💬 The Last Tishah b’Av: A Tale of New Temples, by Rabbi Arthur Ocean Waskow & Rabbi Phyllis Ocean Berman (2006)

In Jewish tradition, on this very day of disaster Mashiaḥ (Messiah) was born, but hidden away till a generation would come that is ready to make peace and eco-social justice in the world. So this year, we offer this story of hope and redemption to be read by Jews and Muslims together on the fast day or for the evening break-fast when it ends. . . .

Categories: Modern Miscellany, Tishah b'Av Readings

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., ירושלם Jerusalem, Maggidut, מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael, משיח Moshiaḥ, North America, Philadelphia, Temple Mount

Contributor(s): Arthur Waskow, Phyllis Berman and the Shalom Center

💬 Eikhah for the Earth: Sorrow, Hope, and Action from the Shalom Center

Tishah b’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, has historically been a day to mourn the Destruction of the First and Second Temples, centers of Israelite practice before the rise of Rabbinic Judaism (First Temple 975 BCE – 586 BCE; Second Temple 515 BCE – 70 CE) and the exiles that followed those destructions. Over the course of Jewish history this day of mourning and fasting has also come to commemorate many other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history. This year we are beginning a new tradition. We are suggesting that in addition to, or instead of (depending on the norms of your community and personal practice) the traditional observance of Tishah b’Av, the time has come to use this powerful day to mourn the ongoing destruction of the “temple” that is our Earth, a tragedy for all peoples, creatures and living things, but one that is not complete and thus, with sufficient will and action, is in part, reversible. . . .

Categories: Modern Miscellany, Tishah b'Av Readings

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., eco-conscious

Contributor(s): Arthur Waskow, Marcia Falk, Tamara Cohen and the Shalom Center

💬 איכה פרק ו׳ | Lamentations “chapter 6” in cantilized English, a supplement to public readings of Eikhah by HIAS (2018)

As we prepare to observe Tishah b’Av and commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem that led to the exile of the Jewish people for centuries to come, we are acutely aware that we find ourselves in the midst of the worst refugee crisis in recorded history, with more than 68 million people displaced worldwide. Given these extraordinary numbers, the continued attacks on asylum and the refugee resettlement program in the United States over the last eighteen months are even more inhumane. Of course, we know that the proverbial 10th of Av will come, and we will rise up from our mourning with renewed resolve to support refugees and asylum seekers. First, though, we take time to dwell fully in the mourning demanded by the 9th of Av. We fervently lament the many cruel actions this administration has taken to limit the ability of refugees and asylum seekers to seek safety in our country, and we mourn for lives destroyed and lives lost. . . .

Categories: Modern Miscellany, Tishah b'Av Readings

Tags: 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., Alphabetic Acrostic, Cantillated readings in English, Immigration policy of Donald Trump, Trump administration family separation policy, United States Immigration Policy

Contributor(s): Rachel Grant Meyer, Marisa Elana James and HIAS

Tishah b’Av Readings

💬 The Last Tishah b’Av: A Tale of New Temples, by Rabbi Arthur Ocean Waskow & Rabbi Phyllis Ocean Berman (2006)

💬 Eikhah for the Earth: Sorrow, Hope, and Action from the Shalom Center

💬 איכה פרק ו׳ | Lamentations “chapter 6” in cantilized English, a supplement to public readings of Eikhah by HIAS (2018)