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Tisha B’Av invites you to imagine how everything could go wrong
This story originally appeared on My Jewish Learning.
(JTA) — Next Thursday is Tisha B’Av, the day on which Jews traditionally commemorate the destruction of the two ancient Temples with fasting and other modes of self-denial. The goal of these rituals is to induce a mindset of mourning in an attempt to appreciate what was lost with the destruction of the Temple.
Let’s be honest: This isn’t easy. The animal sacrifice practiced in the Temple would be regarded today as, at the very least, countercultural. And Jewish sovereignty has returned to Jerusalem, undoing the millennia of exile initiated by the Babylonian and Roman armies that destroyed Jerusalem.
If we want to achieve empathy, to feel what ancient Jews might have felt with the destruction of the Temple, we have to use historical texts to channel their experiences. This is the objective of the traditional liturgies read on Tisha B’Av — particularly Eicha, the Book of Lamentations, which describes the horrors of the destruction in vivid detail. In the talmudic period, the practice arose of reciting additional laments known as Kinot, which poetically render the destruction of the Temple and a variety of other historic Jewish catastrophes.
But these are only the best-known examples of this genre. Two lesser-known but deeply poignant passages offer additional doorways into the Jewish mindset in the decades following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. Unlike Eicha and Kinot, these accounts have an apocalyptic tone, emphasizing that life itself is no longer worth living after the destruction, which makes them particularly affecting.
Consider this passage from Second Baruch, likely composed around 100 CE in Judea, in which a character known as Baruch ascends the Temple Mount and laments.
You, farmers, do not sow again.
And you, earth, why do you give the fruits of your produce?
Hold the sweetness of your sustenance within you.
And you, vine, why do you continue to give your wine?
An offering will no longer be made from it in Zion,
nor will first fruits again be offered.
And you, heaven, hold your dew,
and do not open the reservoirs of rain.
And you, sun, hold the light of your rays,
and you, moon, extinguish the abundance of your light,
for why should light rise again
where the light of Zion is darkened?
And you, bridegrooms, do not enter,
and do not let the virgins adorn themselves with crowns.
And you, women, do not pray that you may bear,
because the barren will rejoice more.
Those who have no children will be glad,
while those who have children will be grieved.
In a similar vein, Tosefta Sotah, a work of classical rabbinic literature redacted around 200 C.E. but reflecting earlier traditions, offers these teachings:
Rabbi Ishmael said: From the day that the Temple was destroyed, it would have been proper not to eat meat or drink wine, except that the court cannot decree on the public matters that they cannot withstand.
He would say: Since they are uprooting the Torah from among us, we should decree upon the world that it be desolate, that one not marry a woman or have children or have “son’s week” celebrations, until the seed of Abraham will disappear on its own.
Both these sources reflect a deep-seated sense of despair, an inability to imagine a world without a Temple. Both texts call upon nature to stop its course and for people to stop marrying, procreating and celebrating life. Life is so painful, so inconceivable without the Temple, that the only reasonable approach is for the world to literally end, to stop producing food or procreating “until the seed of Abraham will disappear on its own.” If the world won’t disappear, at least the Jewish people will.
Some of us may relate to a distress so extreme it robs us of the will to live, where even the normal functioning of nature feels like an affront. But for many of us, inhabiting this kind of mindset is challenging. The best we may be able to do is attempt to appreciate why the loss of the Temple was such a cataclysmic loss.
The Temple was both the religious and political center of Jewish life and thus the preeminent symbol of Judaism itself. Its loss represented an absolute reversal of Jewish life, which was organized around the Temple in major ways. Not only did the priests offer sacrifices there on behalf of Israel, but the priesthood took on major political roles as well, with the high priest serving as the de facto ruler of the Jews. Pilgrimages to the Temple on major holidays brought together Jews from across the Roman Empire. And the Temple’s very existence afforded the sense that biblical rites were being followed, that things were as they should be.
Imagine if someone destroyed your synagogue, but also eradicated the sovereignty of the government under which you lived, with no obvious alternative for either. Consider the implications not only for your theology and your worldview, but for your morale. This is how Judeans must have felt after the Temple, as we see all too vividly in the depictions above.
Whether through the accounts of Baruch or the teaching of Rabbi Ishmael or the imagination we can muster from an understanding of what the Temple meant to ancient Jewry, this Tisha B’Av, let us try to experience for ourselves the magnitude of such an overriding loss.
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The post Tisha B’Av invites you to imagine how everything could go wrong appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Houthis Prepared for ‘Long War of Attrition’ With Israel, Says Terror Group’s ‘Defense Minister’
Houthi policemen ride on the back of a patrol pick-up truck during the funeral of Houthi terrorists killed by recent US-led strikes, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia is prepared for a “long war” against Israel and its allies, according to the US-designated terrorist organization’s so-called “defense minister,” who described fighting the Jewish state as a “religious duty.”
“The Yemeni Army holds the key to victory, and is prepared for a long war of attrition against the usurping Zionist regime, its sponsors, and allies,” Mohamed al-Atifi was quoted as saying on Thursday by Iran’s state-owned Press TV network.
“Our struggle against the Nazi Zionist entity is deeply rooted in our beliefs. We are well aware of the fact that this campaign is a sacred and religious duty that requires tremendous sacrifices,” added Atifi, who has been sanctioned by the US government.
His remarks echoed those of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who on Monday said his Palestinian terrorist group was prepared for prolonged fighting against Israel in a message to the Houthis.
“We have prepared ourselves to fight a long war of attrition that will break the enemy’s political will,” Sinwar said, claiming that Hamas and allied Iran-backed groups across the Middle East would defeat the Jewish state.
The Houthis began disrupting global trade in a major way with their attacks on shipping in the busy Red Sea corridor after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, arguing their aggression was a show of support for Palestinians in Gaza.
The Houthi rebels — whose slogan is “death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, and victory to Islam” — have controlled a significant portion of Yemen’s land in the north and along the Red Sea since 2014, when they captured it in the midst of the country’s civil war.
The Iran-backed movement has said it will target all ships heading to Israeli ports, even if they do not pass through the Red Sea, and claimed responsibility for attempted drone and missile strikes targeting Israel. Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught, which launched the ongoing war in Gaza, Houthi terrorists in Yemen have routinely launched ballistic missiles toward Israel’s southern city of Eilat. In July, they hit the center of Tel Aviv with a long-range Iranian-made drone.
Then on Sunday, the Houthis reached central Israel with a missile for the first time. Israeli air defenses intercepted fragments of a surface-to-surface missile launched from Yemen that exploded over Israel’s central region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would inflict a “heavy price” on the Houthis for the attack.
Sinwar congratulated the Houthis for Sunday’s attempted strike.
“I congratulate you on your success in sending your missiles deep into the enemy entity, bypassing all layers and defense and interception systems,” Sinwar said in his message addressed to Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.
According to reports, Houthi fighters recently arrived in Syria from Yemen as “a prelude to a new phase of escalation against Israel.” The Algemeiner could not independently verify these reports, although they fit with Sinwar’s stated goal of fighting Israel on all fronts.
“Our combined efforts with you” and with groups in Lebanon and Iraq “will break this enemy and inflict defeat on it,” the Hamas leader said on Monday to his Houthi counterpart.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, another US-designated terrorist organization, also praised the Houthis for their opposition to Israel.
“Yemen’s support for Palestine represents a model to be emulated. Yemenis have proven to the whole world that they are capable of creating miracles and changing the balance of power,” Qais al-Khazali told al-Masirah TV on Thursday. “What the Yemeni nation has obtained under the aegis of leader of the Ansarullah resistance movement Abdul-Malik al-Houthi is a great achievement, which every Arab and Muslim could be proud of.”
The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) released a report in July revealing how Iran has been “smuggling weapons and weapons components to the Houthis.”
The report noted that the Houthis used Iranian-supplied ballistic and cruise missiles to conduct over a hundred land attacks on Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and within Yemen, as well as dozens of attacks on merchant shipping.
Iran also backs Hamas, providing the Islamist terror group with weapons, funding, and training.
While the Houthis have increasingly targeted Israeli soil in recent months, they have primarily attacked ships in the Red Sea, a key trade route, having a major economic impact by disrupting global shipping and raising the cost of shipping and insurance. Shipping firms have been forced in many cases to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa to avoid passing near Yemen.
Beyond Israeli targets, the Houthis have threatened and in some cases actually attacked US and British ships, leading the two Western allies to launch retaliatory strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
The post Houthis Prepared for ‘Long War of Attrition’ With Israel, Says Terror Group’s ‘Defense Minister’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Singer Eden Golan to Perform at UN ‘October Rain’ Song About Hamas Attack Rejected by Eurovision
Eden Golan performing “Hurricane” for Israel at the second semi-final for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest at Malmo Arena on May 9, 2024. Photo: Corinne Cumming/EBU
Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, will perform her original song “October Rain” at the United Nations to mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel.
Golan will perform the track at a ceremony on Oct. 7 that will be hosted by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, according to ILTV News. Families of hostages currently being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are expected to attend the event along with Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and diplomats from other countries, the news outlet reported.
The lyrics of “October Rain” reference the Oct. 7 massacre, and in the chorus, Golan sings: “Dancing in the storm/We got nothing to hide/Take me home/And leave the world behind/And I promise you that never again/I’m still wet from this October rain.”
Golan had originally planned to perform “October Rain” at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, but the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, rejected the song, deeming it too political. Golan instead competed in the Eurovision with a reworded version of the song that was retitled “Hurricane.”
Golan finished in fifth place in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. She made it to the top five after being booed on stage by anti-Israel protesters, experiencing death threats, and having one of the competition’s jury members refuse to give her points because of his personal opposition to Israel. Golan later revealed that she was forced to wear a disguise outside her hotel during the song competition in Malmo, Sweden, because of the threats she faced by those who opposed Israel’s involvement in the contest.
Shortly after the conclusion of the competition, Golan performed “October Rain” at a rally in Tel Aviv in support of the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7.
The post Israeli Singer Eden Golan to Perform at UN ‘October Rain’ Song About Hamas Attack Rejected by Eurovision first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Trump Makes Pitch to Jewish Voters, Says Israel Will Be ‘Eradicated’ if Harris Wins Election
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, April 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump urged Jewish voters to support his campaign while speaking at the Israeli-American Council (IAC) summit in Washington, DC on Thursday.
Trump, who served as US president from 2017 to 2021, pitched himself as an ally of the Jewish people and the state of Israel. He also stated that if he loses the election, “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with the loss.”
The former president expressed confusion as to why he’s not polling at “100 percent” with Jewish voters, arguing that the Democratic Party has accelerated the surge of antisemitism across the United States. He claimed that Jews who support Democratic nominee Kamala Harris “should have their head examined.”
Trump also warned the audience that if he loses the election, “a lot of bad things will happen” to the Jewish American community and claimed that under a Kamala Harris administration, the state of Israel will be “eradicated.”
“Get smart. Here we have had the worst outbreak of antisemitism in many generations,” Trump said.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a report in April showing antisemitic incidents in the US rose 140 percent last year, reaching a record high. Most of the outrages occurred after Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, during the ensuing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
Reflecting on the Oct. 7 terror attacks, he called the slaughter of roughly 1,200 people and kidnapping of 251 hostages a “wake-up call for the entire world” and vowed that he would deport those sympathetic to terrorist groups.
“We will get them out of our country. I will ban refugee resettlement from terror infested areas like the Gaza Strip, and we will seal our border and bring back the travel ban,” Trump said. “Remember the famous travel ban?”
Trump also promised to secure the freedom of the remaining American hostages in Gaza if re-elected to the White House.
“We’re going to get them out; they’re going to come out,” he said. “We pray for you, and somehow it’s going to work out. We’re going to get it to work out.”
Trump also unloaded on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the highest-ranking Jewish official in the US Congress, as a “proud member of Hamas.” He accused Jewish Democrats of hating Israel and “their religion.”
Trump has repeatedly suggested during his rallies that Schumer has become “like a Palestinian.”
The Republican nominee also asserted that universities that do not protect Jewish students will face consequences from his administration. He vowed that universities “that do not end antisemitic propaganda” will have their accreditation revoked and federal funding slashed.
“We will not subsidize the creation of terrorist sympathizers,” Trump said.
Some US Jewish groups slammed Trump for his remarks, particularly saying Jews would be in part to blame if he were to lose in November.
“I appreciate that former President Trump called out antisemitism and recognized its historic surge. He’s right on that. But the effect is undermined by then employing numerous antisemitic tropes and anti-Jewish stereotypes — including rampant accusations of dual loyalty,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.
“Preemptively blaming American Jews for your potential election loss does zero to help American Jews,” Greenblatt continued. “It increases their sense of alienation in a moment of vulnerability when right-wing extremists and left-wing antizionists continually demonize and slander Jews.”
Trump has made numerous overtures to the Jewish community in recent months, attempting to win over a significant share of the traditionally-liberal voting bloc. He has delivered speeches at various events catered toward the Jewish community, including the Republican Jewish Coalition. The former president also co-hosted an event focusing on antisemitism at his Trump National Golf Club Bedminster alongside prominent Jewish donor Miriam Adelson.
The former president has touted his former administration’s support for Israel as a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign. During his single term in office, Trump recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria. He also moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as the Jewish state’s capital. The Trump administration also helped to broker the Abraham Accords, which normalized Israel’s relations with four Arab countries in 2020.
The post Trump Makes Pitch to Jewish Voters, Says Israel Will Be ‘Eradicated’ if Harris Wins Election first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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