Scattered Thoughts on Tisha B'Av 2012

Tisha B'Av is a hard day inso many ways. It's hard because it is meant to be painful. But what I discover each year is that -- thank God -- as depressed as we may seem to be about trivial things, we really are designed to strive for happiness. As I sit and imagine suffering throughout history I can't help but assume that those people probably very much strove for happiness in any way they could find amidst their suffering. It's counter intuitive for us to force ourselves into sadness despite whatever wonderful life we have before us. So it's hard to have such a sad day, and it's also technically difficult to make it meaningful.

I guess one of the benefits of doing it, though, is to help us appreciate what we do have in our lives in the end of the day. And the time we spend in mourning is really not for our benefit anyway, but is for the benefit of those who suffered and were martyred throughout our history.

I went this morning to hear a rather famous speaker do Kinnot. I stayed for 45 minutes and then had to leave. He was talking about the Beit Hamikdash and trying to talk about Tisha B'Av's relevance in 2012, but I just couldn't do it. I'm not offended, but I can't relate in any way. It's far too abstract. To me the tragedy of the day is about how long is wrong in our world right now. People are hungry, the earth is poisoned daily and gives people cancer, greed and hate in the world lead to actually wars and murder. Worse, most people spend most of their time blind to it and without doing any good.

My ideal Tisha B'Av would be like this. Read the kinnot, discuss past suffering, but discuss present suffering too -- and not just of Jews, of the whole world. Use video technology to help us see it, visions from the past as well as visions of the present of people trying to live in an unjust world, a world in which God depends on us to be partners in order to make it right. Then, in the afternoon, we'd do something about it. I don't know what. I'd have to leave that part to one of the many organizations working daily to bring about Tikkun Olam, but if it means lobbying for legislation or fundraising or what-have-you... that's how we could spend the day.