I have always had a difficult time with Tisha B'Av. For me, Judaism has been a forward-looking, optimistic worldview. To have a day in which one would self-induce sadness seems counter-intuitive, to say the least. I have found it even more difficult to observe Tisha B'Av since much like Maimonides (Guide for the Perplexed, III, xxxii), I have viewed the sacrificial system as a temporary concession to man's nature of clinging to that which one is accustomed. I have no reason to mourn the loss of what I, as well as a majority of Jews, view as an ancient, insipid relic of the past.
For nearly two millennia, Judaism has survived without the sacrificial system because it has found ways to adapt to the loss of the Second Temple. I dare say that Judaism has fared better without the sacrificial system in place.
What's more is that for the first time in Jewish history, Jews not only have a nation-state, but also have a united Jerusalem. This holiday has seemed to lose its edge at least since the unification of Jerusalem in 1967, if not during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Even the Jews in the Diaspora have overall been emancipated and granted equal rights. Have we reached a point where Judaism has lost the need for Tisha B'Av? Can we discard it as an antiquated custom and confine it to the history books?
Although it appears as if there would be no reason to actually observe Tisha B'Av, I have to acquiesce that there might be reason to still observe, even if I have to do so reluctantly. King Solomon said (Ecclesiastes 3:4) that there is a time to weep and a time to laugh. But why weep? Even though Jews have made considerable progress since the pre-Enlightenment days, Tisha B'Av is not a time to rejoice over progress made, but rather to lament over progress that has yet to be made.
We still live in a world with rampant anti-Semitism. Although America offers unprecedented amounts of religious freedom in the Diaspora, anti-Semitism has not been this high on a worldwide level since pre-WWII. What makes it worse is that it is coming from all walks of life, whether that would be the academic Left, the Islamic fundamentalists, or certain sects of right-winged Christianity.
We still live in a world with abject poverty. In Israel, nearly one in five lives below the poverty line. The welfare system in Israel is immense. The current protests in Israel demanding "social justice" are indicative of that fact. Maybe we fast on Tisha B'Av is a reminder that there are hunger issues to be resolved in the Jewish community, let alone the entire world.
We still live in a world in which Israel is constantly threatened. Teaching hatred of Jews is still an essential part of the curriculum in Palestinian public schools. Iran is building nuclear arms, which would most likely be used to annihilate Israel. Even the cold peace with Egypt has been beginning to thaw. The Jewish people might have a nation-state, but national security is anything but set in stone. As such, we still need to fast.
We still live in a world with a disunited Jewry. What brought about the destruction of the Second Temple? Baseless hatred between one's fellow Jew. We see this tension in the State of Israel between the Religious Right and the Secular Left. The Diaspora, most notably in America, has a similar tension between Orthodox and non-Orthodox. The politicization of Judaism and Jewry continues to perpetuate the disunification of the Jewish people that has existed since the falling of the Second Temple.
In short, do not feel sadness for some nostalgia that most likely never fully occurred with regards to the Second Temple in the first place. Be sad because the Jewish world is still in a state of tension and strife, or to put it in more religious parlance, messianic prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. There are still those who hate Jews. There are still enemies that threaten the nation-state that took so much work to build. Even internally, both in the land of Israel and amongst Jewry, Jews constantly deal with internal conflicts.
However, this should not bring us to meekness or a sense of futility. It should be a time of the year to look at our more communal issues and bring awareness to this "harsh reality." King Solomon was correct that there is a time to weep. But we should be so moved by the fact that this is our current reality that we should be inspired to change it.
Tisha B'Av is a time of awareness for Jews. Jews need to be aware of how tragedies have befallen upon them in the past. But also, there needs to be a directive towards learning from those downfalls and figuring out how we can apply them to the current situation. With that level of awareness, we can confidently head in a better direction.
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