Dear Friends,
I write to you as the Jewish community around the world prepares to commemorate Tisha B’Av on July 29th. Tisha B’Av is the day when we remember the two destructions of the Temple in Jerusalem (586 BCE and 70 CE.) It is also connected to other days of destructions including the expulsion of Jewish communities from England (1290) and Spain (1492), and it was around Tisha B’Av 1942 that the Warsaw Ghetto was liquidated. We remember these tragedies at the hottest time of the year when we are already uncomfortable, especially in the days before air conditioning. Yet, we increase our discomfort by remembering them with fasting, similar to our observance of Yom Kippur.
This year, our remembrance falls during a global pandemic that has upended our lives. People are sick, people are dying, people have lost jobs as businesses have been shuttered, and we have had to learn to keep our distance, even from those we love, in order to keep ourselves and others safe. Venturing out feels like walking a narrow bridge, carrying danger that at any moment we might fall off. We don’t know if our children will be back at school in September, we don’t know who gets this terrible virus, we don’t know why it is lethal for some but not for others. We live in a completely uncertain world.
Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira was a Polish Rabbi, known for his teaching during the Holocaust. He was imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto, but he never stopped being a Jewish leader, doing all that he could to maintain Jewish life. He arranged for mikveh, organized kosher marriages and continued to teach Torah. He saw that the end of the ghetto was coming and he buried a book of his teachings in a canister that was found by a construction worker after the end of the war. His book entitled “Torah Innovations From the Years 5700-5702” was republished in 1960 under a new title, “Esh Kodesh/Holy Fire.” It is a miracle that although he did not survive the war, his words of hope and courage did.
In one of the darkest moments of Jewish history he wrote:
“It is clear, amidst all this suffering, that if only everyone knew that they would be rescued tomorrow, then a great majority - even of those who have already despaired - would be able to find courage. This problem is that they cannot see any end to the darkness. Many find nothing with which to bolster their spirits, and so, God forbid, they despair and become dispirited.”
He taught his people to accept reality, to acknowledge the truth of the destruction that they were facing. Yet he also told them to continue to pray, to have faith in God’s presence and the possibility of holiness in the world, and he encouraged them to never give up hope. Times are hard but now is the time to remain hopeful. Perhaps for us our hope comes in looking forward to the future, with faith that a vaccine will be created and that eventually this pandemic will be controlled so that we will be able to resume going out to dinner, sending our children to school or going to a stadium to watch a baseball game. It is especially in these difficult times that our traditions and our rituals will moor us so that we do not get swept away in the storm of anxiety and fear.
During Tish B’Av we read Lamentations, an eyewitness description of the destruction of the First Temple and its aftermath. It paints a picture of utter destruction, of a people weeping, unsure of their future. When the Temple was destroyed Jerusalem became a city destroyed, our system of worship was torn apart, families were separated, people were killed and resources were scarce. No one knew where to turn, and help was nowhere to be found. Despite all the destruction, the book ends with the following prayer: “Take us back, O LORD, to Yourself, And let us come back; Renew our days as of old!” Even as we recount destruction of the Temple, we end with words of hope and possibility. No matter how difficult things become, it is always possible that the future can be better, that life can be restored and that we can be renewed. We are blessed to have each other and together with strength, creativity and resilience we will make our way through this time.
If you need support or help, please reach out to us at the Temple because we are here to lend assistance in any way that we can. Chazak v’ematz – be strong and have courage!
L’shalom,
Rabbi Melinda Panken
