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PAGE 12 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE August 8, 1986 Tisha B’Av The Jewish people’s day of mourning VISUAL CONCEPTS ATLANTA Commerical/Residential Interior Design RANDOLPH ANGEL MICHAEL G. HICKMAN (404) 587-6288 ^$/aG*ris METRO WIDE DELIVERY MAJOR CREDIT CARDS BY PHONE * V ‘ HOWIIS ( I ill*" " . — flower shops 255-7127 5975 Roswell Rd. Hammond Festival Center ALWAYS PfUMCT by Itzhak Sordo Israeli shaliach, AJCC Tisha B’Av (Aug. 14), has been looked upon in the Jewish tradi tion as the essence of all national mourning. Three major disasters occurred on that date in the land of Israel before the exile of the people of Israel: • The destruction of the First Iemple(586 B.C.E.) by Nebuchad nezzar, the King of Babylon. • The destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.E.) by Titus, the Roman Emperor. • The falling of Beitar (135 C.E.), a city near Jerusalem which sym bolized the end of the rebellion of Bar Kochba against the Romans. Exactly a year later, a site of Jerus alem was plowed under. In addition to these major tragic events, tradition sees other catas trophes that happened on the same day, after we were in exile (galut): • The expulsion of the Jews from England (1290) • The expulsion of the Jews from Spain (1492) Tisha B’Av is dedicated to remem brance and mourning, especially for the falling of the sovereignty and independence of the Jews in their old homeland, which was symbolized by the destruction of the Second Temple. That put an end to our national existence w hich was reborn in 1948. After reading and learning about that particular day, 1 want to share some Jewish thoughts and dilem mas regarding Tisha B’Av: The question of why? Why it happened? There is a theory that the First Temple was destroyed because of idolatry, sexual immor ality and bloodshed. It means that individuals from Israel, by their behavior, brought this disaster. It is theorized that the Second Tem ple was destroyed because there was a lot of quarreling between Jewish groups, and not only verbal debates. Hatred among groups of our people led to weakness of the Jewish people and made it easier for our enemies. We have to ask remnant of our Holy Temple. Those who are against keeping the same traditions say that Tisha B’Av is too irrelevant and disregarded, and we can’t continue it as a day of mourning as if nothing had changed. Those who think that we should continue the customs say that Tisha B’Av plays a role in keeping our tradition—it’s part of the “collec tive memory” of the Jews through- ‘Tisha B’Av is dedicated to remembrance and mourning, especially for the falling of the sover eignty and independence of the Jews in their old homeland, which was symbolized by the destruction of the Second Temple.’ ourselves w'hy, and if it’s relevant today. There is a legend that on Tisha B’Av, the Messiah will be born. The bond is between redemption and disaster, between mourning and happiness. This is the same kind of bond that we find in the faces of a bride and groom at their wedding—the bridegroom breaks the glass to remind us that even in our joy, there is destruction. Even in the celebration of the state of Israel, we have it: Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day, is just prior to the celebration of Independence Day. Thus, we can’t forget those who gave their lives, even when we are celebrating. In modern Israel, we ask our selves if we should continue with the same customs of Tisha B’Av as we did before the rebirth of the state of Israel (1948), and espe cially after the reunification of Jer usalem (1967). Since then, we came back to the Western W'all, the MIC out the generations, and they say that exile and destruction are not yet finished even though the state of Israel exists. There are those who say that the real exile (galut) means a spiritual one, and it depends on each of us. The question is how much do we deal with values and meritorious deeds that lead us to better exist ence as Jews, or how much are we alienated to those values; are we too busy with practical and mate rial needs? Can these values be actualized in the diaspora? In the last few' years, there has been a debate in Israel about the Bar Kochba rebellion. Professor Yehoshefat Harkabi (in his book, “The Bar Kochba Syndrome,” 1983) declared that this rebellion, which ended with the falling of Beitar on I isha B’Av ! 35 C.F... was unrealis tic. It would have been better not to start it. In that time, it was clear that all of the military forces of Rome would be directed against xfre. Judaea. It was possible to sec in advance the catastrophic outcome of a rebellion against the Roman Empire. Because of it, the main concentration of Jews at that time in Judaea came to an end. Romans destroyed almost every settlement. Harkabi’s practical reason for writing the book is so that the past can help us to see clearly and to have an influence on current polit ical behavior. Many don’t agree with him, especially with how he dealt with the martyrs. Bar Kochba was seen during the generations as a source of inspiration and as a hero. On Tisha B’Av, we read poems of mourning (kinot). The last part includes the kinot of Rabbi Judah Halevi that says: “Zion, won’t you ask if your prisoners have peace?” He is one of our best poets; he lived in the 1 1th century in Spain and wrote many poems regarding Zion and of his missing homeland. In his last years, he did it! He went to Zion (Israel) and died there. I can’t forget seeing tens of thou sands of Jews gathering to pray at the Western Wall on the night of Tisha B’Av. I was there once dur ing my military duty; it was then, and is now, clear to me that you don’t need to be an observant Jew to feel a part of a big and a wonder ful heritage. We now return to the first ques tion of why? Why, in general, are we in exile? One answer is: “Because of our sins we w'ent into exile from our land," so the responsibility is on us. If we believe that “all Jews are responsible for one another," w hat is your personal responsibil ity to correct it? the Goldev^Buddha restaurant 1905 Clairmont Road (1 2 block south of North Druid Hills Road) 633-5252 \ An exciting experience in au thentic Mandarin and Szechuen cuisine. The menu is a pleasing combination of modest prices and more than 100 exotic entrees and dinner combina tions Hours Mon. : Thurs.. 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. fri - - Sat. . . ; n a.m. - 11p.m. * un - 12 noon - 10 p.m. Open 7 Days It’s a dream come true. King Springs Village Luxury Retirement Community 404 King Springs Village Pkwy. Smyrna. 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