Have we all heard this saying? When our kids whine over something that is actually nothing, when we see blessings as curses, its like we are crying over nothing. So, when G-d was giving us this fabulous land to live in, our response was to sing thanks and praise and move in. What did we do? We cried-on the 9th of Av. Oy vey. So, as the secular saying goes, we are now being given something to cry about. On this day throughout history there have been many other calamaties:
422 BCE First temple destroyed
70 CE Second temple destroyed
Bar Kokhba revolt was stopped by the Romans
First crusade began killing 10,000 Jews
We were expelled from England
We were expelled from Spain
WWI broke out, making way for WWII and the Holocaust
Jews were deported from Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka on the eve of Tish B'Av
Is Tish B'Av a punishment from G-d? I don't think so. What I think it is is a reminder of how we did not trust Him. He took us out of Egypt, parted the sea, fed us in the desert, and now we won't enter the land? Now we become scared and cry? The other part of this picture is us. It is not G-d punishing us, we are our own worst enemies sometimes. Even though we left Egypt etc....it would never have happened if we didn't take part. We physically listened to G-d by doing what He asked. Moses went up against Pharoah, a man went into the sea up to his neck out of faith before G-d parted the water, we built the tabernacle in the desert. Everything involved us, He wasn't going to do these things while we sit and watch. We are the key. We don't have to be sitting here fasting, we could be rejoicing. We are the solution. The land is wonderful, the temple is wonderful, but we have G0d in us, we have the power to change this world with G0d leading the way. We have to want it.
Let's rejoice on Tish B'Av next year!
Adventuresome Me
- Tamar Ruth
- Who I started out as is not who I have become! I grew up in a small town, very small...and all I wanted to do was move to the city. Now as an adult that small town has grown and is overcrowded. I want what I had as a kid...small town living. We don't appreciate what we have until it is gone. I water my plants with my rain barrel water,grow veggies in the front yard and want chickens and goats in the worst way. I married my high school sweetheart and after 18 years of marriage converted to Judaism. Did I mention I have 4 kids and I homeschool? My oldest son just graduated! The purpose of this blog is to share my experiences--homeschooling, being Jewish and loving it in a not so Jewish town, gardening, animals, and alternative medicines. So, if any of these things interest you---come along for the ride!
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