Remembering the Darkness, Choosing the Light: The Enduring Meaning of Tisha B’av

Adapted from Rabbi Dalia Marx, Ph.D., the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar (CCAR Press, 2023). Used by permission of CCAR Press.

The month of Av invites us to take a deep dive into water until we reach the bottom; only then can we push off the bottom with our feet and start to rise above the waves. Returning to the surface can only happen if we've made it to the depths, to that frightening place without breath. That is how it is with the Jewish tradition: the profound mourning of Tisha B'Av becomes meaningful precisely because of the consolation that follows. Our lives move between light and shadows low tides and high tides. In the life of an individual, a people, and the world there are dark and difficult times. Yet Jewish tradition teaches us that life is good and the world is a place full of hope, since "the world is judged with goodness" (Mishnah Avot 3:15).

A Sponge for Sorrows

Other days of mourning in the Jewish calendar incorporate the memory of various disasters , but none more so than Tisha B'Av. According to the Mishnah, five disasters occurred on the Ninth of Av. First those who left Egypt in the Exodus were not allowed to enter the land of the Canaan because of the sins of ten spies; that entire generation died in the wilderness. Second and third, both Temples were destroyed-the first in 586 BCE and the second in 70 CE. Fourth, about seventy years after the destruction of the Second Temple, the town of Beitar-the last rebel stronghold of the Bar Kochba revolt-fell to the Romans and was destroyed. Finally, Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Romans.

When Jews gather for prayer on the night of Tisha B'Av, we sit on the ground and recite kinot in low voices, recalling not only the destruction of the Temples, but also all the many sufferings our people have endured. Among these poems of lamentation, are many composed during the Middle Ages, describing persecution, violence, and acts of martyrdom (or "Kiddush HaShem," "sanctification of God's name") experienced by Jewish communities in their various locations. Over time, additional tragedies beyond the five listed in the Mishnah have become associated with Tisha B'Av, including the expulsion of the Jews of England (1290), the forced relocation of the Polish Jews to the ghettos (1941), and the deportation of the Jews from Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka (1942).

Is Tisha B'Av Still Relevant?

Must we still mourn and wail over the destruction of the Temple? This question is not at all new; it was first posed 2500 years ago, "in the fourth year of King Darius"-that is, around 518 BCE-two years after the construction of the Second Temple began. A delegation came to Jerusalem "to entreat the favor of the Eternal" (Zechariah 7:2) and also to inquire if one still needed to mourn the destruction of the First Temple: "Shall I weep and practice abstinence in the fifth month, as I have been doing all these years?" (Zechariah 7:3). In other words, was mourning during the month of Av still appropriate at a time when the Second Temple was being rebuilt? Were the fasts commemorating the Temple still necessary when hope for renewal was in the air? Must one continue to mourn the Temple that was destroyed? Underlying this question is the need to clarify whether, in principle, the fast was intended to be permanent or only temporary. Must the destruction be recalled even when the situation changes radically, or should the fast be cancelled? Zechariah does not give a direct reply, instead focusing on a joyous future.

Thus said the Eternal of Hosts, "The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth month, the fast of the seventh month, and the fast of the tenth month shall become occasions for joy and gladness, happy festivals for the House of Judah; but you must love honesty and integrity." (Zechariah 8:19)

Zechariah makes it known that the fasts are temporary, while the values of truth and peace are eternal, mitzvot that will stand for all time. Perhaps he is suggesting that if we know how to love honestly and with integrity, we will be privileged to enjoy these days as occasions of joy and gladness.

Many generations later, another leader wondered about the place of Tisha B'Av in his era. It is told that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (second-third century), the redactor of the Mishnah, sought to "uproot Tisha B'Av" (Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 4:6 [69c]). Despite his stature and influence, his effort was unsuccessful, since the text immediately reports, "…but they did not let him." It seems that the editors of the Jerusalem Talmud were a bit shocked by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi's initiative and were quick to cite another version of this story, according to which he asked, "to uproot Tisha B'Av when it falls on Shabbat," rather than cancelling the entire observance.

The question of whether the fast should be eternal or ephemeral was asked again in the Babylonian Talmud. Rav Papa, a fourth-century Babylonian sage, divided reality into three possible situations: "When there is peace [the fasts] shall be for joy and gladness; if there is persecution, they shall be fast days; if there is no persecution but also no peace, then those who desire may fast and those who desire need not fast" (Rosh HaShanah 18b). The exception is Tisha B'Av, "because several misfortunes happened on it." In his view, the fasts on the other dates are flexible and depend on the people's situation at that time. In other words, Rav Papa believes that the people's perception of its present situation is what matters most.

Over the centuries, Jewish communities continued to revisit the meaning of Tisha B'Av in changing historical circumstances. In modern times some leaders of classical Reform Judaism related to Tisha B'Av as an actual festival, a day marking the Jewish people's emergence from its oppression and becoming a worldwide "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6), whose task is to disseminate prophetic ethics throughout the world.

There are those who fast all night and all day, read the book of Lamentations, and say special s'lichot prayers. There are others who choose to fast only half the day, to recognize the uniqueness of living in a period of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. Still others devote the day to study groups, prayer, and lamentations. And there are some who seek to demonstrate unconditional love and kindness (ahavat chinam). All of these practices share a commemoration of the destruction that once was and a commitment to avoid any future destructions. The active memory of Tisha B'Av is an expression of loyalty to the past and hope for a better future. Tisha B'Av is a day on which we give thought to everything holy that is destroyed, the sanctity that was violated, the suffering of innocents among the Jews and in the family of humankind at large.

Darkness can, and indeed should, be dispelled with light-a commitment that feels more urgent today perhaps than at any other point in our lives. To fulfill it, we must first allow ourselves to remember the profound darkness and dwell within it for a moment. Even if our daily struggle is focused on bringing light, into the world, on this specific day, we permit ourselves to wear, what we call in Hebrew, a "Tisha B'Av face."

Rabbi Dalia Marx, Ph.D., is the Rabbi Aaron D. Panken Professor of Liturgy and Midrash at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. She is the author of From Time to Time: Journeys in the Jewish Calendar (CCAR Press, 2023), from which this piece is adapted.