#it's tisha b'av

[magnetothemagnificent]

The mood for Tisha B'Av

[id in alt text]

[imunbreakabledude]

@fifthnormani replied: I want to TRY to answer that question (at least from my own perspective). I do try to avoid adding the Jewish part and just say "zionist" BECAUSE Israel is trying so hard to change the definition of antisemitism to mean antizionism and I want to push back against it, make it clear they are not the same thing.

And also, just like how ISIS and Osama and whatever… led to a lot of good people believing propaganda about Islam being a Bad Religion, I worry too about my fellow goy believing that Judaism is a Bad Religion full of Bad People so I try to push back against that. So yes, I try to just say "zionist" and not "Jewish" for those reasons. And also remind them of the 9:1 ratio of Christian zionists. I hope this answers your question?

hi, replying to your replies in a reblog just since it's a little easier text-wise but let me know if you're not comfortable with this and I'll remove this post.

I do appreciate this perspective. and here are a few thoughts it sparks in me, not meant to be read as any sort of rebuke, just, my own personal feelings in response

I think it is great to understand that "Jewish" and "Zionist" are separate terms with separate meanings and think about which one is appropriate to use in which situation! I would also add that personally, I think being a Jewish Zionist or a non-Jewish Zionist is a distinction that not always but OFTEN can help set important context in discussion of a person or group. I also think what country (or countries) that person lives in or has lived in are often relevant to contextualizing their viewpoint - I often see people conflate "Israeli" and "Zionist" or use them interchangeably, which imo is also unhelpful in most cases. Even Israeli Jewish Zionists and US Jewish Zionists are coming at it from different contexts and while that might not be obvious from the outside, hoo boy, it's a thing. I think MOST if not all discussions of individuals and groups w/r/t this issue require more precise description than simply Zionist or not zionist/antizionist.

"Israel is trying so hard to change the definition of antisemitism to mean antizionism" - Not trying to be needlessly nitpicky here (esp bc you may well know this but were limited by character count in your reply and thus used shorthand) but it's not just "Israel" doing this; it's a lot of different types of people who push this for similar but slightly different reasons. The ADL is a major player in this push and that's a US-based organization (don't wanna get into a dissection of the ADL's reasons for doing that and all the complicated icky nature of it here, that is a whole big can of worms, but in any case they are not an Israeli group). I'm sure you've seen how conservative politicians in the US have pushed that notion, too - not only to help justify US military aid to Israel, but also to seize a chance to attack universities, and especially women (and women of color) in leadership positions in higher education. For another (non-exhaustive) example, that conflation of criticism of Israel with antisemitism is also somewhat entrenched in Germany, at least in part because "Guilt over the Holocaust sits deep in the national psyche. ... Critics say that has become the pretext for unconditional support [of Israel]."

As for the comparison to Islamophobia in the US due to propaganda and the "war on terror"... I agree with you; I think that's a good analogy. But I disagree somewhat with your takeaway from that analogy. I would pose this comparison - which I will preface by saying it's IMPERFECT, but I hope it's still clear what I mean. I would compare the way "zionist" is being used by many people lately to the word "terrorist" in the context of Islamophobia. Like "Zionist", "terrorist" takes the focus away from the person or group's religious or ethnic background and puts it on their actions instead - which is how we WANT to think of things, right? People aren't bad because of what they ARE, but because of what they DO, right? However, as you know, in the last couple decades (and still in the present) "terrorist" starts to have a... certain association with it, in the US. It becomes a loaded word, and in some contexts, a dogwhistle. And it doesn't mean EVERY time that word is used, it's being used as a dogwhistle, that's the tricky part. I wanna be clear here that I do not believe (as some have begun claiming, lately) that "Zionist" is becoming a dogwhistle or slur for Jews overall. But I think it's beginning to enter into a similar territory as "terrorist" in that, while there are many people using it appropriately where it is a descriptor that makes sense, there are also some who have begun using it as a shorthand. A catch-all word for "people on the wrong side of this issue," which then translates into "people who are okay to hate," or even "people that We, as Good People, have an obligation to hate and shun." I will say once more because I don't want to be misinterpreted, I DO NOT MEAN TO SAY THAT ALL USES OF THE WORD "ZIONIST" ARE PROBLEMATIC, nor that Zionism should not be criticized, nor it should not be used as a descriptor where it is an appropriate descriptor. But I WILL push back against using it as a single-descriptor-shorthand, because as I said above, I think that's more harmful than helpful in A LOT of contexts. imo the best practice is to think about a) the context of who the person/org you're talking about is, and b) what specific words, actions, or beliefs they have that prompt you to put them in the category of "zionist" - because people use that label for a huuuuuuuge range of things from like "posted 'i stand with israel' on october 8" to "government or military leader who is an active force extending the ongoing genocide." And that's not even to mention the fact that the word "zionist" itself means completely different things to many self-identified Zionists than it does to self-identified antizionists (i think I've posted about that on here before), which is not to say that holding Zionist viewpoints is fine and chill and shouldn't be criticized, but that this difference of definition further complicates the use of that word as a catch-all descriptor of "people who are Wrong"

gotta go out of bullet points for this next bit because i had more to say than I thought lol. once again, I don't intend for this to sound harsh or angry at YOU whatsoever, just my own frustrations with certain narratives I've seen around this issue in general.

re: the 9-to-1 ratio (which I must disclaim here I conjured from memory from that instagram post so I'm not certain if that's an accurate/exact statistic) of Christian Zionists to Jewish Zionists. So, like i said, that's important info to know, it's good context, I'm not saying anyone SHOULDN'T talk about that. And I can see why that statistic, especially to non-jewish antizionists, feels like something worth highlighting. And I'm sure it feels comforting, too, like that bit at the end of a Scooby-Doo episode when they pull the mask off the ghost and it's just a guy. "ooh, phew, turns out Zionism is actually just a White Western Christian problem!"

But the truth is that 9-to-1 ratio says way less about "Jews are totally not culpable for the harms caused by Zionism" and way more about how small the global Jewish population is.

Jews are about 2% of the US population and 0.2% of the global population. So right away, if we go from that supposed 9:1 ratio, even without doing any math (I WOULD do the math out if I was certain of the accuracy of that statistic, but I also can't remember if it was attempting to break down Zionists solely in the US or in the world), you can tell that Jewish people are a wee bit over-represented in that "10%" of Zionists.

In other words, just because a majority of Zionists are not Jewish, that does not imply that that a majority of Jews are not Zionists.

It's a bit tricky to actually answer the question "what percent of Jewish people are Zionists and what percent are not?" for several reasons, including:

as mentioned before, "Zionist" and non-Zionist/anti-zionist tend to have different meanings within the Jewish community than they do to many outside of it

relatedly, a lot of Jewish people have complicated feelings around this issue and prefer not to explicitly situate themselves in one of those particular categories, which makes it tougher to measure

even determining who counts as JEWISH for the purpose of these statistics can sometimes be contentious (look at the link above to Wikipedia's page on the Jewish population to see some of the breakdown of how and why different people are sometimes counted or not counted)

even when this research is done, sometimes the groups conducting and/or reporting this data have their own agendas which can contribute to misleading presentation of the data. :/

But anyway. With all those caveats, let's look at some of the data that's out there for American Jews specifically. (I'm gonna pull out some of the most relevant statistics from these Pew research polls, but I do recommend clicking the links and reading thru all the data collected - there are lots of different questions asked and breakdowns by age, political affiliation, level of religious observance, etc.)

As of February 2024, 74% of US Jewish adults surveyed supported US military aid to Israel. (lower percentages in the 18-34 age bracket, but still a majority - 61%.)

As of February 2024, 89% of US Jewish adults surveyed said they see Israel's reasons for the war on Hamas (Pew research's wording, not mine) as valid, and 62% of US Jewish adults surveyed said they believed the way Israel is carrying out its war in Gaza is acceptable.

There's obviously even more nuance and detail to dig into there (and I encourage doing so!) but to circle back to the original point of my first post and my response to your response... (deep breath)...

It is true that a majority of "Zionists" (in simplest terms) are not Jewish. But it is also true that a majority of Jews are "Zionists" (in simplest terms).

So, avoiding addressing the relationship between Judaism and Zionism, in my opinion, is not so helpful as it might seem to be to you or other well-meaning allies. Because... If your goal is to avoid your comments being perceived as antisemitic, just saying "Zionist" and never talking about the overlap of Zionism and Judaism might well leave you in the clear with other non-Jews. but it will not put you in the clear with a significant portion of Jews. I am not saying that is my own personal opinion, but it is true that many Jewish people hear statements of condemnation of all "Zionists" as fundamentally antisemitic - (often due to them working with a different definition of "Zionist", as I've written about before). You might be picturing a Republican US Congressman who gleefully calls all Gazan people "terrorists" and takes money from AIPAC to campaign for sending more and more bombs to Israel when you say something like "Zionists need to go", but a bunch of Jews are hearing that and thinking you want them expelled from their homes or killed simply for holding the belief that Jewish people should be safe in their homeland. (Again, that is not my personal belief, but that is the kind of interpretation you will get from some people if you are not specific in your wording).

Plus, a lack of specificity just obfuscates what you're talking about. If you want to talk about an issue that's specifically or mainly due to Christian Zionists, then say that. If you want to talk about an issue that's specifically or mainly due to US oil interests in the middle east and how its military support for israel is largely motivated by that, then say that. Those are real issues that SHOULD be talked about. But... they're not the whole story?? and just like you can't be antiracist without ever talking about race, you can't avoid being antisemitic ('being antiantisemitic', if you will? lmao) without ever talking about Jews, including the fact that many, but not all, Jews, within Israel and in other countries, support Israel's conduct in this war and in the last 100 years with few or no qualms. There are also many Jews who support it with LARGE AMOUNTS OF QUALMS, or do not support it whatsoever. Yep. But learning more and understanding about that range of viewpoints, and yes, sitting in the truth that this is a Jewish issue as much as it is an American/Western issue, is important.

Yes, we should talk about Christian Zionists and US Imperialism, but we should also talk about the far-right nationalist movement in Israel that basically amounts to Jewish Supremacy and, believe it or not, is not the position of all Israelis. And we should also talk about the attitude held by a large portion of both Israeli and US Jews that amounts to some version of, "Well, the far-right nationalists and Netanyahu suck, but Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran are too dangerous and antisemitism is too powerful, so we have no choice but to support the slaughter of Palestinians in order to keep Jews safe", which you may rightfully feel is just as bad of a mindset as that held by the far-right nationalists who actively WANT to kill or expel all Palestinians, but it is a distinct mindset. We should also talk about paths forward that address the fact Jewish people do have history in the Levant, but so do Palestinians, obviously, and both have a right to be there, but Jews' right to be there cannot come at the expense or exclusion of Palestinians. And we should talk about the fact that Zionism as a notion is fueled in part by a legitimate desire of some Jews to remain in a land where they have heritage, as well as a legitimate fear of antisemitism across the world. I believe none of that remotely justifies the material consequences of Zionism, but it is important to understand and acknowledge that those factors play a significant role in the history of Israel and Palestine as well as the present and future, because that is reality. And yeah, a lot of non-Jewish people and forces have become major proponents of Zionism over the years because they find it useful for their own reasons, but it was a Jewish movement at the start. Trying to ignore that won't prevent antisemitism. Antisemitism existed long before Zionism, and antisemitism is not based in logic. So avoiding the fact that some (or even a lot) of Jewish people are, to different degrees and for different reasons, on the "wrong" side of this issue, does nothing to stop antisemitism.

tl;dr I guess you could say BROADLY my frustration is more with a lack of detail and nuance around this issue in general in favor of a black and white, "Israel vs. Palestine," "Zionist (wrong) vs. AntiZionist (good)" framing. but when it comes to the particular area of discussing how Judaism and Jewish people fit in, I believe that more clarity and specificity is the key to addressing antisemitism, rather than just trying to tiptoe around it.

saw a post saying “the only reason Israel exists is because of western oil interests” - and my thoughts here aren’t specific to that one post but a similar Sentiment I feel like I’ve seen a bunch… it feels… off to me when I see ppl on the left express this notion that Israel is wrong and evil BUT NOT Jewish!!! They don’t want to be antisemitic and they know that Israel does not represent all Jews, and they also want to call out other factors that ARE very significant factors in the past & present of Israel’s militarized existence, but they go so hard in that direction that like… it gives me the Bad Vibes in a different way. Different example that gave me a similar feeling - couple weeks back I remember seeing several friends shared an insta post that was all about Christian Zionism with stats and graphs showing the numbers of Christian zionists, how way more zionists are Christians than Jews, like a 9:1 ratio, and it also said something like “ZIONISM IS ANTISEMITISM”. Which - I wanna be clear, I do think raising awareness of that info is helpful, and I do personally feel that Zionism is harmful to everyone including Jews (but I wouldn’t call it ‘antisemitic’ bc I feel that’s deliberately pushing the limits of words in a way that less clear and more inflammatory than it should be).

But anyway both of these examples feel that common thread to me of like - calling out REAL factors that are at play in Israel’s creation, continued existence, relationship with US (and other) imperialism, but also… like… trying so hard to say “it’s not about Jews, it’s not about Jews at alllllllll!” When like. IT IS A LITTLE ABOUT JEWS, PAL? and it’s okay to acknowledge that?? And honestly I think trying that hard to ignore or talk around the notion of Israel as a Jewish homeland EVEN IF YOU DO NOT PERSONALLY AGREE WITH THAT NOTION OR THE WAY ZIONISM HAS USED VIOLENCE AND COLONIALISM TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, just makes it harder to contend w the reality of the situation. let alone communicate w people who aren’t already on the same exact page about this issue as you are. Like this attempt to try to critique Israel while so desperately talking around the Jewish part is well-meaning, I know, and probably in part a practical defense/response against those who continue to lob accusations of antisemitism against any critique of Israel, but at some point you sound ridiculous

[girlactionfigure]

What Happened on the Ninth of Av?

On Tisha B’Av, five national calamities occurred:

During the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the 10 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel.

The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. 100,000 Jews were slaughtered and millions more exiled.

The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus. Some two million Jews died, and another one million were exiled.

The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar – the Jews’ last stand against the Romans – was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered.

The Temple area and its surroundings were plowed under by the Roman general Turnus Rufus. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city – renamed Aelia Capitolina – and access was forbidden to Jews.

Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history occurred on the Ninth of Av, including:

The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B’Av in 1492.

World War One broke out on the eve of Tisha B’Av in 1914 when Germany declared war on Russia. German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust.

On the eve of Tisha B’Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.

[secular-jew]

Jews are indigenous to Israel. Period.

Today is a good day to remind the Islamists and their supporters that Jews are from Judea (Israel) and the Islamists are the invaders and occupiers, not the other way around.

In 70 CE, Romans destroyed the Jewish temple and attempted to banish the Jews from Jerusalem. Simply because the Jews would not go silently into the night, dared fight back, and attempted to thwart the most technologically advanced army the world knew at that time.

We Jews commemorate this Roman invasion and colonization, by observing the Tisha B'Av annual fast.

This proof of Jewish indigeneity is literally carved in archaeological artifacts and in this case, carved in stone, depicted the Frieze on the Arch of Titus in Rome. This arch depicts Roman soldiers carrying the relics and loot, stolen from the Jewish temple. Look at the Menorah. Jews still use the same candlesticks and symbols.

So what is "Palestine"? Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed the land (Judea) to "Palestine", to attempt erasure of any connection with the Jews.

Muslim identity and religion was created more than 500 years later (in 600 CE). And Muslims started calling themselves "Palestinians" only much much later.

There is absolutely no way to twist history so that Palestinians appear before Jews. But it doesn't stop some people from trying...

Does indigeneity matter? Do Native Americans deserve their own land, or that might makes right, and European colonizers should be allowed to displace them? Native Americans have 56.2 million acres of land, governed by Native American Tribal nations that own them. This colored to about 4.8 million acres of land administered by Israel.

If you do not believe that indigeneity matters, if you believe who co where'd last is what counts, then guess what? We still arrive at the same place.

[istodayajewishholiday]

13 August 2024 - 9 Av 5784

Yes, Today is Tisha B’Av (the Ninth of Av).

Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning. It commemorates the anniversary of a number of disasters in Jewish history, including the destruction of the first and second temples. Other tragedies on or near the 9th of Av include the expulsion of the Jewish people from England (1290 CE), France (1306 AD), and Spain (1492 AD). Also on the 9th of Av, Germany declared war on Russia in 1914, sending the first and second World Wars into motion.

On Tisha B’Av some observe a twenty-five hour fast, lasting from sunset last night to nightfall tonight. Other observances may include refraining from washing, working, or even wearing leather shoes.

[etz-ashashiyot]

If you're looking for a kinah that also talks about Gaza, I found this one to be rather moving:

[lioryaakov]

[mazeldove]

Have a meaningful Tisha B’av.

I should have posted this before it started but I completely forgot to write it.

I see you if you cannot fast. I care for you. I am you. I cannot fast due to disability and medications, but there are still actions I take to make eating more meaningful. For those wondering what to do if they cannot fast or feeling insecure about it (I did for a very long time and still do sometimes). I’m not telling anyone what to do, just sharing (and if people do something else I’d love to hear)

- Eating bland foods

- Only drinking water (Or any required beverage like electrolyte drinks, something to help with a blood sugar crash, etc)

- Not indulging (ordering takeout, having sweets, favorite foods, etc)

- Making a light meal for friends/family when the fast ends so it is ready for them

I find solidarity and meaning in this, others may not. Do what is best for your mental and physical health. No matter what you are doing, I wish you only the best

[barleyteanghibli]

a poem for tisha b'av

120

It has been centuries Since our mourning. Do not forget me When I lay down my lyre And pour out my cup of wine. Can you hear me In the silence?

It has been years Since our mourning. Passing generations, Raising new ones. Do not forget us as We repeat the words And the memories. Can you hear us In the silence?

It has been months Since our mourning. Together, we lay Down our heads. Together, we raise Our voices. Do not forget them As they remember you And your covenant. Can you hear them In the silence?

It has been days Since our mourning. Etched in our history, Our skin, our sky. Do not forget us, For we will prevail. We will march on. You will hear us In your silence.

[bophtelophti]

On what street in Manhattan should you go fast?

[magnetothemagnificent]

[id in alt text]

[anonymousdandelion]

Hydration reminder for those who will be fasting for Tisha B'Av tonight and tomorrow!

Start drinking water now, and don't stop until sunset. :)

[girlactionfigure]

I need to get something off my chest and this only became clear to me 45 seconds ago. 

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say the following. 

I am DEEPLY traumatized. 

For me, the trauma from losing my older brother to terror really never went away but it definitely became bearable. Life was going on. 

But then it came to an immediate stop on October 7th, 2023, the day my heart was ripped from my body over and over. 

So what happened 45 seconds ago that made me realize this? 

A friend of mine reached out. He produced a movie that he’ll be screening in synagogues across America on Tisha Beav, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, a fast day that starts in a few hours. 

He sent me a private link to watch the movie. He promised me it had no gore, no atrocities, and that I’d be safe watching it. 

I started the movie. I forced myself to keep watching. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. 15 minutes. 

But then I asked myself why I was doing this to myself and I stopped the movie. 

I simply could not. And no, there was no gore, no blood, just a whole lot of unbearable tragedy. 

The movie had many people, heroes who told their story from that dark day. There were many positive messages in the movie and I totally see what they were trying to accomplish with this movie. 

But I simply could not keep watching. 

This isn’t behind us yet for us to look back at it. We are still in it! That day hadn’t ended. The mourning and devastation hasn’t ended. 

Our national suffering hasn’t ended. 

This entire country is traumatized. The government will have to spend BILLIONS after this war to deal with the PTSD of this entire country. Tens of billions.  

I still find it hard to register that October 7th happened. That thousands of Gazans, and I chose that word carefully because it is an absolute lie to say it was only Hamas terrorists, came in and massacred families. And while they did it, as many survivors have attested, they laughed. 

A few survivors have said that among all the bloodshed and cruelty, the part that sent shivers down their spines was the laughter. 

As these animals raped and beheaded men, women, and children, as they burned families alive, they laughed. Hysterically. This for them was the highlight of their life. 

But I can’t watch a movie about it because we’re still in it. 

We are doing everything we can to teach our enemies a lesson that gone are the days that you can just massacre Jews and not pay a price. They must pay a price big enough that they will know that they made a very big mistake on October 7th. 

Our enemies need to bleed enough that they can no longer say that they’ll do 10/7 over and over. They need to fear Israel. They need to know what happens when you invade our country and murder our people. 

In any normal society, the entire world would stand behind anyone trying to eliminate that evil. And you know what? They would. They’d stand behind anyone, anyone except the Jews. 

I’m going to say this as clearly as I can and yes, I am speaking from a place of pain, unbearable pain, pain and trauma, but I still have to say it. 

If you are calling for Israel to hold its fire before eliminating and obliterating Hamas, you are making a clear statement, “I know full well what they did on October 7th, 2023, and I am completely ok with them doing it again and again.”

That’s what a ceasefire with Hamas means. 

I have not gone down there to see the houses and cars burned to a crisp, to smell the death in the air. I couldn’t. I still can’t. 

I can’t watch or read about the atrocities. I block anyone who sends me that horror. From my perspective, those are snuff films, with one small difference. The atrocity in those films? The victims are my family members. 

Until Israel’s enemies, Iran’s puppets are a thing of the past, it is not only Israel’s right to eliminate them wherever they are, it is Israel’s responsibly! Its responsibility to its citizens. Its responsibility to those families. Its responsibility to the world! 

What Hamas did on that day, and I mean this whole heartedly, is the cruelest barbarism the world has EVER known. Ever. Yes, ever! 

There are many Holocaust survivors who were interviewed after 10/7 who all said the same thing. “Even the Nazis didn’t do this…”

The Nazis drank themselves to sleep. Deep down they were ashamed. Hamas live streamed it and is deeply proud of October 7th.  

So let me very clear. There is not ONE, not ONE other country on this planet that would have to justify a war like this after a day like that. Not one. 

Except Israel, the only Jewish state. 

I am far from being able to watch movies about October 7th. Maybe I’ll never get there. I’m unable to hear the stories, watch the videos, or even see the pictures. 

Every time I accidentally see anything about that day, I am retraumatized! 

So yes, I know we will win this war and I know things will be ok but I am far from there. I am far from being ok. This country is far from being ok.  

And the salt on the open wound is the fact that we can’t do what we need to do to eliminate the threat on our borders and ensure that 10/7 never happens again, because every step of the way, the global community puts wrenches in our wheels. 

“Proportionate response”? What’s proportionate to murdering 1200 innocent people in their homes? What’s proportionate to raping mothers in front of their children and children in front of their mothers? What’s proportionate to beheading babies? There is no proportionate response to such barbarism. It doesn’t exist. 

“Genocide” 

“Indiscriminate killing”

“Starvation” 

Such lies! 

“Don’t go into Rafah or else!”

The lies don’t stop. The deception never ends. 

Israel eliminates tens of terrorists. Hamas calls them kids and the world eats it up! 

The aftermath of 10/7, which continues till today, is almost as hard to believe as 10/7 was. 

There are two sides in this war and there is no option C. 

Israel who fights to live in peace and to remove the animals who raped our children from this planet before they do it again, but next time, it won’t only be Israel. 

Hamas who did what they did and aim to do it again and again. 

Those are your only two choices.  

Remaining silent today is the equivalent of witnessing first hand what the Nazis did and turning a blind eye. Remaining silent and neutral in this war is immoral. 

Defending Hamas or demanding Israel cease its fire and not finish the job is immoral. 

Giving Israel anything but your FULL support is immoral. 

And let’s say it as it is. Enough with the charade already. If, after October 7th, you don’t stand with Israel, you are actively encouraging Hamas to do it again. You are actively condoning the murder of Jews and encouraging them to do it again.  

If you don’t stand with Israel now, in our darkest hour, you stand with Hamas and pardon my French, but if you stand with rapists, murderers, and pedophiles who take pride in their “work”, well you are a terror-supporting, Jew-hating, mass murder-condoning piece of… and you will be remembered in history as such. 

I am deeply traumatized and the truth is, for this country and the Jewish people, trauma is the new normal because we are all traumatized. 

Anyone who knows what happened on October 7, 2023 should be deeply traumatized. 

Stand with Israel when we need you most. Do what you can to help. We won’t forget it. 

If you don’t, history won’t forget it. 

Tonight begins the 9th of Av, as I said, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. I’ll be going to the western wall to pray. 

For 45 years, I fasted on this day but deep down, I didn’t really feel the pain we are supposed to feel on this day. How can I authentically mourn the destruction of a temple I never saw and find very hard to relate to?

This year, I will feel it in spades! This year, we experienced an entire year of the 9th of Av. 

This year, we are fasting under the very real threat of our enemies murdering us again like they always have. 

Iran threatening to attack on the 9th of Av. They know what they’re doing. They know that this day is our most vulnerable. 

So tonight, I will begin my mourning and my fasting with a gaping hole in my heart and a deep prayer that God make this our last 9th of Av. That one year from now, we will dance again in the streets of Jerusalem and the prophecies of the Jewish people coming home will all have come true. 

Tonight I will try to embrace the pain and hope it’s not too unbearable. It will be. I know that. 

But tonight, for the first time in my life, the 9th of Av will be what it was supposed to be, a day on which we mourn and remember what our enemies did to us over and over. 

Tonight, this year, it won’t be hard to feel it. 

The only thing that’ll be difficult this year is to bear the unbearable pain that we feel as a nation. 

I wish you a meaningful fast if you’re fasting and if you’re not, spend a few moments to reflect on our history, specifically as it pertains to this day, the 9th of Av. Maybe even say a little prayer that we get past this. It can’t hurt. 

The Jewish people need the strength to get through this dark time in our history. We’ve been through worse and came out on the other side, but getting through this will require real strength and dedication. We need all the prayers we can get. 

Have a meaningful 9th of Av. I know I will.

@HilzFuld

[ofpd]

How can we forget our liturgical selves so quickly and claim to stand for morality and justice? How can we sit and mourn Jerusalem and truly think that Gaza is not also our (un)doing? How can we be in one moment so contrite, and in another so arrogant and self-righteous? This should not sound dissonant, or blasphemous; caution of our own hubris is precisely the lesson of the prophets. They loved their people passionately and endlessly. But they also knew our flaws. In one moment, we can be full of love and in another moment full of hate. The danger is when hatred of one becomes justified by love of another.

How can we stand before the Creator as our best selves, and then confront the world as our worst selves, and not see the difference? How can we wake up the next morning, and the next morning, and still say, "Turn from Your blazing anger and renounce the plan to punish Your people," and then turn to the world and say, "We have done nothing wrong?" I do not know. But I do know one thing. The vertigo is crushing me. Every single day.

–Shaul Magid, "On Humility and Arrogance"

[istodayajewishholiday]

12 August 2024 - 8 Av 5784

Today is the eighth of the Nine Days of Av

Tomorrow is Tisha B'Av a day of mourning on which some will observe a twenty-five hour fast, lasting from sunset last night to nightfall tonight. Other observances may include refraining from washing, working, or even wearing leather shoes.

[the-ind1gen0us-jude4n]

9th of Av

On this day, the 9th of Av, both Solomons temple and Herods temple were destroyed.

On this day, the 9th of Av, Jews were expelled from several countries, from their homes in Yerushalayim, to England, Spain, the HRE and more.

The 9th of Av is a day where we fast and repent to remember the tragedies of Jewish History. From the Exile to Babylonia to the 7th of October.