face of hopelessness, prayer still serves as an anchor of lasting faith.

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Troubling theological questions simmer beneath Eicha’s surface. These questions relate to God’s nature and to the manner of the relationship between the community and God. Can humans understand God’s ways? Is God an ally or an enemy? Are the people’s sins responsible for the calamity or is it disproportionate and unjust? Is the nation defiant or remorseful? Ashamed or outraged?

These are the critical topics in the book, illustrating the intersection between emotions and theology and outlining a blueprint for coping with pain and loss.

The structure of the book both reflects and encourages theological complexity, offering two divergent approaches to suffering. In one approach, humans come to terms with God’s actions and recognize God’s justness. In the other, humans resist reconciliation and maintain a defiant posture of incomprehension and outrage.

The first approach is reflected in the book’s first and last chapters, which focus on procuring an admission of culpability from the nation. These chapters struggle with suffering — but they also struggle with sin, with the guilt and shame that accompany a confession. In the first chapter, Jerusalem acknowledges God’s righteousness and declares that the destruction occurred “because of all of my sins.” Similarly, Chapter 5 progresses toward an assumption of responsibility, with the community finally proclaiming, “Woe to us for we have sinned!” These chapters arrive at a measure of theological equilibrium, regarding sin as the cause of suffering and concluding that the world makes sense and God is just.

Chapters 2 and 4 suggest quite the opposite. Guiltless children die alongside their righteous leaders and anger is directed toward God, who lobs punitive actions angrily and disproportionately. These chapters depict the incomprehension of humans who struggle with God’s active role in their suffering. If the peripheral chapters of the book project some measure of comprehension, these chapters reflect bewilderment and outrage.

How can one book produce such different perceptions of God’s role in human suffering? The structure of the book indicates that the two opposing approaches co-exist in tension.

Chapters 1 and 5 illustrate the need to rely on simple faith, on the belief in God’s justness, and in a meaningful pattern of relationship between God and the Jewish people. Without this type of faith, the world is dark and absurd, incomprehensible and evil. Moreover, by adhering to this approach, Israel can understand how to repair its relationship with God and restore order to its world.

Nevertheless, Eicha does not rest upon facile answers. Chapters 2 and 4 face the world’s tragedies with stark frankness. Pat answers cannot explain the death of children, mass tragedy, illness, and suffering. Yet these too are part of the human experience and the relationship with God. Chapters 2 and 4 make room for the complexity of the human condition and the inability to comprehend God’s ways.

How is it possible to maintain a relationship with God within such a disquieting paradox? How does one balance simple faith in a divinely ordered world with dismay and anger over its cruelty and unfairness?

This possibility depends upon a willingness to live with complexity and uncertainty, but also upon humility and tenacity, the steadfast determination to maintain faith in both God’s goodness and human resilience.

This we see from the middle chapter, Chapter 3, which is the core of Eicha and its ideological crux. In its middle section (verses 21-39), the chapter describes a sufferer contemplating the theological and philosophic implications of suffering. In reflecting upon God’s nature, the sufferer detects not a wrathful God, but benevolence, kindness and loyalty.

The kindness of the Lord has not ended, His mercies are not spent.
They are renewed every morning— Ample is Your grace!

And later:

For the Lord does not reject forever,
But first afflicts, then pardons In His abundant kindness.
For He does not willfully bring grief or affliction to man,
Crushing under His feet all the prisoners of the earth.

These verses of hope surround the very epicenter of Eicha – the middle verses of the middle section of the middle chapter — whose subject turns abruptly from God to human beings. At the apex of the book, God does not appear at all. Instead, the individual considers the lessons that he may draw from calamity.

The section opens with this verse: “It is good for a man, when young, to bear a yoke.” This is actually the third of three consecutive verses that begin with the word tov (good), tantalizing the reader with the optimistic notion that good lies at the heart of the human experience.

Why is suffering good? Eicha does not explain how it arrives at this startling conclusion, leaving it instead to the individual to determine how pain can be constructive, a conduit to character building and a deepened relationship with God. The sufferer directs the reader to accept hardships with equanimity and regard suffering as beneficial and ennobling. At Eicha’s deepest point, it puts its faith in human resilience and the ability to survive in a broken world.

Eicha’s structure mirrors a whirlwind, its placid center engulfed by swirling misery. This design represents the shape of the sufferer’s theological experience. Two parallel rings enfold the sufferer, representing the tangled fluctuation between theodicy and outrage. Oscillating between these contradictory approaches is critical to contending adequately with the theological questions presented by loss.

Yet within the surrounding turbulence, the sufferer can find tranquility in their innermost being. Humans have the ability to combat the onslaught of hostile forces that swirl around us by drawing on the hope and faith that lie at their core. In this way, Eicha weaves a magnificent portrait of the resources and resilience that lie deep within the human soul.

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Yom Hashoah

Yom Hashoah–Holocaust Remembrance Day–is observed one week after the conclusion of Passover, on the 27th of Nissan. Significantly, it is also halfway between the first day of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising–which began on the first day of Passover in 1943– and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. This date, chosen by the Israeli government, emphasizes the nature of Jewish opposition to disaster. While the rituals for this holiday are still being created, it is a solemn day that is widely observed wherever Jews live.

Yom Hazikaron

Yom Hazikaron–Israeli Memorial Day–is observed one week after Yom Hashoah and one day before Yom Ha’atzmaut. It is a quintessentially Israeli holiday, commemorating all the soldiers who fell in defense of Israel from the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 to the present. While it is often acknowledged outside of Israel, it is in Israel itself that this holiday unites the whole country in its somber observance.

Yom Ha’atzmaut

Directly following Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha’atzmaut is a joyful celebration of Israel’s independence. It is celebrated annually on the 5th day of Iyar, which in 1948 corresponded to May 14, the day on which David Ben Gurion, the nation’s first prime minister, announced the creation of the State of Israel. Yom Ha’atzmaut is celebrated both in Israel and in Jewish communities throughout the world.

Yom Yerushalayim

Yom Yerushalayim–Jerusalem Day–is the most modern of Jewish holidays. It celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule following the Six Day War of June 1967. Although it is joyously celebrated in Israel, Yom Yerushalayim has yet to attain widespread popularity in the Diaspora. It is celebrated on the 28th of Iyar, in May or June, one week before the eve of Shavuot.

Tu B’Av

Tu B’Av, the 15th day of the month of Av, is a modern semi-holiday with ancient roots. Although it is mentioned in the Mishnah as a day on which the women of ancient Israel went out to find husbands, Tu B’Av more or less disappeared from the Jewish calendar for close to two millennia, only to be rediscovered by mainly secular Israelis, seeking a Jewish equivalent to Valentine’s Day in the non-Jewish world. Over the course of the last few years this mid-summer celebration of love has become increasingly popular in Israeli society.

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Read the full text of the Book of Lamentations in Hebrew and English on Sefaria.

The prophet basically blames Jewish immorality and idolatry for the tragedy. Yet there is a fascinating outburst in Lamentations 3 in which the believer, as it were, accuses God of being the enemy — like a lion lying in ambush to destroy his victim. The prophet comes close to losing his faith (“I thought my strength and hope in the Lord had perished”) before the memory of God’s past kindnesses restores it — barely.

The Book of Lamentations is read softly at first. The volume of the reader’s voice builds to the climax, which is sung aloud by the entire congregation: “Turn us to you, O Lord, and we will return. Renew our days as of old.”

Reprinted with permission of the author from The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays.

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Psalm 137 is recited on the eve of Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of both Temples. It opens the liturgy, and sets the tone for the day. The liturgy of Tisha B’Av includes a wide array of kinot, poems of sorrow and mourning, giving voice to themes of exile and longing. But this ancient psalm, older than the kinot, captures the pain of exile from the Land of Israel perhaps most eloquently of all. The psalm is short — only nine verses — and can be divided into three parts, each with its own themes and challenges for today’s spiritual yearners. The first four verses read as follows:

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept, as we remembered Zion.

There on the poplars we hung up our lyres,

for our captors asked us there for songs, our tormentors, for amusement:

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

How can we sing a song of the LORD on alien soil?

In these opening lines, we can hear the sadism of the locals as they mock the newly-arrived Israelites: “Sing us one of those spirituals from the Old Country…” Some scholars remark that the Israelite response, “How can we sing… on alien soil?” reflects another aspect of loss: the poet, like many of the exiles, is wondering whether the God of Israel can hear or act when the people are no longer in their homeland. Perhaps prophecy and prayers only “work” when the People of Israel are located in the Land of Israel? This is more than a rhetorical question: the exile commemorated on Tisha B’Av is not only about distance from a physical place, but also from God. That distance is the cause of pain and loneliness that is reflected in the psalm.

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither;

let my tongue stick to my palate if I cease to think of you,

if I do not keep Jerusalem in memory even at my happiest hour.

Here, the pain of loss melts into resolve. The poet doesn’t know if God has forgotten, but the poet has not forgotten! The Temple in Jerusalem was the place where God and the people found great intimacy. The memory of this closeness is what Tisha B’Av is ultimately about: not a longing for sacrifices, but for the intimacy with God that worship evoked.

These lines are reflected in some well-known Jewish customs. In many times and places, Jews would leave a wall of their home unfinished or unpainted. This was a reminder that wherever the householder lived, it was still a place of exile until Jerusalem and its people would once again be whole. This practice is first described in the Talmud, Bava Batra 60b.

Another famous Jewish ritual reflects these verses: breaking a glass at a wedding. After all, surely the moment a couple is married must be their “happiest hour.” Shattering a glass at this moment reminds onlookers of the work still to be done, although perhaps this couple’s love is a step in bringing unity back to a fragmented world.

The final verses of the Psalm throw the reader a moral curveball:

Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem’s fall;

how they cried, “Strip her, strip her to her very foundations!”
Fair Babylon, you predator,

a blessing on him who repays you in kind

what you have inflicted on us;

a blessing on him who seizes your babies

and dashes them against the rocks!

The violent revenge fantasy of these lines is painful to read (smashing our enemies’ babies on the rocks!); many of us wish it wasn’t there at all! In fact, many liturgies don’t print them, closing the poem after verse 6, about keeping alive the memory of Jerusalem. What might we do with these harsh words?

It is not our task to validate these violent revenge fantasies, but we can seek to understand them. The poem doesn’t claim that anyone ever did these awful things. Instead, these words reflect the anger of the victim. Imagine the victim in a concentration camp — or consider your own feelings walking through Yad Vashem or the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Is anger not a valid emotional response? Can these feelings help us empathize with other oppressed peoples, and understand that suffering and oppression easily translate into rage? The imaginary deeds we would never justify, but the seething hurt behind these sentiments make the passage extremely, and uncomfortably, powerful.

All this reflects the deep spiritual power of Tisha B’Av. We remember that, no matter where we may be, we live religiously in a state of Exile. We long for a reconciliation with God and with one another. And, through our fasting, our mourning, our kinot, and this psalm we become more compassionate with those who suffer. Because we’ve been there, too, in our Jewish history.

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In the wake of the Temple’s destruction, Judaism transformed from a religion of sacrifice to a religion of prayer and Torah study. Indeed, the rabbis of the Talmud, who lived centuries after the destruction, declared explicitly that without a Temple, Torah study and prayer took the place of sacrifice in Jewish worship. Nearly 2,000 years later, they remain utterly central to Judaism.

So some may be surprised to learn that the Talmud (Taanit 30a) prohibits Torah study on Tisha B’Av:

The Sages taught: All mitzvahs practiced by a mourner are likewise practiced on Tisha B’Av: It is prohibited to engage in eating, and in drinking, and in smearing oil on one’s body, and in wearing shoes, and in conjugal relations. It is prohibited to read from the Torah, from the Prophets, and from the Writings, or to study from the Mishnah, from the Gemara, and from midrash, and from collections of halakhah, and from collections of aggadah.

Alongside fasting and engaging in acts of self-indulgence and comfort (moisturization and footwear were counted in this category in the ancient world), Jews refrained from studying sacred literature. But why?

The answer is that Torah study brings pleasure. As Psalms 19:9 has it:

The laws of God are just, gladdening the heart,

the commandments of God are lucid, making the eyes light up.

But wait! The Book of Lamentations, one of the five megillot, is read in synagogue on Tisha B’Av. Doesn’t this violate the prohibition against Torah study?

According to the Talmud (same page, Taanit 30a) a few books are an exception to the “no Torah study” rule. Lamentations, a series of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem, which is obviously fitting for the occasion, is on the list. Also included in the exception: Job, a book about the suffering of the righteous, and certain passages of Jeremiah that lament the destruction of the first Temple and upbraid Israel for their faithlessness.

Over the centuries, Jews have often understood this passage in the Talmud to mean not that Torah study is forbidden on Tisha B’Av, but that it must be restricted to passages that are mournful. Indeed, in addition to reading Lamentations, Jewish recite regular daily prayers including passages from the Torah — for instance, the Shema (even though this passage is not mournful). In synagogue, they also read Torah (the reading for Tisha B’Av is Deuteronomy 4:25–40, which describes the destruction of the Land of Israel) and haftarah (Jeremiah 8:13–9:23).

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The Multiple Tragedies

The 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz is a date in which many tragedies and pitfalls happened, according to the Mishnah (Taanit 4:6). It is traditionally believed to be the date that Moses broke the original Ten Commandments tablets after coming upon the Israelites as they worshiped the Golden Calf. The Roman rulers forbade sacrifices to be made in the Second Temple on this date in 69 C.E., and, in the following year, the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem were breached. This attack led to the destruction of the Temple three weeks later.

In Hebrew, the period of the Three Weeks is known as “bein hametzarim,” or, literally, “within the straits” or “within the borders.” This name comes from a verse in the Book of Lamentations, or Eicha, which is read on Tisha B’Av:

Judah has gone into exile because of affliction, and because of great servitude. She dwelt among the nations, she found no rest; all her pursuers overtook her within the borders. (Lamentations 1:3)

This idea of borders — or “restrictions” — alludes to the additional restrictions of mourning which are traditionally taken on during this period.

Traditionally, Jews take on several mourning customs during the Three Weeks. Similar to the period of the Omer, no weddings, parties, or public celebrations are held. Some people abstain from getting haircuts and shaving. Some people also refrain from going to concerts or listening to music during this period.

The Nine Days

The last nine days of the period, starting with the first of the month of Av, occupy a special status. Foods traditionally associated with joy, such as wine and meat, are forbidden, except on Shabbat. Bathing, beyond what is absolutely necessary, is prohibited, as is doing laundry, and buying or wearing new clothes.

This culminates in the fast of Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, a day that is spent entirely in mourning–by fasting, praying, sitting on stools instead of chairs, and reading the book of Lamentations. The Mishnah, in Masekhet Taanit 29b, decrees that these additional restrictions are only valid in “shavua she-hal bo,” or the week that Tisha B’Av occurs. Many Sephardic Jews only observe the restrictions within this period.

“Decreasing … in Joy”

Even though the Three Weeks mark the time of the Temple’s destruction, there are signs of hope throughout. The three haftarot read during this period, are full of admonitions and prophetic passages that warn about the consequences of sin. Yet each ends in a promise of eventual redemption.

The Talmud says, “When the month of Av enters, one should decrease in joy.” The Hasidic rebbe Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira (1861-1937), said that, though the Talmud says to “decrease in joy,” it should be read, “decrease…in joy.” In other words, though it is proper to mourn, even in that mourning, we should do so joyously, knowing that better times are ahead.

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There are many reasons Jews fast, including atonement, communal mourning, supplication or even to express gratitude. Jews don’t fast on Shabbat or joyous holidays, so as not to interfere with the celebration (except when Shabbat coincides with Yom Kippur). 

In ancient times, public and private fasts were common and practiced throughout the course of the year, often proclaimed with short notice. For that reason, there was a widely circulated calendar, called Megillat Ta’anit (Scroll of Fasts), that listed all the days on which it was not permitted to fast. There’s also evidence that some individuals made regular fasting their own private spiritual practice. For example, during the three years that the Second Temple was besieged by the Romans, Rabbi Tzadok fasted continually in an effort to save the city. The Shulchan Aruch discusses examples of people who fasted every day and became so accustomed to it they found it difficult to eat. These are extreme examples, but what’s clear is that Judaism has built the structure for an abundant cycle of both fasting and feasting.

Here are ten possible reasons Jews might be fasting:

1. It’s a major fast day

There are two major fast days on the Jewish calendar. The best known is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On that day Jews abstain from all food and drink, as well as wearing leather, bathing, intimacy and other luxuries so that they can focus on the sanctity of the day. Fasting on this day is for atonement.

The other major Jewish fast day is Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of both Temples in ancient times as well as other catastrophes that have befallen the Jewish people, from the Crusades to the Holocaust. This day, too, is marked by a full fast that extends from sundown to sundown; in this case it is a mourning ritual.

2. It’s a minor fast day

In addition to Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, there are four minor fast days on the Jewish calendar. These are observed only during daylight hours, which means they begin at sunrise and are completed at sundown the same day. Three of these fasts are connected to the destruction of the Temples: 

1. Tzom Gedalia, observed on the 3rd of Tishrei (the day after Rosh Hashanah), this fast commemorates the murder of the Jewish governor of Judah, an act that was considered a tipping point leading to the destruction of the First Temple. 
2. Asarah B’Tevet, the Tenth of Tevet, marks the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem — also a precursor to the destruction of the First Temple. 
3. Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, the 17th of Tammuz, commemorates the day on which the Romans breached the walls of the Second Temple. 

The fourth minor fast is Taanit Esther, the Fast of Esther. On the day before Purim, many Jews fast just as Esther fasted before she went to see King Ahasuerus and request that the decree of death against the Jews be lifted. (Note: If Purim falls on a Sunday, the fast is not held on Shabbat or even Erev Shabbat, but moved back to the Thursday before Purim.)

3. It’s their wedding day

There is a tradition of fasting on the day of one’s wedding from sunrise until the ceremony is complete, so that the couple eat for the first time that day when they are together in yichud (a brief period of seclusion after the marriage ceremony is complete). This is not a requirement (halakhah), but a custom (minhag), and it is more common in Ashkenazi communities than Sephardi communities.

There are several explanations for this practice. One is that the wedding day atones for the sins of the two partners and therefore it is, for them, like a personal Yom Kippur. Another is that the fast prevents the newlyweds — who may be tempted by all the booze at the pre-wedding banquets — from arriving at the huppah intoxicated. Marriage is a serious obligation and should be undertaken in a fully sober state.

4. It’s their conversion day

Converting to Judaism is often a lengthy and intense process that culminates with immersion in a mikveh (ritual bath). Some choose to fast on the day of their immersion until they emerge from the mikveh. 

In a rabbinic responsa, the 20th-century halakhic authority Rabbi Moshe Feinstein explained that a convert fasts on the day of immersion to atone for sins committed prior to conversion and compares the custom to a groom fasting on his wedding day.  

5. It’s Erev Passover

This fast applies specifically to firstborns (traditionally first sons) and commemorates the tenth plague on Egypt which took the lives of all firstborn Egyptians, while firstborn Israelites whose homes were marked with lamb’s blood were spared. This fast is observed from sunrise on the 14th of Nisan until the Passover seder that evening.

6. It’s Sigd

Sigd is an Ethiopian Jewish holiday observed 50 days after Yom Kippur on the 29th of Heshvan. Traditionally, Sigd is marked by fasting from sunrise until mid-afternoon. 

According to Beta Israel tradition, the individual’s sins are forgiven by God on Yom Kippur, while communal introspection and repentance occurs during the 50 days following Yom Kippur. Sigd is believed to be the day that God would forgive all communal sins, as well as the date on which God first revealed himself to Moses. 

Most of the Ethiopian Jewish community is concentrated in Israel, where a national Sigd celebration is held in Jerusalem annually. 

7. It’s an emergency

An entire tractate of the Talmud, Ta’anit, explores the rules around fasting in response to a communal emergency such as a drought, plague or a marauding army. Sometimes, these fasts are observed only by certain leaders in the community, and sometimes by all adults. Usually they are daylight fasts held on Monday and Thursday and can last just a few days or go on for weeks, depending on the emergency. Fasting in the face of disaster is less common in modern times, but some Jews in Israel did declare a fast in response to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

8. It’s “Little” Yom Kippur

The custom of fasting on the day before each Rosh Chodesh (first of the Hebrew month) seems to have originated with the kabbalists of Safed. It was never a fast observed by the entire community, but the reserve of particularly pious members. Dubbed Yom Kippur Katan, or “Little Yom Kippur,” as the name implies this is a day of fasting for atonement, allowing the participant to enter the new month with a clean slate. The inspiration for Yom Kippur Katan comes from the biblical prescription to bring a sin offering on the first of every month (Numbers 28:15).

Yom Kippur Katan is not observed for four months of the year. The days before Rosh Chodesh Tishrei and Rosh Chodesh Heshvan are not considered Yom Kippur Katan because of their proximity to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The days before Rosh Chodesh Tevet and Rosh Chodesh Nisan are also not fast days because the first falls during Hanukkah and the second is similarly part of the Passover season. If the last day of a month falls on a Shabbat, Yom Kippur Katan is moved back to Thursday.

9. They had a bad dream

Jewish tradition takes dreams seriously. Joseph’s dreams came true, after all, as did the dreams he interpreted for the pharaoh and his servants. And in the Talmud, Rav Hisda teaches: “A dream not interpreted is like a letter unread.” (Berakhot 55a) So a bad dream is not just unpleasant; it can be a dangerous omen. To reverse possible future misfortune that one learns of in a dream, there is a tradition of fasting the day after one has had such a dream to affect atonement. In fact, according to the Shulchan Aruch, one may fast on the day following a bad dream even if that happens to be Shabbat — a day fasting is normally prohibited. But if you do, then you should also fast the next day as well (Sunday) to atone for fasting on Shabbat! (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, 288:4)

10. Someone dropped a Torah scroll

There is a common belief that Jews who witness a Torah scroll being dropped must fast for 40 days (daylight only). The sources for this practice are murky, but some contemporary congregations have responded to a dropped Torah in this way.

The post When Do Jews Fast? appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

The Holocaust is also sometimes referred to as “the Shoah,” the Hebrew word for “catastrophe.” It affected nearly all of Europe’s Jewish population, which in 1933 numbered 9 million people. 

When they came to power in Germany, the Nazis did not immediately start to carry out mass murder. However, they quickly began using the government to target and exclude Jews from German society. The regime persecuted other groups because of politics, ideology, or behavior. The Nazis claimed that Roma, people with disabilities, some Slavic peoples (especially Poles and Russians), and Black people were biologically inferior. Other persecuted groups included Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, gay men, and people the Nazis called “asocials” and “professional criminals.” 

MAY 7, 1919: Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles ending World War I is presented to Germany. Among its provisions, the treaty forces Germany to accept responsibility for the war and commit to enormous reparation payments — a humiliation seen as setting the stage for the rise of Adolf Hitler and his promise to restore German greatness.

FEBRUARY 27, 1925: Hitler Reformulates Nazi Party

Hitler declares the reformulation of the Nazi Party and installs himself as leader in a declaration at the Munich beer hall where he led an aborted coup against the German government in 1923.

JANUARY 30, 1933: Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany

The Nazis assume control of Germany with Hitler’s appointment as chancellor.
FROM THE JTA ARCHIVE (1933): Hitler Sworn in as German Chancellor 

FEBRUARY 28, 1933: Reichstag Fire and Aftermath

A day after a fire in the Reichstag, Germany’s parliament building, German President Paul Von Hindenburg approves the Reichstag Fire Decree, an emergency decree that suspends individual rights and due process of law.
THE JTA ARCHIVE (1933): Police Aided By Nazis Search Central Union Premises After Reichstag Fire

MARCH 22, 1933: First Concentration Camp Established

The SS, a Nazi paramilitary group, establishes the first concentration camp to incarcerate political prisoners near the town of Dachau.
THE JTA ARCHIVE (1933): Jewish Lawyer Tortured by Nazis in Concentration Camp 

APRIL 1, 1933: Nazis Stage Boycott of Jewish Businesses

Nazi leadership stages an economic boycott targeting Jewish-owned businesses and the offices of Jewish professionals.
JTA ARCHIVE (1933): Nazi Communique Announces Boycott of Jewish Businesses Throughout Country

SEPTEMBER 15, 1935: Nuremberg Laws

The German parliament (Reichstag) passes the Nuremberg Laws, institutionalizing many of the Nazis’ racial theories and providing the legal grounds for the persecution of Jews in Germany.
Read the full text here.

AUGUST 1, 1936: Opening of Berlin Olympics

The Summer Olympic Games open in Berlin, providing the Nazi government with a major propaganda success by enabling it to present itself as a respectable member of the international community.

MARCH 11, 1938: Germany Annexes Austria

Germany invades Austria and incorporates it into the German Reich, provoking a wave of street violence against Jews in Vienna.
JTA ARCHIVE (1938): Anschluss Proclaimed in Plebiscite

SEPTEMBER 29, 1938: The Munich Agreement

The Munich agreement is signed, ceding the Sudetenland, a region in Czechoslovakia with a large ethnic German population, to Germany and prompting British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to declare the achievement of “peace for our time.”
JTA ARCHIVE (1938): Munich Pact Abandons Minorities to Nazi Terror

NOVEMBER 9, 1938: Kristallnacht

A night of violent anti-Jewish pogroms known as Kristallnacht results in the destruction of hundreds of synagogues, the looting of thousands of Jewish-owned businesses and the deaths of nearly 100 Jews. The event, which was followed by the promulgation of dozens of anti-Jewish laws, is considered a turning point in the persecution of German Jewry.
JTA ARCHIVE: 25,000 Jews Under Arrest in Wake of Worst Pogrom in Modern German History, 4 Dead

DECEMBER 2, 1938: Kindertransports Begin

The first Kindertransport, a program for bringing child refugees out of Nazi Germany, arrives in Great Britain, bringing some 200 Jewish children from a Berlin orphanage destroyed on Kristallnacht. Thousands of refugee children would be brought to England aboard such transports between 1938 and 1940.
JTA ARCHIVE (1999): Former Kindertransport Refugees Gather for a Last Full-Scale Reunion

MAY 13, 1939: Departure of the St. Louis

The ocean liner St. Louis departs Hamburg, Germany and heads toward Cuba carrying 900 passengers, nearly all of them Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. The boat is denied entry to Cuba and later the United States, forcing it to return to Europe. Some were taken in by the United Kingdom, while the others were allowed into Western European countries that would later be occupied by the Nazis. Two hundred and fifty-four of the passengers would eventually be murdered in the Holocaust.

SEPTEMBER 1, 1939: Germany Invades Poland

Germany invades Poland, setting off World War II. Britain and France responded with a declaration of war two days later.

May 1940: Germany Invades France

Germany begins its invasion of France, the Netherlands and Belgium. The Netherlands and Belgium surrender in May, and Paris is occupied on June 14.  In a June 22 armistice agreement, Germany is given control of northern France, while the collaborationist French Vichy government controls the south.
JTA ARCHIVE (1940): Jews Fleeing France as Hitler Dictates Armistice Terms

MAY 20, 1940: Auschwitz Established

Germany establishes the Auschwitz concentration camp, the largest facility of its kind built by the Nazis, about 43 miles west of Krakow, Poland.

NOVEMBER 15, 1940: Warsaw Jews Confined to Ghetto

German authorities order the Warsaw ghetto sealed. It is the largest ghetto in both area and population, confining more than 350,000 Jews (about 30 percent of the city’s population) in an area of about 1.3 square miles.

JUNE 22, 1941: Germany Invades the USSR

Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in “Operation Barbarossa.” German mobile units of Security Police and SD (Nazi intelligence) officials, called Einsatzgruppen, identify, round up and murder Jews, carrying out mass shootings during the last week of June 1941.

JTA ARCHIVE (1941): 500,000 Jews in Path of Nazi Forces Invading Russia
JTA ARCHIVE (1941): Nazis Launch Radio Drive, Urge Russian Troops to Turn Bayonets on Jews

SEPTEMBER 1, 1941: Jews Forced to Wear Yellow Stars of David

All Jews over the age of six residing in territories under German control are required to wear a yellow Star of David with the word Jew inscribed within it on their outer clothing.

JTA ARCHIVE (1941): Jews in Reich Start New Year by Wearing Yellow Stars

DECE 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Attacked, US Enters World War II

Japan launches a surprise attack on the United States Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, prompting the United States to enter World War II.

JTA ARCHIVE (1941): Hebrew U President Judah L. Magnes Cables FDR Day After Pearl Harbor to Offer Service

JAN. 20, 1942: “Final Solution” Planned at Wannsee

The Wannsee Conference convenes in a villa outside Berlin. Plans to coordinate a “final solution” to the Jewish question are presented to leading German and Nazi officials.

July 23, 1942: Nazis Begin Gassing Operations at Treblinka

Some 925,000 Jews and an unknown number of Poles, Roma and Soviet prisoners would be murdered there.
JTA ARCHIVE (1943): Nazis Suffocate Jews in Groups of 500 in Special Steam Chambers

APRIL 19, 1943: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Begins

For nearly a month, small groups of Jews fought the larger and better armed German forces before finally being defeated.
JTA ARCHIVE (April 30, 1943): Jews in Warsaw Ghetto Ask for Food and Arms to Continue Resistance
JTA ARCHIVE (May 16, 1943): Nazis Burn Down 200 Houses in Warsaw Ghetto, Execute Jewish Hostages

September 20, 1943: Thousands of Danish Jews Begin Escape to Sweden

With help from resistance fighters and ordinary citizens, some 7,200 Danish Jews began their escape to neutral Sweden.
JTA ARCHIVE (1943): Fishermen Establish Regular Ferry Service for Refugees Between Denmark and Sweden

MARCH 19, 1944: Germany Occupies Hungary

Germany occupies Hungary. Less than two months later, the deportation of 440,000 Hungarian Jews, mostly to Auschwitz, begins.
JTA ARCHIVE (1944): Jewish Shops in Budapest Looted, Jews Flee Homes, Seek Escape from Hungary

OCTOBER 7, 1944: Prisoners at Auschwitz Rebel

Jews arriving at Auschwitz in 1944. (German National Archive/Wikimedia Commons)Prisoners at Auschwitz rebel and the Germans crush the uprising, killing nearly 250 prisoners during the fighting.

January 27, 1945: Soviets Liberate Auschwitz

With Soviet forces advancing, Germany begins, on Jan. 17, the final evacuation of Auschwitz, marching nearly 60,000 west toward Germany in what became known as “death marches.” Anyone who fell behind or could not continue was shot. Ten days later, Soviet forces entered the camp and liberated the remaining 7,000 prisoners.

APRIL 30, 1945: Hitler Commits Suicide

With Soviet forces nearing his command bunker in central Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide.
JTA ARCHIVE (1945): Moscow Jews Rejoice at News of Hitler’s Death

MAY 7, 1945: Germany Surrenders

Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies.  armed forces surrender unconditionally in the west. Victory in Europe, V-E Day, is proclaimed the next day.
JTA ARCHIVE (1945): German Refugee Captain Acts as Interpreter as Nazis in Italy Surrender

NOVEMBER 20, 1945: Nazi Leaders Charged with Crimes Against Humanity

An international tribunal in Nuremberg charges 21 Nazi leaders with crimes against humanity. Twelve Nazis would eventually be sentenced to death.

JTA ARCHIVE: Leaders Nervous as Allied Prosecutors at Nuremberg Trial List Crimes Against Jews

JULY 4, 1946: At Least 42 Jews Murdered in Pogrom in Poland

A mob of Polish soldiers, police officers and civilians murder at least 42 Jews and injure over 40 in the Polish town of Kielce, an event that convinces many Holocaust survivors that they have no future in Poland and must emigrate to Palestine or elsewhere.

DECEMBER 15, 1961: Israeli Court Convicts Nazi War Criminal Adolf Eichmann

An Israeli court convicts Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, following a highly publicized trial. Eichmann is executed on June 15, 1962.

JTA ARCHIVE (1961): Eichmann Found Guilty, Reading of Judgment to Conclude Tomorrow

Adapted with permission from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The post A Timeline of the Holocaust appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

The importance of praying for the welfare of the ruling body was established by the prophet Jeremiah after the first exile from Jerusalem, in 586 B.C.E. He tells the exiled Jews, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have caused you to be exiled, and pray to God on its behalf, for in its prosperity you shall prosper” (Jeremiah 29:7).

By instructing the Jews to pray for Babylonia, Jeremiah is teaching them to recognize that in exile they were physically, economically, and politically dependent upon Babylonia and the good will of its rulers. The situation of powerlessness and dependence demanded that God be implored to direct the leaders of the country to rule the Jewish population in a just and merciful way.

The first siddur [prayerbook] including a prayer for the government is from the 14th century, and the practice is described there as an “established custom.” Hundreds of different prayers for various governments under which Jews have lived (and live) exist today, and are valuable windows to these Jewish communities.

This background is important to understand the thinking of the authors of the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel.

Composing the Prayer

On the Fifth of Iyar–May 15–1948, the Jewish people became sovereign rulers in the Land of Israel. This new situation posed many challenges to the Jewish people, a people that had lived most of its history under the direct control of others. Confronting and understanding the meaning of sovereignty and independence created a high level of political, cultural, and religious creativity during the early years of the state.

For the first time since antiquity, Jewish religious leaders had the opportunity to compose a prayer for the Jewish leaders of a Jewish state. Should the prayer express the ideology, hopes, and aspirations of the Zionist movement? Or, should it be a prayer for the leaders of Israel (treating them like any other political leaders of any country), without taking into account the profound meaning of Israel to many Jews?

Here is the translation of the prayer:

“Our Father Who art in Heaven, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless Thou the State of Israel which marks the dawn of our deliverance. Shield it beneath the wings of Thy love. Spread over it Thy canopy of peace; send Thy light and Thy truth to its leaders, officers, and counselors, and direct them with Thy good counsel.

“O God, strengthen the defenders of our Holy Land; grant them salvation and crown them with victory. Establish peace in the land, and everlasting joy for its inhabitants.

“Remember our brethren, the whole house of Israel, in all the lands of their dispersion. Speedily let them walk upright to Zion, the city, to Jerusalem Thy dwelling-place, as it is written in the Torah of Thy servant Moses: ‘Even if you are dispersed in the uttermost parts of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather and fetch you. The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it.’

“Unite our heart to love and revere Thy Name, and to observe all the precepts of Thy Torah. Shine forth in Thy glorious majesty over all the inhabitants of Thy world. Let everything that breathes proclaim: The Lord God of Israel is King; His majesty rules over all.” Amen.

This is much more than a prayer for the government. It is a proclamation of belief that:

1)      the establishment of the State of Israel is a divine event and that this event is the fulfillment of God’s promise to the Jewish people and part of the divine plan to redeem the world;

2)      the maintaining of the state and its defense is a matter for God’s intervention;

3)      God will bring all Jews to live in Israel from the Diaspora.

The ideology that is the basis of the prayer is expressed best by Rabbi Yehudah Amital, a former government minister and leading religious leader in Israel. He writes that Zionism is “…the Lord’s vehicle for preparing Israel for its redemption. The habitation of the Land of Israel by a group of its children, transforming wastelands into gardens, and the establishment of independence within its borders, are stages in the process of redemption…and even though they are accompanied by suffering and tribulation, the strides are certain and the course is clear…”

The authorship of the prayer is unclear. Some say it was written by Chief Rabbis Yitzhak Herzog and Ben Zion Uziel with the assistance of other rabbis. Others suggest that the prayer was revised by the rabbis after suggestions made by Nobel Laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature. Still others are convinced that Agnon wrote the prayer himself and that it was later adopted by the Chief Rabbinate.

Community Acceptance

A prayer for the State of Israel is recited in synagogues of most religious streams in Israel and the Diaspora (outside of the ultra-Orthodox communities). In Israel, most use the text of the Chief Rabbinate, although there are congregations that use their own versions and variations. In the Diaspora, there is even less conformity, and while many communities use the text of the Chief Rabbinate, many utilize other prayers.

There are many reasons why all congregations haven’t adopted the Chief Rabbinates prayer.

Most of the arguments surrounding the prayer concern the Messianic role of the state. The first line of the prayer pleads, “Bless Thou the State of Israel which marks the dawn of our deliverance.“The belief that the Jewish state is the first step in redemption is seen by Rabbi Amital as “certain” and “clear,” but the fact is that not everyone is certain and clear on this point.

For most haredim (ultra-Orthodox), no matter where they live, redemption will not be brought by the establishment of a secular state, but by the observance of Torah. Although the vast majority in this community are deeply connected to the state and are proud of it in many ways, they do not see the state in Messianic terms.

They are not alone. The notion that Israel is the “dawn of our deliverance” sits uncomfortably with many Jews of all streams of Judaism. Some say that while we may hope and pray that Israel is the “dawn of our deliverance,” it is pretentious to proclaim that this is a known and proven fact.

Others hold that Messianic beliefs in God’s impending intervention in history are fine for the realm of the spirit, but have no place in the affairs of a sovereign state. They point to many examples in Jewish history when Messianic ideas caught the imagination of the people and led to disaster, such as the war against the Romans that ended in the destruction of Jerusalem.

There are other problematic passages in the prayer. Jews in the Diaspora, who are quite comfortable in their homes, may not relate to a prayer that pleads with God to speedily return them to Israel. Such an idea may be acceptable in a spiritual, theoretical sense, but when tied to a prayer for the sovereign Jewish state, it may be difficult to accept.

Others find the triumphant nature of the prayer problematic. In my own congregation in Israel, there is a constant debate over the words that ask God to grant the defenders of the land with “victory.” Why do we need to ask for military victory in addition to peace, as if war is an inevitable, permanent part of living in Israel?

These tensions have led many religious leaders to re-write the prayer in a way that expresses love and devotion to the State of Israel, without the Messianic overtones and with less of the triumphant spirit of the original.

The Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel is the product of one of the great creative avenues within Judaism: the crafting of religious poetry and liturgy that expresses our basic desires and beliefs. Over the centuries some of this literature has touched the community deeply and has made its way into the liturgy. Whether or not the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel (in its present form) will be universally adopted is still an open question. In any case, this prayer is an eloquent and moving religious expression of the Zionist dream.

The post Praying for the Welfare of the State of Israel appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Most of the Jewish communities in the Western world have incorporated this modern holiday into their calendars, but some North American Jewish communities hold the public celebrations on a following Sunday in order to attract more participation. In the State of Israel it is a formal holiday, so almost everyone has the day off.

Yom Ha’atzmaut in Israel is always preceded by Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers. The message of linking these two days is clear: Israelis owe their independence — the very existence of the state — to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for it.

The “Switch”

The official “switch” from Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha’atzmaut takes place a few minutes after sundown, with a ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem in which the flag is raised from half staff (due to Memorial Day) to the top of the pole. The president of Israel delivers a speech of congratulations, and soldiers representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force parade with their flags. In recent decades this small-scale parade has replaced the large-scale daytime parade, which was the main event during the 1950s and ’60s. The evening parade is followed by a torch lighting (hadlakat masuot) ceremony, which marks the country’s achievements in all spheres of life.

Other than the official ceremonies, Israelis celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut in a variety of ways. In the cities, the nighttime festivities may be found on the main streets. Crowds will gather to watch public shows offered for free by the municipalities and the government. Many spend the night dancing Israeli folk dances or singing Israeli songs. During the daytime thousands of Israeli families go out on hikes and picnics. Army camps are open for civilians to visit and to display the recent technological achievements of the Israeli Defense Forces. Yom Ha’atzmaut is concluded with the ceremony of granting the “Israel Prize” recognizing individual Israelis for their unique contribution to the country’s culture, science, arts, and the humanities.

The religious character of Yom Ha’atzmaut is still in the process of formation, and is still subject to debate. The Chief Rabbinate of the State (which consists of Orthodox rabbis) has decided that this day should be marked with the recitation of Hallel (psalms of praise), similar to other joyous holidays, and with the reading of a special haftarah (prophetic portion). Most ultra-Orthodox Jews, in Israel and abroad, have not accepted this ruling, and some Orthodox Jews chant the Hallel psalms without the blessing which precedes it.

On the other hand, HaKibbutz HaDati (Modern Orthodox Kibbutz Movement) initiated a version of  the prayer Al HaNissim (“Concerning the Miracles”) to be added to the Amidah (the central prayer recited while standing) on Yom Ha’atzmaut, as it is on Hanukkah and Purim.

This special addition to the liturgy of the day was not approved by the Chief Rabbinate but was adopted by the Masorti (Conservative) and the Progressive (Reform) congregations in Israel. Some rabbis argue that Yom Ha’atzmaut should be viewed in conjunction with Hanukkah and Purim, since all three commemorate a “miraculous” victory of the Jews over an enemy of superior military might. It should be noted that most Israelis do not consider Yom Ha’atzmaut a religious holiday at all.

For American Jews

For American Jews, celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut has been a way to express solidarity with the state of Israel and to strengthen their alliance with it. In many communities, it is one of few occasions in which Jewish organizations and synagogues of different ideologies and denominations cooperate in forming a common celebration. In many North American congregations, the joint public celebration often is augmented by a religious service. In some cases, this would occur on the Shabbat closest to Yom Ha’atzmaut and would consist of additional readings added to the service and, usually, the singing of Hatikvah (the Israeli national anthem).

The standard Reform prayerbook, Gates of Prayer (Shaarei Tefillah), includes a service for Yom Ha’atzmaut, while the Conservative prayerbook, Sim Shalom includes Hallel and Al Hanissim to be recited on this occasion.

There is not yet an accepted “tradition” of how to celebrate this holiday, and only time will tell whether certain customs, foods, prayers, and melodies will be linked in the Jewish mind with this holiday, as with holidays that emerged many centuries before Yom Ha’atzmaut. For Jews around the world, joining with Israelis celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut has become a concrete link in the Jewish connection to the land of Israel.

The post Yom Ha’atzmaut: Israel Independence Day appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

When the 27th of Nisan falls on a Friday or Sunday, Yom Hashoah is shifted a day to avoid conflicting with Shabbat. (The Hebrew calendar is fixed so that the 27th never falls on Shabbat itself.)

The date was selected by the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) on April 12, 1951. The full name became formal in a law that was enacted by the Knesset on August 19, 1953. Although the date was established by the Israeli government, it has become a day commemorated by Jewish communities and individuals worldwide.

In the early 1950s, education about the Holocaust emphasized the suffering inflicted on millions of European Jews by the Nazis. Surveys conducted in the late 1950s indicated that young Israelis did not sympathize with the victims of the Holocaust, since they believed that European Jews were “led like sheep for slaughter.” The Israeli educational curriculum began to shift the emphasis to documenting how Jews resisted their Nazi tormentors through “passive resistance”—retaining their human dignity in the most unbearable conditions—and by “active resistance,” fighting the Nazis in the ghettos and joining underground partisans who battled the Third Reich in its occupied countries.

The Siren

Since the early 1960s, the sound of a siren on Yom Hashoah stops traffic and pedestrians throughout the State of Israel for two minutes of silent devotion. The siren blows at sundown as the holiday begins and once again at 11 a.m. the following morning. All radio and television programs during this day are connected in one way or another with the Jewish destiny in World War II, including personal interviews with survivors. Even the musical programs are adapted to the atmosphere of Yom Hashoah. There is no public entertainment on Yom Hashoah, as theaters, cinemas, pubs, and other public venues are closed throughout Israel.

Some Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox rabbis have never endorsed this memorial day, nor have they formally rejected it. There is no change in the daily religious services in Orthodox synagogues on Yom Hashoah. The Orthodox Rabbinate of Israel attempted to promote the Tenth of Tevet—a traditional fast day commemorating the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem in ancient times—as the “General Kaddish Day” in which Jews should recite the memorial prayer and light candles in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust. Several ultra-Orthodox rabbis have recommended adding piyyutim (religious poems) that were written by contemporary rabbis to the liturgy of Tisha B’Av and many communities follow this custom.

Jews in North America observe Yom Hashoah within the synagogue as well as in the broader Jewish community. Commemorations range from synagogue services to communal vigils and educational programs. A few congregations find it more practical to hold commemorative ceremonies on the Sunday closest to Yom Hashoah. Many Yom Hashoah programs feature a talk by a Holocaust survivor, recitation of appropriate songs and readings, or viewing of a Holocaust-themed film. Some communities choose to emphasize the depth of loss that Jews experienced in the Holocaust by reading the names of Holocaust victims one after another — dramatizing the unfathomable notion of six million deaths. Many Jewish schools also hold Holocaust-related educational programs on or around Yom Hashoah.

New Rituals

Rituals associated with Yom Hashoah are still being created and vary widely among synagogues. Attempts have also been made to observe this memorial day at home. One suggestion is that every Jewish home should light a yahrzeit (memorial) candle on this day

There have been numerous attempts to compose special liturgy (text and music) for Yom Hashoah. In 1988 the Reform movement published Six Days of Destruction. This book, co-authored by Elie Wiesel and Rabbi Albert Friedlander, was meant to be viewed as a “sixth scroll,” a modern addition to the five scrolls that are read on specific holidays. Six narratives from Holocaust survivors are juxtaposed to the six days of creation found in Genesis.

One of the most recent achievements is Megillat Hashoah (The Holocaust Scroll) created by the Conservative movement as a joint project of rabbis and lay leaders in Canada, the U.S., and Israel. This Holocaust scroll contains personal recollections of Holocaust survivors and is written in biblical style. It was composed under the direction of Avigdor Shinan, a professor at Hebrew University.

While Yom Hashoah rituals are still in flux there is no question that this day holds great meaning for Jews worldwide.  The overwhelming theme that runs through all observances is the importance of remembering — recalling the victims of this catastrophe, and insuring that such a tragedy never happen again.

The Shoah (Holocaust) posed an enormous challenge to Judaism and raised many questions: Can one be a believing Jew after the Holocaust?  Where was God? How can one have faith in humanity?  Facing this recent event in history, does it really matter if one practices Judaism?

Jewish theologians and laity have struggled with these questions for decades.  The very fact that Jews still identify Jewishly, practice their religion — and have embraced the observance of Yom Hashoah — answers some of the questions raised by the Holocaust.

The post Yom Hashoah: Holocaust Memorial Day appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

A three-week mourning period preceding Tisha B’Av begins on the 17th day of the month of Tammuz. According to the Mishnah, this was the day the Romans succeeded in breaching the walls of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.; the Mishnah also mentions other tragic events that occurred on this day in Tammuz. This three-week period leading up to the major fast of Tisha B’Av is called “Bayn Ha-Metsarim“–“in the Straits.” Traditional Jews do not get married or celebrate other joyous festivities in these three weeks.

Before the Holiday

Nine days prior to Tisha B’Av, a new period of more intense mourning begins. Traditional Jews do not eat meat, cut their hair, or wash their clothes unless they are to be worn again during the nine days. All these actions are considered signs of joy or luxury inappropriate for this time of mourning. Reform, Reconstructionist, and Conservative Jews adopt a varied range of these practices.

The Shabbat immediately preceding the festival is Shabbat Hazon (vision). The name derives from the haftarah (prophetic reading) for the day. Taken from Isaiah 1, the reading describes Isaiah’s vision of national disaster befalling the Israelites because of their sins.

Tisha B’Av cannot be observed on Shabbat, so if the date falls on Shabbat, the festival is postponed until Sunday. On such occasions, there are some small changes to Maariv (the evening service) on Shabbat. Also, during havdalah (the concluding ceremony of Sabbath), the blessing over the wine is postponed until after the fast on Sunday night, though the blessing over the twisted candle is still said at the close of Shabbat.

The Fast Begins

Tisha B’Av is a full fast day, so the last meal must be eaten before sunset prior to the ninth of Av. This meal marking the boundary between periods of eating and fasting is called the “seudah ha-mafseket.” The meal often is comprised of round foods like eggs or lentils, which symbolize mourning in Jewish tradition because they evoke the cycle of life. Some people eat an egg or bread sprinkled with ashes, and some Jews may sit on the ground during the meal. The birkat hamazon (grace after meals) is said individually and in silence.

In addition to abstaining from food or drink during Tisha B’Av, Jewish tradition also mandates refraining from wearing leather, engaging in sexual relations, washing one’s body, and using perfume or other such ointments. Visiting cemeteries on this day is encouraged, as if to heighten the sadness.

Uniquely on Tisha B’Av, Torah study, meant to be joyful, is not permitted. Some parts of the Bible or Talmud are allowed, like Job or Jeremiah, or sections of the Talmud or Midrash that discuss the destruction of Jerusalem. In the synagogue, the lights are dimmed and the ornamental parokhet (covering) is removed from the ark as a sign of mourning before the evening service. Congregants remove their leather shoes and do not greet each other.

Prayers & Customs

Megillat Eicha (the Scroll of Lamentations)–which is a lament for the destruction of the First Temple — is chanted during the Maariv service, along with several kinot, elegies or dirges written at different periods of Jewish history. The kinot speak of the suffering and pain of Jewish tragedy through the ages. An extended set of kinot are traditionally recited during the morning service, and some communities repeat the chanting of Eicha in the morning as well. The traditional Torah reading is Deuteronomy 4:25-40 and the Haftarah is Jeremiah 8:13-9:23, which is chanted to the same tune as Lamentations the night before.

Tallit (prayer shawl) and tefillin (phylacteries), usually worn during morning services, are instead worn during Minchah (the afternoon service). During Mincha, prayers that were omitted in the morning are recited. The Torah and Haftarah are the same as on other public fasts.

The meal ending the fast traditionally omits meat and wine, in acknowledgment of the fact that the burning of the Temple continued until the next day. Finally, the sorrow that began on the 17th of Tammuz comes to a halt and the Shabbat immediately following Tishah B’Av is called Shabbat Nahamu (Shabbat of comfort) because the Haftarah begins with the words “nahamu nahamu ami” (“comfort, comfort my people”). This begins a period of consolation and comfort leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

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To read contemporary news accounts of the Holocaust and other Jewish events from 1917 on, search the JTA Archive. 

Dismantling Germany’s Democracy

Once in power, Hitler moved quickly to end German democracy. He convinced his cabinet to invoke emergency clauses of the constitution that permitted the suspension of individual freedoms of press, speech, and assembly. Special security forces — the Gestapo, the Storm Troopers (SA), and the SS — murdered or arrested leaders of opposition political parties (Communists, socialists, and liberals). The Enabling Act of March 23, 1933 — forced through the Reichstag already purged of many political opponents –gave dictatorial powers to Hitler.

READ: Jewish Reactions to the Enabling Act (March 24, 1933)

Also in 1933, the Nazis began to put into practice their racial ideology. The Nazis believed that the Germans were “racially superior” and that there was a struggle for survival between them and inferior races. They saw Jews, Roma (Gypsies), and the handicapped as a serious biological threat to the purity of the “German (Aryan) Race,” what they called the master race.

Jews, who numbered about 525,000 in Germany (less than one percent of the total population in 1933) were the principal target of Nazi hatred. The Nazis identified Jews as a race and defined this race as “inferior.” They also spewed hate-mongering propaganda that unfairly blamed Jews for Germany’s economic depression and the country’s defeat in World War I (1914-1918).

Nuremberg Laws, Property Seizures and Kristallnacht

In 1933, new German laws forced Jews out of their civil service jobs, university and law court positions, and other areas of public life. In April 1933, laws proclaimed at Nuremberg made Jews second-class citizens. These Nuremberg Laws defined Jews, not by their religion or by how they wanted to identify themselves, but by the religious affiliation of their grandparents. Between 1937 and 1939, new anti-Jewish regulations segregated Jews further and made daily life very difficult for them. Jews could not attend public schools; go to theaters, cinema, or vacation resorts; or reside or even walk in certain sections of German cities.

Also between 1937 and 1939, Jews increasingly were forced from Germany’s economic life. The Nazis either seized Jewish businesses and properties outright or forced Jews to sell them at bargain prices. In November 1938, the Nazis organized a riot (pogrom), known as Kristallnacht (the “Night of Broken Glass”). This attack against German and Austrian Jews included the physical destruction of synagogues and Jewish-owned stores, the arrest of Jewish men, the vandalization of homes, and the murder of individuals.

Non-Jewish Targets of Persecution

Although Jews were the main target of Nazi hatred, the Nazis persecuted other groups they viewed as racially or genetically “inferior.” Nazi racial ideology was buttressed by scientists who advocated “selective breeding” (eugenics) to “improve” the human race. Laws passed between 1933 and 1935 aimed to reduce the future number of genetic “inferiors” through involuntary sterilization programs: 320,000 to 350,000 individuals judged physically or mentally handicapped were subjected to surgical or radiation procedures so they could not have children. Supporters of sterilization also argued that the handicapped burdened the community with the costs of their care. Many of Germany’s 30,000 Roma (Gypsies) were also eventually sterilized and prohibited, along with Blacks, from intermarrying with Germans. About 500 children of mixed African-German backgrounds were also sterilized. New laws combined traditional prejudices with the racism of the Nazis, which defined Roma by “race” and as “criminal and asocial.”

Another consequence of Hitler’s ruthless dictatorship in the 1930s was the arrest of political opponents and trade unionists and others whom the Nazis labeled “undesirables” and “enemies of the state.” Some 5,000 to 15,000 homosexuals were imprisoned in concentration camps; under the 1935 Nazi-revised criminal code, the mere denunciation of a man as “homosexual” could result in arrest, trial, and conviction. Jehovah’s Witnesses, who numbered at least 25,000 in Germany, were banned as an organization as early as April 1933, because the beliefs of this religious group prohibited them from swearing any oath to the state or serving in the German military. Their literature was confiscated, and they lost their jobs, unemployment benefits, pensions, and all social welfare benefits. Many Witnesses were sent to prisons and concentration camps in Nazi Germany, and their children were sent to juvenile detention homes and orphanages.

Refugees With No Place to Go

Between 1933 and 1936, thousand of people, mostly political prisoners, were imprisoned in concentrations camps, while several thousand German Roma were confined in special municipal camps. The first systematic round-up of German and Austrian Jews occurred after Kristallnacht, when approximately 30,000 Jewish men were deported to Dachau and other concentration camps, and several hundred Jewish women were sent to local jails. The wave of arrests in 1938 also included several thousand German and Austrian Roma.

Between 1933 and 1939, about half of the German-Jewish population and more than two-thirds of Austrian Jews (1938-1939) fled Nazi persecution. They emigrated mainly to the United States, Palestine, elsewhere in Europe (where many would be later trapped by Nazi conquests during the war), Latin America, and Japanese-occupied Shanghai (which required no visas for entry). Jews who remained under Nazi rule were either unwilling to uproot themselves or unable to obtain visas, sponsors in host countries, or funds for emigration. Most foreign countries, including the United States, Canada, Britain, and France, were unwilling to admit very large numbers of refugees.

Reprinted courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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Yom HaShoah, 27th of Nisan (April or May)

Yom HaShoah, whose full name is Yom HaShoah V’HaGevurah, meaning the Day of the Holocaust and Heroism, is one of the more recent holidays added to the Jewish calendar. In many Jewish communities around the world, Yom HaShoah has become the primary Holocaust memorial day. 

The Knesset, or Israeli parliament, passed the resolution creating Yom HaShoah in 1951. The 27^th of Nisan was chosen because it loosely corresponded to the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on Erev Passover, the 14^th of Nisan. However, because observing Yom HaShoah on that day would interfere with the preparations for Passover, it was not seriously considered as a potential national memorial day. 

Many customs have become associated with the observance of Yom HaShoah in Israel. A two minute siren is heard twice during the day. Various ceremonies are held by schools and youth groups, and there is state ceremony at Yad VaShem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial and Museum. Other rituals include hearing testimony from survivors, lighting memorial (yahrzeit) candles, reading the names of the deceased and wearing white. 

Not all Jewish communities in Israel observe Yom HaShoah. Some Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox communities do not mark Yom HaShoah in a significant way. This is in part because these communities do not recognize or condone the secular Zionist state that established the day, and also because there are more more traditional days for mourning (Tisha B’Av, for example) and ways to mourn (standing for a moment of silence, for instance, has no prior precedent in Jewish tradition). In addition, the month of Nisan, when the date occurs, is considered a month of happiness, not a time of mourning.  

Since being added to the Jewish calendar in Israel, however, many Jewish communities across and beyond the denominational spectrum and around the world have started marking Yom HaShoah. Their observances look increasingly like Israeli observances. In North America, most synagogues and Jewish groups offer programming and events for Yom HaShoah which may include lighting yahrzeit candles and reading lists of names of victims.

Novemberpogrom/Kristallnacht, November 9th

Another date connected to Holocaust commemoration is the 9^th of November. Known primarily as the Novemberpogrom (November Pogrom) in the German-speaking world, those within the English-speaking world typically know it as Kristallnacht: Night of the Broken Glass. 

On the night of November 9, 1938, Nazi leadership as well as civilians attacked synagogues and Jewish institutional buildings, as well as businesses and even private property across what is today Germany and Austria. Some 30,000 Jewish men were brought to concentration camps, in what is widely understood to be the first mass imprisonment of Jews in the camp system. 

The anniversary of the November Pogrom has become another Holocaust memorial day, though not as universally observed as Yom HaShoah. In Germany and Austria, both non-Jewish and Jewish ceremonies and events mark this date. These ceremonies often feature commemoration wreaths, Jewish prayers honoring the dead such as Mourners’ Kaddish or El Maleh Rahamim and survivors sharing their experiences (or the reading of eye-witness testimonies). 

Outside of Germany and Austria, the 9^th of November is primarily observed by those whose families fled Nazi Germany and Nazi-occupied Austria. Many of these descendants live in North America or Israel. Customs include lighting a yahrzeit candle and sharing stories of the family members who lived through the November Pogrom. Some synagogues, particularly those founded by Yekkes, or German Jews, will host events or lectures commemorating the destruction and impact of the November Pogrom.

Tisha B’Av, 9th of Av (Falls in July/August)

Tisha B’Av (literally: Ninth of Av) commemorates the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE) and the Second Temple (70 CE) in Jerusalem. But even since talmudic times, it has been an occasion to mourn other tragedies that have befallen the Jews, like the Bar Kochba Revolt and the Crusades. In many cases, these tragedies are also ascribed to the Ninth of Av. Additionally, some tragedies added to the Ninth of Av didn’t occur on the 9th itself, but in the days surrounding it. 

The most recent tragedy that has joined the events remembered on this day is the Holocaust. One calendar date used to connect the Ninth of Av to the Holocaust is the start of World War I on July 28, 1914 (which was, in that year, the 5th of Av). According to this understanding, World War I led to World War II and the Holocaust.

Tisha B’Av is one of Judaism’s two major fast days, the other being Yom Kippur. The book of Lamentations, or Eicha, is read in synagogues and sections of Jewish texts about destruction are studied. Many also have a custom to visit cemeteries.

For a long time, Tisha B’Av was not observed by most Reform communities, though that has begun to change. But for liberal Jews in general, Tisha B’Av is not seen as the main Holocaust memorial day, since Yom HaShoah serves that function in those communities. 

By contrast, in many Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, Tisha B’Av is the primary Holocaust memorial day. One reason for this is the religious, rather than secular, origins of the day. Another is that already in the time of the Talmud, Tisha B’Av became known as a day to observe various tragedies experienced by the Jewish people. Because of this, adding the Holocaust to the list of tragedies mourned on this date is in step with tradition. 

Holocaust remembrance on Tisha B’Av is limited to Jewish communities. It is uncommon to have non-Jewish memorial activities on this day. 

Tenth of Tevet (December or January) 

The Tenth of Tevet is a minor fast day in Judaism that falls in late December or early January, and it marks the start of the Babylonian siege in Jerusalem in 588 BCE, which then led to the First Temple’s destruction. 

Following World War II, the Orthodox Rabbinate in Israel began to mark the events of the Shoah on this date too. Rather than establish a new fast day, remembrance of the Holocaust was added to this minor fast day that marks what could have been, but was not, the end of the Jewish people. Mourner’s Kaddish is recited on this day for those whose place or date of death is unknown and those without living relatives. 

As a day of Holocaust commemoration, the Tenth of Tevet is primarily observed in Orthodox communities, especially those in Israel. However, it has begun to also be observed by some Orthodox communities elsewhere due to the influence of Jewish thought from Israel. It is not known as a Holocaust memorial date in Reform and Conservative communities, nor among non-Jews.

International Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27th

On January 27^th, 1945, the Soviet military liberated the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp complex, and it was thereafter observed as memorial day for the Holocaust in various European countries. In 2005, 60 years after that liberation, the United Nations voted to designate it as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

International Holocaust Memorial Day is not particular to Jews, and many non-Jews take this day to remember the Holocaust and its victims. Countries around the world, including Germany and Israel, host ceremonies that honor survivors and their descendants, feature discussions on the impact of antisemitism today, and listen to recitations of Mourner’s Kaddish or El Maleh Rahamim.

Some Jewish communities, particularly in Reform and Conservative circles, mark this memorial day, though it is generally less observed than other dates. A common Jewish critique of International Holocaust Memorial Day is that the observances on this date are too impersonal due to the  ritualistic nature of many commemoration ceremonies and a tendency to generalize rather than focus on individual lives. In addition, a common critique is International Holocaust Remembrance Day lacks a significant connection to Judaism.

The post All the Holocaust Memorial Days Explained appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

1. What calamities does Tisha B’Av commemorate?

Traditionally, both Temples were destroyed on Tisha B’Av. The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and the second by the Romans in 70 CE. But other calamities have also befallen the Jewish people on or near this date. King Edward I signed an edict compelling all Jewish subjects to leave England just before Tisha B’Av in 1290 (that expulsion would last 350 years). WWI also broke out just a few days before Tisha B’Av. But beyond these, Tisha B’Av is traditionally a day to commemorate many other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people including the Crusades, the pogroms, and the Holocaust.

2. Why this day in particular?

Was it a coincidence that both Temples were destroyed on the 9^th of Av, a day that happens to fall at the blazingly hot height of summer? As Midrash (Jewish legend) explains it, the Temples were destroyed on the 9^th of Av because it was on that day that the spies, send out by Moses to reconnoiter the land of Israel in preparation for the Israelites to enter, brought back a negative report of the Promised Land.

3. What can’t Jews do on Tisha B’Av?

Traditionally, Jews fast – meaning they take no food or drink from sunset to sunset. Jews also do not wear leather or other luxurious garments, do not anoint themselves with make-up or creams, and abstain from intimate relations.

4. What are the major practices of Tisha B’Av?

Jews sit on the floor in the dark (usually with only candlelight to read) and chant the Book of Lamentations (Eicha).

5. Is this a day when Jews avoid work, like Shabbat or Rosh Hashanah?

No, there is no restriction on work on Tisha B’Av, as long as the tone of the day remains serious and mournful.

6. If I am not near a synagogue, how can I observe Tisha B’Av on my own?

Although there is great value in observing Jewish holidays in community, there are many ways to bring the thoughts and experiences of Tisha B’Av into your day even if you are not near one. You can fast and refrain from both forbidden and enjoyable activities, read Lamentations, and say the kinnot (religious poetic elegies). You can reflect on contemporary calamities that have befallen the Jewish people, including the rise of bigotry and anti-Semitism. Tisha B’Av is also a good day to be moved to actions that work toward repairing the world. It would be appropriate to make a charitable donation, write a senator, or set aside some time to volunteer where you are needed.

If you are not near a synagogue, but have Jewish friends in the area, you can invite them to join you in some of these activities. There are also some online Tisha B’Av experiences now, including this one.

7. Why do we fast on Tisha B’Av?

There are several reasons. First, fasting fosters a longing that is key to the experience of Tisha B’Av, which is not just about remembering the destruction but viscerally feeling some of that experience. Second, fasting connects Jews to their history, to the generations going back now 2,000 years who have done the same — and also to future generations who will also fast. It is powerful to feel that one is doing the same thing as one’s ancestors and those yet to come.

8. But mourners don’t fast. In fact, people bring mourners lots of food. So why do we fast to simulate mourning?

Tisha B’Av is different from mourning a loved one — especially because most people do not enter the holiday having recently lost someone. Mourners generally don’t feel like eating, so friends bring them food to help them feel stronger. On Tisha B’Av, we are in something of the opposite situation. We are trying to put ourselves in a temporary state of anxiety, desolation, and despair. Depriving ourselves of food is one way to put ourselves in an active state of discomfort so we can connect with tragedies of our past.

9. Are we really supposed to be nothing but gloomy?

It’s true that we are meant to experience the mourning and desolation our ancestors did when they were forced into exile. But the prophet Isaiah also criticized Israel for fasting without committing to goodness and kindness:

No, this is the fast I desire:

To unlock fetters of wickedness,

And untie the cords of the yoke To let the oppressed go free;

To break off every yoke. It is to share your bread with the hungry,

And to take the wretched poor into your home;

When you see the naked, to clothe him,

And not to ignore your own kin. (Isaiah 58:6-7)

It is totally appropriate to take energy from the pain of historical remembrance and do something with it that’s positive in the world.

10. How can I talk about Tisha B’Av with my children?

You can start by explaining what the Temple in Jerusalem was and that it was the center of Jewish life and practice for hundreds of years. Then, in an age-appropriate way, you can also talk about how some people thought that Jews should not be allowed to practice their Judaism in the way they wanted to. You can also talk about the ways that Jerusalem generally, and the site of the Temple specifically, are still important to Jews today (for instance, we face the Temple Mount to pray). You can also talk about goals for rebuilding whether, for you, that means rebuilding the Temple or working toward a messianic era of love and kindness.

11. Does the Vatican really have the artifacts that were stolen from the Temple by the Romans 2,000 years ago? Did Israel really ask for them back.

We don’t know if the Vatican has those items or if they have been lost to history, perhaps melted down or destroyed. But we do know that they were stolen: the menorah is clearly depicted in the Arch of Titus (pictured above) which celebrates the Romans bringing back spoils from Jerusalem. Israeli president Moshe Katzav did ask for them to be returned.

12. Why don’t we wear Tallit and Tefillin on the morning of Tisha B’Av?

On Tisha B’Av, we simulate the Jewish rupture from God. Since Tallit and Tefillin connect us to God, we don’t wear them so that we feel our disconnection more deeply. In the afternoon, however, when we are starting to reconnect, we do wear these ritual garments again.

The post Tisha B’Av FAQ appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

For many Jews, Yom Ha’atzmaut is not only a national or political holiday, but a religious one as well. What this means is still evolving and open to debate. It is a special day, but is it a yom tov, a festival like the biblical holidays, in which special prayers are recited and Jewish law prohibits working?

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has been at the forefront of creating new liturgy that expresses the special meaning of the day from a religious Zionist perspective. Over the years the many chief rabbis have written or sanctioned a number of different Yom Ha’atzmaut services that can be found in various siddurim (prayerbooks), most notably the Siddur Rinat Yisrael, a popular prayerbook that integrates Yom Ha’atzmaut into the liturgy alongside all other holidays, including the recitation of Hallel–the psalms of praise said on most holidays–and special psalms and the blowing of the shofar.

For some, the innovations of the Chief Rabbinate did not go far enough. In the 1950’s, the Religious Kibbutz Movement began a process of creating a special machzor (holiday prayerbook) for Yom Ha’atzmaut. The last version was published in the 1970s with notes by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren.  While Rabbi Goren blessed the kibbutzim for their efforts to sanctify the day, he wrote that many of the innovations went too far. While his recommendations were published in the machzor (out of respect), most of the kibbutzim did not change their practices.

As the character of the day develops from year to year, it is important to note that not all Jews are in agreement about the nature of Yom Ha’atzmaut. For many there is no question that Yom Ha’atzmaut is to be celebrated as a full holiday. On the other hand, there are those who actively refuse to celebrate this day. Between these two extremes are the Jews who celebrate the existence of Israel but hesitate to institute liturgical or ritual changes in honor of this day. Each point of view represents different attitudes toward the meaning and significance of the State of Israel for the Jewish people.

Celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut

A visitor entering the synagogue of the religious Kibbutz Lavi on the Eve of Yom Ha’atzmaut would be hard pressed to find an outward difference between this service or that of any other major Jewish festival. Everyone is dressed in their white shirts and holiday best. The synagogue is filled with the sound of voices singing the holiday tunes. Following the service, everyone gathers in the communal dining room for a meal that rivals the best Shabbat or holiday fare.

In the morning, the services are festive, with the addition of the Hallel and a special Torah service.

In addition to the Orthodox Religious Kibbutz Movement, the Masorti (Conservative) movement has made great strides in integrating Yom Ha’atzmaut into the mainstream of Jewish practice. For example, the movement published a Haggadah for Yom Ha’atzmaut that is designed to bring the celebration into the home. Originally published in Hebrew, it has been translated into English and widely distributed.

Among the secular population in Israel, there have also been strides in recent years to bring a deeper sense of meaning to the celebrations of the day, such as organized tiyulim (hiking and connecting to the land), lectures, family education programs, and forums for community dialogue.

The discussion concerning the significance of Yom Ha’atzmaut is not confined to Israel. Recently, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (the Reform rabbinic body) was asked about the singing of Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem, at the conclusion of a Yom Ha’atzmaut service. The answer included an impassioned Zionist statement: “Israel…is, in the most deeply Jewish sense, our own, in our devotion to its well being and in our identification with the history and experience that its national symbols represent. We may therefore sing Hatikvah at our religious services, whether or not we choose to accompany it with our own national anthems.”

This teshuva (rabbinic response) brings a number of precedents concerning the observance of Yom Ha’atzmaut in Reform congregations:

“Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, has been established as ‘a permanent annual festival in the religious calendar of Reform Judaism’ (CCAR Yearbook 1970), and our prayerbook contains liturgy for Yom Ha’atzmaut (Gates of Prayer 590-611). We consider it ‘a mitzvah [commandment] for every Jew to mark Yom Ha’atzmaut by participation in public worship services and/or celebrations which affirm the bond between the Jews living in the Land of Israel and those living outside.’ (Gates of the Seasons CCAR 1983 p.102) Those services and celebrations have become the norm, the accepted minhag [custom] in our congregations and communities.”  (CCAR Responsa 5758.10)

Not Everyone Celebrates

From a religious and secular Zionist perspective, the creation of Israel is nothing less than the culmination of Jewish history, an event of epic proportions to be celebrated as a holiday by all generations on the level of Passover, Hanukkah, or Rosh Hashanah.

From a non-Zionist Jewish perspective, Israel is, at the very best, a haven and home to a large Jewish community, at worst, a secular state that endangers traditional Judaism. These (usually ultra-Orthodox) Jews do not see the creation of Israel as a central moment in Jewish history and do not celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut. Some even see the creation of Israel as a sin that expresses to God an attitude that the Jewish people do not trust God to bring them back to Israel on His own.  In the words of one of the leaders of the Neturei Karta, an ultra-Orthodox anti-Israel group based in Jerusalem, “The Zionist State represents total heresy uprooting the soul of our faith from its root and violating the covenant which God made with us on Mount Sinai.”

Although most “non-Zionists” are not as radical as this, there is a certain tension between those who believe that we must wait for the Messiah to bring an end to the Diaspora, and those who believe that the Jewish people must take action on their own. This argument has been going on among rabbis since the early 19th century, with the roots of the argument to be found in the Bible and Talmud. This tension is the basis of the hesitancy on the part of most ultra-Orthodox Jews to observe or acknowledge Yom Ha’atzmaut.

A New Perspective in the Land of Miracles

There seems to be a new spirit in Israel that may one day bring Yom Ha’atzmaut even to those who have never celebrated the holiday.

Yom Ha’atzmaut of 5763 (2003) was a turning point. Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Yehudah Meshi-Zahav, the one-time spokesman of the fiercely anti-Zionist Neturei Karta group noted above, lit a celebratory torch on national television with the words “I light this torch in the name of the people of Israel, to the glory of the State of Israel” (Standing proudly in his Hasidic garb in front of the grave of the founder of the Zionist movement, Theodor Herzl). He was invited to do this because of his leadership of the ZAKA organization whose members clean up after terrorist attacks, making sure that all human remains are properly cared for with love and respect.

When asked why he agreed to light the torch he said, “After spending years picking up body parts at terrorist attack scenes, I have come to the conclusion that the time has come to live together…I state with absolute certainty, that for me, lighting an Independence Day torch is a sanctification of God’s Name…unity is of paramount importance, above the issues that divide us.”

Judaism is an organic tradition, changing and adapting as the Jewish people meet new realities and challenges. The creation of an independent Jewish State is the greatest of all challenges, and recognizing its significance for the future of the Judaism and the Jewish people is an ongoing process. The issues surrounding the observance of Yom Ha’atzmaut are part of this ongoing process.

The post The Religious Status of Yom Ha’atzmaut appeared first on My Jewish Learning.

Yom Hazikaron, the Israeli Memorial Day, is different in its character and mood from the American Memorial Day. For 24 hours (from sunset to sunset) all places of public entertainment (theaters, cinemas, nightclubs, pubs, etc.) are closed. The most noticeable feature of the day is the sound of a siren that is heard throughout the country twice, during which the entire nation observes a two-minutes “standstill” of all traffic and daily activities. The first siren marks the beginning of Memorial Day at 8 p.m., and the second is at 11 a.m., before the public recitation of prayers in the military cemeteries. All radio and television stations broadcast programs portraying the lives and heroic deeds of fallen soldiers. Most of the broadcasting time is devoted to Israeli songs that convey the mood of the day.

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A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

“Magash Hakesef” (The Silver Platter), a poem written by Nathan Alterman during the 1948 War of Independence, was during the 1950s and ’60s the most common reading for Yom Hazikaron ceremonies. The poem attained a status almost similar to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in U.S. culture. During the ’70s, especially following the Six-Day War (June 1967) and the Yom Kippur War (October 1973), numerous new poems and songs commemorating fallen soldiers became popular and often replaced “The Silver Platter” in public ceremonies. “Hare’ut” (“Friendship”), a song composed a year after the 1948 war, had an impressive comeback in the 1980s and ’90s. The late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin considered this poem/song to be his favorite.

Almost every high school in Israel has a “memorial corner” with the photos of the school graduates who fell in battle or while on military duty. Some high schools organize their own Yom Hazikaron ceremonies and invite the families of the fallen graduates to participate. The unique atmosphere of the day is enhanced by the sight of teenagers and children, all dressed in white shirts and blue pants or skirts, on their way to school, and thousands of soldiers in uniform on their way to the military cemeteries.

The list of fallen soldiers becomes longer every year. The inevitable tendency of radio and television programs is to focus on individual stories of soldiers who lost their lives in recent decades, rather than on those who fought in the pre-state undergrounds and 1948 war, who have fewer surviving immediate family relatives today. In 2024, observances will focus on the many Israeli soldiers and civilians who were killed in the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, and on the soldiers killed since then during Israel’s war with Hamas.

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Tisha B’Av Ideas & Beliefs

Although the exact date of the destruction of each of the Temples–the ancient centers of Jewish life and practice–are unknown, tradition dates the events to Tisha B’Av. Indeed, the rabbis of the Talmudic age made the claim that God ordained this day as a day of disaster as punishment for the lack of faith evidenced by the Israelites during their desert wanderings after the exodus from Egypt. During the course of the centuries, a number of tragedies have clustered around this day, from the expulsions of the Jews from England and Spain to more localized disasters. Tisha B’Av is therefore observed as a day of communal mourning, which is expressed through fasting and the abstention from pleasurable activities and extraneous diversions. A whole literature of dirges appropriate to this day of mourning, beginning with the biblical Book of Lamentations on the destruction of the First Temple, has been created to serve the needs of the Jewish community at this time.

Tisha B’Av Rituals & Practices

A three week period of low-level mourning leads up to the holiday of Tisha B’Av; the three weeks commemorate the final siege of Jerusalem that led to the Second Temple’s destruction in 70 C.E. During this period it is traditional to refrain from public celebrations, such as weddings, and many traditional men refrain from shaving, reflecting their practice during personal mourning periods. The last nine days of these three weeks culminating in Tisha B’Av are an even deeper period of mourning, during which traditional Jews avoid eating meat; some who did not previously take on certain aspects of mourning, such as refraining from shaving, will assume these signs of mourning during these nine days.

Tisha B’Av itself is a day of intense mourning, whose practice mirrors that of Yom Kippur in many respects. It is a day of fasting, on which one also is to refrain from washing, sexual activity, using perfume and other such ointments, and wearing leather. The Book of Lamentations (Megillat Eicha) and other dirges (kinot) are read in the synagogue.

Find prayer resources for Tisha B’Av services here.

Visits to cemeteries reflect the mood of the day, which continues even at the break fast meal at the conclusion of Tisha B’Av, when neither meat nor wines are traditionally consumed.

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