• Sermons

Friday Augus 9, 2024 –   ה׳ אָב תשפ”ד

According to the Jewish calendar, we refer to the days between the 1^st and 9^th of Av as “the Nine Days.” The Talmud teaches that “When the month of Av begins, we reduce our joy.“(Taanit 26b) The Nine Days inaugurates an even greater depth of communal and personal mourning in recognition of the many tragedies and calamities that befell the Jewish people at this time, and these Nine Days are considered an inauspicious time even in our day and age.

During these Nine Days, inauspicious is an understatement as Israelis have been spending these days sitting and waiting. The entire country is dreading a looming attack from Iran and a major strike from Hezbollah, as opposed to the regular strikes that have occurred consistently over the past 10 months. Israelis are anxiously awaiting the unknown, bracing for the worst and hoping that the ensuing havoc will be prevented or won’t be as horrific as feared. This “waiting period” began after the double assassination last week of top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. These two events are taking their psychological toll on many thereby creating a new abnormal normalcy.

One Jerusalemite friend posted the following wartime satire on social media:

“It’s party time and you’re all invited!
Come enjoy another memorable event with the Houthis, Iranians and Hezbollah
Dress casual
Bring your own cake
Date TBA”

Another reflected on the absurdity of “normality” in this moment:

“Life may go on as normal.
But normal does not go on as normal.
Normal has evolved.
Normal is now 100 bottles of water stacked in the living room.
Normal is checking with your partner what the plan is if the bombs begin to fall when you are at the zoo with the kids.
Normal is feeling guilty that you kind of want the attack to come because the waiting feels worse than whatever might come next.
Normal is having forgotten what your body felt like before all your muscles were gripped by stress.
Normal is deciding whether to sleep in your bed or in a room with a steel-enforced door and bomb-proof walls.
Normal is joking about imminent death, because better to joke than fear.
Normal is fear. And fear of fear.
And denial.
Life goes on as normal. But this normal cannot go on.”

What is normal for the Jewish People?

As we prepare to mourn the destruction of the Jerusalem Temples in ancient times, it feels as if we have become accustomed to the fact there are people, countries, regimes, and terrorist organizations that continuously call for our destruction.

This. Is. Not. Normal.

No country should have to exist under the constant threat of annihilation.

Chief Commander of the Iranian Army Abdolrahim Mousavi did not sound consolatory when he spoke of Israel’s pending destruction on Wednesday of this week:

“The Zionist regime will soon receive a strong and definite response, and there is no doubt about it,” Mousavi reportedly said according to IRNA and Tasnim news sources. “It is clear that they have realized the speed of their own destruction, and by doing so they want to save themselves from the quagmire, but they definitely cannot save themselves from annihilation.”

As in the world of journalism, a “Dog-bites-person” story does not make headlines, but a “person-bites-dog” story does. If the reverse was true, if Israel or any other Western country, for that matter, would threaten the existence of another recognized nation, the international community would go berserk. That would be normal. However, when it comes to Israel, despite our having become accustomed to it, the world accepts threats to our extinction as normal.

Also, it should not be normal that one significant sector of Israeli society receives the benefits of citizenship including substantial tax breaks and a large percentage of the government budget, but when the laws are enforced requiring them to serve the country like everyone else, they not only object but do so violently, protesting a fair law as if their lives were threatened.

More abnormalities – This week, we saw a second insurrection and break-in at a military base. When more than 900 Haredi men were enlisted, only 48 were able to go through the process at the IDF induction center. Many were physically barred from entry due to protests, including protesters who broke into the base with the motive of disrupting the process.

No other country in the world would tolerate such behavior, and in no other country in which the ultra-Orthodox reside would they behave with such contempt for the State that provides so generously for them.

Tisha B’av is a reminder that the narrative of destruction is so deeply entrenched in our psyche as a people that we dedicate an entire fast day to its memory, yet the lessons are often not heeded.

Divisions and disagreements in every society are signs of societal health – but violence and hatred towards one another are not. While our tradition loves to place blame for our destruction on our own behavior, we must also see the tragedies of Tisha B’Av with an even-keeled perspective. Adherence to a liberal theological outlook dismisses the justification for the destruction of the Temples based on idol worship and senseless hatred between Jews – as tradition teaches as among the reasons for our ancient Temples’ destruction. In truth, our Temples would have been destroyed regardless of what we did or didn’t do. The Babylonians of 586 BCE and the Romans of 70 CE were those who destroyed the Temples, not us.

Yes, we have our societal ills, yet even if we fulfilled the prophecy/directive of the prophet Zechariah, the Iranians still will actively campaign for our destruction – whether through proxies or directly:

“And the word of יְהוָה to Zechariah continued: Thus said יְהוָה of Hosts: Execute true justice; deal loyally and compassionately with one another. Do not defraud the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the poor; and do not plot evil against one another.—  But they refused to pay heed. They presented a balky back and turned a deaf ear…”  (Zechariah 7:7-14)

Rather than view the Nine Days as times of punishment and self-mortification, some Jewish teachings regard this time as an opportunity for introspection, repentance and to forge a closer relationship with God. While we are sadly forced to live by our swords, we can take this opportunity to combat the Zealots among us, whose actions weaken us, sow division, and give those who hate us additional fodder.

The Talmud teaches that all who mourn the destruction of Jerusalem will merit the opportunity to rejoice in its rebuilding.  We can take that to mean that all those who work to repair our societal ills and learn the lessons of history will also be instrumental in rebuilding after the destruction. The Sages also teach that the messiah will be born on Tisha B’Av, adding a promise of redemption that makes this period one of hope despite our anxiety and dread.

Let us hope, pray, and act that one day we too, can just be “normal.”

Shabbat Shalom and wishes for a meaningful Tisha B’Av.