Tisha B’Av

Yesterday was Tisha B’Av, the Jewish Day of Mourning for the destruction of the ancient Temples by the Babylonian and Roman Empires. On this day, in the scorching summer heat, we feel the collective pains experienced over thousands of years. Of exile, of more exile, of lynchings, of genocide. And, I would add, of capitalism and colonialism. Of closeness to today’s Empire. These pains are material and spiritual and intergenerational. We fast and lament. And then, we leave these pains. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is in seven weeks.