1. Despite the religious appearance of Tisha B'Av, this is not a religious atonement (this is what Yom Kippur is dedicated to), but rather a national day of remembrance, similar to Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers. The burning of the Temple in 70 AD was the culmination of a process that led to the destruction of the land and Jerusalem, and the loss of the remnants of our independence for almost 2,000 years.
2. Here is an eyewitness account of what happened on this day, 1,953 years ago in Jerusalem, by Josephus: "While the Temple was burning, (the soldiers) plundered everything that fell into their hands and killed those they caught en masse. They did not have compassion for the elderly, nor for infants, nor glorified the faces of dignitaries, but put to death the elderly and children, priests and laymen alike. The war haunted and encompassed all classes and overwhelmed everyone, whether they defended themselves or begged for their lives."
He also wrote: "The sound of flames spreading far away echoed the groans of the fallen, and because of the height of the hill (Temple Mount) and the size of the burning house, the entire city seemed to rise in hearts... The battle cheers of the Roman legions were heard... The shrieks of the rebels were surrounded by fire and sword, and the shrieks of the people who remained upstairs and in their frightened flight fell straight into the hands of the enemy to their deaths. The cries of the people on the hill were joined by the crowds in the city; Many who were starving, helpless to make a sound, found themselves renewed strength to lament and cry out when they saw the fire that gripped the Temple... The blood flu has surpassed the flood of fire..."
This is not a description of a religious event, but what happened to our people, our ancestors and our ancestors, all of us, supporters and opponents of reform alike.
The process of destruction did not end then, but reached its peak some 80 years ago, at the second historical end of the loss of our independence.
The Holocaust could have occurred first and foremost because we were without a national home, abandoned to our fate by every leper who wished to consume his anger and frustrations in us.
3. Jewish tradition found a biblical root that predates the days of destruction.
She associated the 17th of Tammuz with the sin of the calf. It's a religious sin, idolatry:
"And they will make a calf mask (i.e., metal), and they will say: This is the God of Israel..." In contrast, Tisha B'Av was connected by our sages with the sin of the spies. The heads of the people who were sent to collect intelligence about the land, and when they returned, slandered it: "The land we passed through to explore with it, the land that ate its inhabitants is."
Moses' memoirs relate: "Our brothers melted our hearts to say, a people greater and mightier, cities grew and drought in heaven, and we also saw sons of giants there." In the 12th century, Maimonides described in his book "Mora Perplexed" the mental state of the generation of Egyptians: "It is not in human nature to grow up slaving in clay and bricks and similar to them, and then wash his hands of their dirt for the time being and fight with the giant natives suddenly." For this purpose, a new fearless generation must arise in the desert, the generation of the conquerors of Canaan at its end.
4. The root of the terrible destruction, therefore, lies in what the psalmist called "the misery of the land of covetousness," the attachment of parts of our people (to this day!) to exile, the insistence on living in places plagued by anti-Semitism instead of returning home to Zion. The fear of a national life that requires preoccupation with the needs of the state and politics, the use of power and the development of material, and not only with spiritual life and study.
The rejection of national life is also an escape from compromise between different groups in the nation, just like in the family; In exile, it is possible to live in smaller, more homogeneous communities.
The constant mourning over the destruction of the land on Tisha B'Av, year after year, promised hope for our happy end. When the Zionist movement was established, there was no need to explain what the return to Zion was. On the day of national mourning, we reminded ourselves in all the postcards where we were exiled from and where we dream of returning. And the destruction of our people and our country (twice!) should be mourned at any rate once a year, a sign to the sons of Mary not to repeat our mistake again. And in the Zion building we will be comforted.
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