Rabbi Howard Morrison

It is great to be back on the Bima this Shabbat after having been away. I do hope that you remember me. More importantly, we welcome our new Hazan, Noah Rachels, his wife Amy, and their daughter Maya, to our Beth Emeth family. Ever since you visited us this past May, we have eagerly anticipated your full-time arrival to your new home. We look forward to working with you and sharing in your vision for our synagogue. 

In advance of Cantor Noah's arrival, our ritual committee and board of directors changed what was a custom when we last had a Cantor with a choir. In the eventuality of a small or large choir, whether it perform on a full or limited basis, the next iteration of a Bima choir will be open to volunteer men and women under the supervision of Hazan Rachels. My rabbinic explanation and rationale for permitting a mixed choir of men and women are explained elsewhere. And so - On one level, I am very happy today, as we begin a new chapter and renewed future at Beth Emeth.

In our Parsha today, I can only imagine the full range of emotions shared by Moses, as we begin to read the last book of the Torah - Devarim. Knowing that he will not accompany his people into the Promised Land, most of Devarim is a recapitulation of earlier teachings and events.

One can imagine Moses being sad in that his career and his days are numbered.

One can imagine Moses being content in that he fulfilled so much from that original encounter he had with God at the burning bush.

One can imagine Moses being angry at himself, with his people, and toward God in that he would not actually witness the fruits of his labors by entering the land of Israel.

Suffice to say, one can imagine Moses feeling a wide range of emotions in the final chapters of his legacy.

In rabbinic tradition, the date on which God punished the people of Israel after the episode of the spies was Tisha B'Av. That Biblical episode is recounted in today's Parsha. The punishment resulted in the Israelites having to wander in the desert for close to forty years. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, none of the people who had experienced the Exodus from Egypt would enter the land. A newborn generation would experience life in Israel.

From that ancient interpretation of Tisha B'Av, this particular Hebrew date has become the saddest day on our calendar. Both, the first and second Temples of Jerusalem were destroyed on Tisha B'Av. Did you know that the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492 occurred on Tisha B'Av. Many other atrocities throughout our history began or overlapped with Tisha B'Av. Thus, the full liturgy includes Kinot, dirges or elegies, which cover the gamut of Jewish history.

The Biblical book of Lamentations, which we will chant tonight, begins with the watchword of Tisha B'Av. It is a word which is hard to understand or translate. It is a word which wa earlier recited by Moses and Isaiah in today's Torah and Haftarah readings:

EICHA - How! Alas! It is a word that denotes the incomprehensibility of how we Jews have suffered in our history.  The word Eicha sums up in a few letters the emotions of sadness, anger, rage, and so much more.

For Moses - "Eicha - How can I alone bear your burden, your quarrel, your strife?"

For Isaiah - "Eicha - How the city (of Jerusalem) has become a harlot."

For Jeremiah (the author Lamentations) - "Eicha - How alone dwells the city (of Jerusalem) which was once full of people."

For Jewish history - Eicha - How!!!??? -  The Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Crusaders; The inquisition, the pogroms; the Shoah, and much more.

For the last two years in particular - Eicha - How!!!??? -  October 7, 2023, the surge in anti-Semitism globally, the denial and negation by most of the world at large.

Sometimes, we need one face, one person, to focus on in order to feel the gravity of our emotions. For me, it is Karen Diamond. She was one of those burned alive in a horrific act of Jew-hatred in Boulder Colorado in the late Spring. She was an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor simply trying to live the last chapter of her life in peace and serenity. She died of her wounds on June 30th. For me, her death symbolizes the sadness, pain, anger, and rage I feel heading into Tisha B'Av tonight.

In Jewish tradition, a chapter of Scripture is not allowed to end on a sad note. Sometimes, we repeat an earlier verse to end on an uplifting note. When we read the book of Eicha-Lamentations tonight, we repeat, "Bring us back to you, O Lord, and we shall return. Renew our days as of old." These words are recited every time we return the Torah scroll to the Ark.

Tisha B'Av will not end on a down note. It will lead to seven weeks of hope and comfort, which we lead directly into the High Holidays, the hopes and aspirations for a better new year.

Following a day of sadness and anger, I pray that we all find genuine hope, comfort, and renewal in our own lives and in the life of the Jewish people.

Am Yisrael Chai!

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Howard Morrison