Shalom Shaarei Kodesh,
On Monday night, our congregation observed Tisha B’av (the 9th of Av), the saddest day of our Jewish calendar. During our program, over 25 congregants gathered together to learn about the causes of Tisha B’av according to our Rabbis. We then prayed Maariv without any singing our nusach (the tune used to read our prayers) and read megillat Eichah. It is always interesting when we do add changes to things we normally do. Not singing our prayers out loud changed our service and added a level of sadness. It really got us to appreciate the music of our tradition and its place in bringing us to a greater spiritual height. It also helped us mourn openly as a community of Jews. Together, we acted like “avelim”, like mourner’s who lost a relative. In other words, we felt like we were sitting shiva. Tuesday morning, we came together again for prayer and Eicha reading, but this time, we added nusach to our Shacharit service. We did not sing our normal songs, nor did we wear talit and tefillin (signs of beauty), but we recognized that things were getting a little better. I was impressed that we had almost 20 people attend our Shacharit service because last year, we could not get a minyan. At Mincha, we gathered again, this time wearing our talit and tefillin and acknowledging that we were beginning to rise up from our mourning. During our Mincha Amidah, we recited a prayer called “Nachem” which acknowledged the fact that we live in a time with a unified and built Jerusalem, and yet there is still much work to do in order to have true peace.
Last week, I wrote to you about the Rotem Bill and asked you to write to Prime Minister Netanyahu to block this bill that would cause a rift in the Jewish world. I am happy to report that your protest worked and the bill was not brought before the Knesset (Israeli Parliament).
Tisha B’Av is now in the past, and another holiday, Tu B’av (the 15th of Av) is approaching on Monday, July 26th. This is a day of love, one of the happiest days on our Jewish calendar. It is ironic that we have both the saddest and happiest days of the Jewish year so close to each other, but it shows us that things can change drastically and very fast. Let us hope that we can renew our love for our family, both close family, and our larger family, the people of Israel. Let us come together in a show of love and unity so that ahavat chinam, senseless love, rather than sinat chinam, senseless hatred, will lead us to a brighter future. We can do it, if we work together as a holy community. Please help us make this dream a reality at Shaarei Kodesh.
Rabbi David Baum