Why Tisha B'Av?

This week, we finally finished Eicha. It's been a shorter journey than the journey we went on for Kohelet, but it also proved to be quite meaningful. We talked at length about the chiastic structure of the sefer, or the fact that perakim א and ה correspond and perakim ב and ד correspond, leaving perek ג at the epicenter of the sefer. We also talked about how the מקונן and ירושלים go through their own responses to the tragedy. Perek ג is unique in that it is told from the point of view of the גבר, or the universal man. We've talked at length about what this might mean. In the end, I think we agreed he is the archetypical man whose response to trauma is a process that every person who moves on after a tragedy must go through. By the end of perek ה, the גבר and ירושלים all gained a renewed perspective and desired to come back to G-d and for G-d to return to them. We also talked about why we read this sefer on Tisha B'Av and why people are actually crying on that day. We said that we're crying because of the lost relationship and reading this sefer at that time gives us hope and motivation to work on restoring the relationship.

Now that the Sefer's over, I feel like I can reasonably reflect on everything that's been thought here. The process and the steps that people must take to overcome tragedy are difficult, but in the end, you come out with a new perspective and a path forward. That's a somewhat removed explanation though. In the specific case of Yerushalaim, the people went through a horrible destruction because of their sins. Once they came to terms with their own sin and the fact that G-d also brings forth the good things in life, they were able to ask -- as a community -- for G-d to return to them so that the relationship could be restored.

When we talked about the Gever, we talked about how he was the individual person, not a community. When we talked about Yerushalaim for the first few perakim, we said that she was also an individual. When Yerushalaim realized that the problem was bigger than herself, she transformed into the communal Yerushalaim. At that point, she was able to ask G-d to return to the people because G-d promised never to destroy Am Yisrael again. This makes sense in the context of the generation that lived during the time of the Churban. Now, I'd like to suggest that the communal Yerushalaim applies to all Jews, regardless of time or place (post-Churban).

This past summer, while I was on NCSY GIVE, we were taken to the Kotel to daven mincha on Tisha B'Av. I'd heard some talk about how some summer programs don't bring their kids to the Kotel because it turns into a major social scene. Throughout the day of Tisha B'Av,  I attended many unsettling and saddening programs about all of the horrible things that had happened on that day in history. Then, as soon as the announcement came through that we were going to the Kotel, I felt a jolt of energy. After nearly a day of fasting, I was suddenly energetic and extremely happy. Happy on Tisha B'Av -- what? When we got to the Kotel, actually before we even approached the Kotel itself, it felt like we were actually going to the Beit Hamikdash. The plaza was completely filled with Jews of all different varieties. Those who were there will understand the power of thousands of voices singing Zemiros as Tisha B'Av was ending. Yes, there was a lot of socializing happening, but the spiritual power of being in that place at that time was truly incredible. At that moment, I felt like Am Yisrael, all of us, were taking steps towards returning to G-d, just as Yerushalaim had wished. Of course, the ideal relationship with G-d isn't dependent on a place or a building. However, that inspirational moment really showed me that there is hope for us to restore our relationship with G-d to what it was in Gan Eden.

To Am Yisrael: Cry no more.