Ritual & Liturgy:
Tisha B'Av

Submitted by Leila Gal Berner
email address: LGBerner@aol.com

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONS TO THE TRADITIONAL
TISHA B'AV SERVICE

Tisha B'Av - the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av - marks the day when both of the Temples of Jerusalem were destroyed, the first Temple in 586 B.C.E. when the Jews were sent into exile in Babylonia, and the second Temple in 70 C.E. when the Romans razed the sacred Sanctuary and sent the Jewish people into an exile that would last until 1948 when the modern State of Israel was born.

Over time, the date of Tisha B'Av became a symbolic date of mourning, a time to lament the persecution oppression suffered by Jews over many centuries. All the catastrophic events that have been identified with the ninth of Av did not, of course, really occur on that day. But it is the mythic power of this day of national hurt that has drawn the connections to so many of the disasters that have befallen the Jews.

We mourn and lament not only to weep into a hopeless abyss. We mourn and lament in order to remember, because as we remember, we dedicate ourselves as Jews and as human beings to fight against all oppression and persecution -- against our people and against all people. In this spirit, a Tisha B'Av service may include the following elements:

• Remembering
• Reflecting on tikkun (repair) and healing; "Re-membering" as in re-connecting all the earth's peoples in peace
• Turning ourselves towards Hope and a Vision of a world repaired.

Remembering:

Candles may be lit in remembrance of these moments and times in Jewish history:

• The destruction of the First and Second Temples of our people in Jerusalem, Zion's holy city. (586 B.C.E. and 70 C.E.)
• The slaughter of Rabbi Akiba and his students as they struggled to keep Judaism alive during the rebellion against the oppressive might of the Roman Empire. (70 C.E.)
• The massacre of hundreds of Jews in the German Rhine district by Crusaders on their way to the First Crusade (1096 C.E.)
• The expulsion of the Jews of Spain, by the landUs Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, thus putting an end to a millenium of vibrant Jewish life on the Iberian peninsula. (1492 C.E.)
• The violence and riots against Jews led by Protestant Reformers (16th century C.E.)
• The extermination of six million Jews at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust (mid-20th century C.E.)
• Terrorist acts of murder against Jews and Israelis.
• Terrorist acts of murder against Palestinian Muslims and Christians.
• Violent acts against, and murder of gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered people.
• Violent acts against, and murder of all human beings, throughout the world.

THE MOURNER'S KADDISH IS RECITED

Reflecting on tikkun (repair) and healing; "Re-membering" as in re-connecting all the earth's peoples in peace.

Here a discussion and/or presentation may take place to explore specific and practical ways for the community to engage in tikkun olam work. Plans might be made for a cooperative project.

Turning towards Hope and a Vision of a world repaired.

Here poems, prose or song might be read or sung. Some examples:

A Prayer

What shall I ask You for, God?
I have everything.
There's nothing I lack.
I ask only for one thing
And not for myself alone;
It's for many mothers, and children, and fathers
Not just in this land, but in many lands hostile to each other.
I'd like to ask for Peace.
Yes, it's Peace I want,
And You, You won't deny the single wish of a child.
You created the Land of Peace,
Where stands the City of Peace,
Where stood the Temple of Peace,
But where still there is no Peace . . .

What shall I ask you for, God? I have everything.
Peace is what I ask for,
Only Peace.

by Shlomit Grossberg, age 13, Jerusalem

When will Peace take over?

When will peace take over?
When will it come, the day?
When with armies and bombs will they do away,
When all this hostility cease,
A day on which battleships
Will become palaces of leisure and fun
Floating on the seas.

A day on which the steel of guns
Will be melted into pleasure cars,
A day on which generals will begin to raise flowers.
When peace
Will include all the peoples of these neighboring lands,
When Ishmael and Israel
Will go hand in hand,
And when every Jew
The Arab's brother will be.
When will it come, the day?

by Mahmoud Abu Radj, Age 12, Kfar Sachnin (Arab village)

Shir ha-ma'alot (a song of ascents - sung right before traditional Birkat Ha-Mazon [Grace after meals])