Why Remember? – Tisha B’Av 2006
This Thursday marks the saddest day on the Jewish calendar – the day called Tisha B’av. Throughout our history tragedy after tragedy has occurred on this date. (To name a few: the death of the generation that left Egypt, the destruction of both temples, the English & Spanish Expulsions, etc.)
For us in America, living in relatively peaceful and ‘good’ times, we cannot fully relate to the pain and suffering of our ancestors. And yet we dedicate the day of Tisha B’av to recount the tales, conjure the images, remember the stories, and place ourselves in the frame of mind of mourning for the loss of our Temples.
Why remember? The mantra of so many Jewish Organizations is: “Remember”, or “Never Forget”. But why? For what purpose?
The answer usually given is, “to ensure it won’t happen again”. And although learning lessons from our past is certainly valuable, it is only one aspect of why commemoration is so much a part of Judaism.
The Torah is called a “Living Torah”, a book that is alive and vibrant today – here and now. The history recorded in the Torah is meant to be incorporated within our lives to the point that it becomes a part of who we are and defines our very existence even today. Thus, when we recount an episode of our history, depict the destruction of Jerusalem, or tell of the fate of our ancestors we are not merely ‘learning lessons’, we are becoming, connecting, and defining ourselves. Because even today, thousands of years later, we yearn to return to our homeland with all of our brethren and rebuild the third and final Temple – May it be speedily in our days.
The Emperor Napoleon was once passing through the Jewish ghetto in Paris and heard sounds of crying and wailing emanating from a synagogue. He stopped to ask what the lamenting was about. He was told that the Jews were remembering the destruction of their Temple. "When did it happen?" asked the Emperor. "Some 1700 years ago," was the answer. Whereupon Napoleon exclaimed, “A people who lives so intensely with its past is assured to fulfill its future destiny.”
May G‑d continue to protect the Land of Israel and the IDF
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Raleigh Resnick