We will not retreat from the trenches of our lives

A Special Reflection for Tisha B'Av - Why We Fast?

by Dr. Dror Eydar, former Ambassador of Israel to Italy.

Photo Josef Lapko

Tisha B'Av is not just a religious fast day; it is a national day of remembrance where we mourn the loss of our independence and sovereignty. This day serves as a reminder of where we were exiled from and where we wish to return, as well as the price we are willing to pay for our freedom.

Every year on this day, we bundle our national tragedies into one large sack of tears, sit on the ground in darkness, and read the book of Lamentations:

"How lonely sits the city that was full of people!

How like a widow is she, who was great among the nations!

The princess among the provinces has become a slave."

Throughout history, our enemies and persecutors have often chosen this day to add new wounds to the old ones.

Tisha B'Av is not merely a "religious" fast but a national day of mourning where we grieve for the loss of our independence and sovereignty.

The Temple was the crown jewel of the Jewish people. Contrary to Flavius Josephus's attempt to exonerate Titus, it was clear to the Roman army that the rebellion would not cease as long as the Temple stood.

The burning of the Temple was a clear Roman interest and was undoubtedly not a religious matter, but a national symbol.

Indeed, Josephus recounts that the spirit of the Jews was broken with the burning of the Temple: "The cries of the people on the hill (the Temple Mount) were joined by the masses in the city. Many who were dying of hunger, too weak to cry out, found renewed strength to mourn and wail as they saw the flames engulfing the Temple..."

The Temple vessels brought to Rome symbolized our lost independence, and the victory parade through the streets of Rome was meant to be the national funeral of the Jewish people. The figures engraved on the Arch of Titus face westward towards the center of imperial power, while their backs turn eastward, for at that time, the future seemed to lie with Rome, while Jerusalem and Judea lay in ruins.

Last Shabbat, we read in Moses' recollections how, just before entering the land, the Israelites succumbed to their fears and listened to the spies' slanderous report, causing them to wander in the desert for nearly forty years. Our sages established Tisha B'Av as the night of the great weeping of the people upon hearing the incitement of the spies. By doing so, they pointed to the sin of "despising the desirable land" as the root of our national troubles (in contrast to the sin of the Golden Calf, which was more religious in nature).

The generation of the Exodus, the freed slaves, passed away during the wanderings, and in their place, a new generation born in the desert emerged, the conquerors of Canaan in the end. Now, just before Moses bids them farewell and Joshua leads them to conquer the promised land, there is again the possibility that the people will get "cold feet" and be unwilling to pay the price of conquering the land. Therefore, Moses strengthens and encourages them not to repeat the fatal mistake. This is the first issue he mentions in his farewell speech. He knew why.

Tisha B'Av, during the long night of our exile, reminded us where we were exiled from and where we want to return. Those who fasted and read the book of Lamentations understood that wherever we are, it is not our home. At the end of the journey, we will return home to Zion and Jerusalem.

Now that we have returned and established an independent state, we are called upon in these very days to pay the price of our freedom.

Our enemies may think that terror and war threats will make us surrender, perhaps even leave. The current generation of fighters proves that the spirit of the conquerors of Canaan in the end is alive and well.

This year, we will mark this historic day in Gaza, in the north, on the hills of Samaria, and the mountains of Judea, for a nation that remembers its life's milestones will never retreat from the trenches of its life.

This is the deep rectification of Tisha B'Av. With our own hands, we are writing the new history.

Am Yisrael Chai!