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The expulsion of the Jews from Spain on July 31, 1492, occurred on the same day as the destruction of the first and second Jerusalem Temples.

On this holiday weekend, due to a confluence of special days — Independence Day, the 17th of Tammuz and Shabbat — American Jews will have the opportunity to both celebrate our religious freedom and retrace what we did when it was threatened.

William Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name?” The holiday of Tishah B’Av, which literally translates to the “Ninth of (the month of) Av” is so named to remember the destruction of the ancient temples in Jerusalem (in 586 BCE and 70 CE) said to have occurred on that day. 

What do we read when there are no good words? As I thought about the text to teach following the tragedy at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, my mind fixed on the nine murdered. Murdered in their church, a holy sanctuary of God.

Hineh mah tov umah na'im shevet achim gam yachad!
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

Let me start by being very clear: I don’t yearn for a return to sacrificial rites, holy priests, or incense-burning in the Temple. I don’t miss the Temple itself, nor is the Western Wall a particular source of inspiration or empowerment for me.

I had never even heard of Tishah B’Av until I was 12 years old and participating in the inaugural season of the Camp Institute for Living Judaism (later to renamed URJ Eisner Camp)

We celebrated the holiday of Tu BiShvat – the “Jewish Arbor Day” – way back in February, and we won’t celebrate it again until January. But no matter: I need to talk about the trees now.

This year at our Passover seder, I experienced something deeply powerful which I had not felt in the context of Passover before.