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July 16, 1999/3 Av 5759, Vol. 51, No.41
Tisha b'Av and Tu b'Av:
Time of lions and lovers
HANNA TIFERET SIEGEL
Jewish Family & Life
During the peak of the summer, when many people in the northern hemisphere are on vacation and enjoying the warmth and light of the season, the Jewish calendar is dimmed by a day of fasting and mourning.
Tisha b'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which falls this year on Thursday, July 22, is the culmination of a three-week period commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem and the first Temple by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. and the second Temple by the Romans in 70 C.E.
The Temple had been the center of Jewish life and ritual practice. Daily and holiday sacrifices were brought to the priests as offerings to God, and the Levitical choir, as described in Psalm 150, filled the courtyard with song, dance and alleluias. With the destruction of the Temples came the exile of the Jewish people to foreign lands, the loss of the sacrificial cult described in the Torah and the shattering of the dwelling place of the Shekhina, the female presence of God.
In place of the priesthood, synagogues evolved as religious and cultural gathering places, and the basic prayers of our current services were established. Although the democratization of Judaism may seem today to be a positive result of our loss, it was accompanied by the dislocation, confusion and suffering that any people in exile feel. Where is our home? Where do we belong? Will we ever return to our native land?
In addition to the destruction of the Temples, the ninth of Av seems to be a bad luck day on which many calamities have happened to the Jewish people, including the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and the outbreak of World War I, followed by its pogroms and massacres. Tisha b'Av has become a national day of mourning on which we bemoan the unfortunate things that have happened to us as a people.
The three-week period of mourning begins with the 17th of Tammuz, when the walls of the city of Jerusalem were breached. During this time, many Jews do not celebrate weddings, listen to joyous music or buy new clothes. These practices intensify with the first day of Av. Meat and wine are consumed only on Shabbat, and many Jews do not cut their hair, shave or use water for pleasure or cleanliness.
The Shabbat preceding Tisha b'Av is called Shabbat Hazon, the Shabbat of Vision, based on the first word in the Haftorah portion for that day, from Isaiah 1:1-27.
Like Yom Kippur, Tisha b'Av is a major fast day which, when fully observed, prohibits food, bathing, anointing, wearing of leather shoes, sexual relations, or study of sacred texts except Job and those related to mourning. The fast begins at sunset following a meal for mourners that includes hard-boiled eggs, lentils and bread dipped in ashes. After the evening service, everyone sits on the ground or low stools, chanting the heart-breaking words to the plaintive mode of the Book of Lamentations, often by candlelight.
Lamentations is also called "Aikha," which is the first word of the first verse. The same word, with different vowels, also spells out "Ayeka" or "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9), which God asks of Adam in the Garden of Eden just before the first exile.
Lamentations concludes with the words, "Take us back, O God, to yourself, and let us come back; renew our days as of old." Despite our despair, we have faith that we have not been abandoned.
In the morning, the tallit (prayer shawl) and tefillin (phylacteries) are not worn, which is also the custom before a funeral, but they are donned for the afternoon service, with the anticipation of the consolation at the end of the day.
Although the despair of this day can take one down into the depths, the seed of hope and redemption is imbedded in its observance, for there is a tradition that the messiah, who will bring comfort, healing and peace to the world, will be born on this day. To support this legend, there is a custom of sweeping out the house in the afternoon to be ready when the messiah comes.
The symbol for Av is the same as the astrological sign Leo (the lion) and also the Hebrew word for "father." The word consists of the letters aleph and bet, the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
So the beginning of this month is stripped down to the basics of life, death and survival.
The Shabbat after Tisha b'Av, Shabbat Nahamu, the Shabbat of Comfort, begins the seven weeks of healing before Rosh Hashanah.
On the full moon of the month of Av, there is a minor festival called Tu b'Av, the 15th of Av, which is becoming increasingly popular as a day to celebrate weddings.
In the Talmud, it is written, "There are no days as festive to Israel as those of Yom Kippur and the 15th of Av. The daughters of Israel used to dress in white and go out to the fields to dance, and young men would follow after them" (Ta'anit 4:8). The custom of opening the heart and finding one's beloved after a time of introspection and purification affirms the potential for life to continue.
People ask why, since the establishment of the state of Israel, we still mourn. Do we really want another Temple built, complete with priests and animal sacrifices? If we are not mourning the loss of the Temple, then what are we praying for?
Maimonides wrote that it was important to remember the past and encourage repentance and good deeds. Robert Gordis wrote that it reminds us of the work that remains to be done within the Jewish people and in the world. Jerusalem means "city of peace" and "a vision of wholeness." When we read the daily news and observe the problems in our communities, we see how much work remains for us as partners with God in repairing the world.
Many have come to look at Tisha b'Av globally. It was on August 6 and 9, 1945, that atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Tisha b'Av offers a time for us to look at the barbaric futility of war and hatred. And although the Jewish people can return to Israel and are no longer in exile, we can aid others, such as the Kosovars and Tibetans, by our concern for their struggles.
Further, as the inner cities heat up in midsummer, we can turn our attention to the people who could use support in our local communities.
There are many ways to observe this fast day of Tisha b'Av followed by the romantic full moon of Tu b'Av as we restore the Shekhina, the Divine Presence, to the dignity of each human being and welcome her into the way we live our lives on Earth.
Hanna Tiferet Siegel wrote this article for Jewish Family & Life!, an online magazine at www.jewishfamily.com. It was distributed by Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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