Lessons for Tisha B’av
Last Saturday night and Sunday, Jews around the world commemorated Tisha B’av, the saddest day of the Jewish year. Though the day remembers a host of Jewish tragedies, most notable are the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem.
These events were terrible, but I wonder, now that we have a state of Israel and unparalleled Jewish freedom and privilege, what is Tisha B’av’s message today?
I believe one answer lies in an explanation of why God decided to destroy the second temple. According to the Talmud, while God destroyed the first temple as a punishment for disobedience of the commandments, God destroyed the second temple for a less obvious sin: sinat chinam, baseless hatred.
I first encountered the term sinat chinam during my year at Hebrew University, where I studied abroad and fell in love with halachic Jewish life. During Rosh Hashanah, I watched in awe as Rabbi Nachman Bulman fervently shouted his prayers to God. At one point in the service, Rabbi Bulman began reciting things he prayed God would obliterate from the world, and after chanting a few Hebrew terms I recognized, he bellowed “sinat chinam!”
Afterwards, Rabbi Bulman spoke about how pained he was that Jews everywhere are still judging and dishonoring one another.
As I have continued my own Jewish journey, I frequently return to Rabbi Bulman’s words. In my spiritual search for truth, happiness and community, I have found myself involved in communities across the Jewish spectrum. Each community has spoken to me in its own way, and each community made its claim on Judaism’s legacy.
As I’ve searched and discovered gems in so many corners of Jewish life, I am often confused at each sect’s claim that it possesses the correct interpretation of Jewish tradition. Surely some disagreement is to be expected – even holy – but what I’ve sensed is more than just respectful disagreement; it is often self-righteousness, even hatred.
As one who has bridged the halachic and liberal Jewish worlds, I suggest a truce in order for us to take some time to learn from one another. In more traditional circles, I’ve come to appreciate halachic Jews’ reverence and commitment to God, orienting their lives around cycles of prayer, blessing and study.
In more liberal circles, I’ve come to appreciate progressive Jews’ commitment to social justice, striving to honor the dignity of each human being through individual actions and work for systemic social change. Broadly speaking, I believe that, in rabbinic terms, one group is more zealous about mitzvot ben adam l’makom, between human and God, and the other more zealous about mitzvot ben adam l’chavero, between human and human.
I believe it takes the whole Jewish people to do the job right. As Rebbe Pinchas of Koretz, disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, taught: each person has his or her own special mitzvah in this world. Perhaps something similar is true for each denomination. Let’s move forward from this year’s Tisha B’av appreciating the diversity of Jewish life, and learning from the strengths in every corner.
Shalom Steinberg is a Jewish educator and an active member at Moishe/Kavod House.
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