How do you translate "Eicha"?
Dear Congregational Family,
This Wednesday night, we begin to observe the Fast of Tisha B'Av. While we soon hope to reopen our shul slowly for some services in the Summer, it is perhaps appropriate that we continue to gather on line for Tisha B'Av during this pandemic.
Tisha B'Av commemorates destruction and exile in our history. In the Mishna, five tragic events are associated with Tisha B'Av: the edict that the Israelites would wander for forty years; the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temple; the genocide of Beitar; and the plowing of Jerusalem.
It is noteworthy that other historic tragedies befell our people on Tisha B'Av, including the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492, among others.
Over the ages, Tisha B'Av marked all Jewish historical suffering even when it did not necessarily coincide with the date of Tisha B'Av. Thus, for example, the medieval Crusades and most recently the Shoah are remembered on Tisha B'Av, notwithstanding that the Holocaust is specifically remembered in the Spring on Yom Ha'Shoah and in the Fall on the anniversary of Kristallnacht.
Is a day for remembering Jewish sorrow still relevant? Many of us may have recently seen a true story on line describing that during the riots in late Spring following the murder of George Floyd, a Jewish community in the Los Angeles area was looted and had windows and facilities destroyed. Were these acts of Anti-Semitism reported? Are Jewish lives and neighborhoods less sacred than others'?
Recently, a noted NFL player publically made disparaging remarks against the Jewish people. Aside from some minor coverage, where was the uproar from the Jewish people and other concerned moral citizens? Is Anti-Semitism less offensive than other acts of prejudice and bigotry?
On the eve of Tisha B'Av, we read the Biblical book of Lamentations. The book is attributed to the Prophet Jeremiah, who laments the destruction of the First Temple and its aftermath.
In Hebrew, the book of Lamentations is called "Eicha," the opening word of the book. It literally means "How." The opening verse starts, "How alone dwells the city that was once full of people!"
Our sages point out that the unvocalized letters of "Eicha" can also be pronounced as "Aye'ka - where are you." This expression originates in the Bible after the sin of Adam and Eve, when God asks Adam, "where are you?" The declaration is one about responsibility to the challenges around us.
If the world at large will not respond to despicable acts perpetrated against the Jewish people, at the very least, we Jews must stand up for ourselves. "Aye'ka - Where are we?"
Is Tisha B'Av still relevant? Absolutely yes!
While the text of Eicha will be screen shared during on line services Wednesday night, I encourage you to have your own copy, found in any full Tanach - Hebrew Bible.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison
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