Tisha B'Av: "The Road of Return: Spiritual Exile and Teshuvah"
Monday, August 12, 2024 • 8 Av 5784
7:30 PM - 9:00 PMChapelTisha B'Av is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. We commemorate a variety of tragedies that happened to our people throughout our history and story. At the center is the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem, which sent us into more than 2,000 years of exile and diaspora, without the protection of a national authority. While this commemoration is a complex one on its own, the events of October 7 and the reality of an ongoing war make it particularly challenging this year.
Please join us for a night of reflection, prayer, and song as we connect with our past and present in this timeless gathering.
"Jerusalem isn't just the physical entity of a city. Jerusalem is a concept that evokes our spiritual aspiration for unity. In Tisha B'Av as we commemorate the destruction of the Earthly Jerusalem, we recognize the beginning of a spiritual exile. Through the text we connect with the tears of our ancestors, weeping by the waters of Babylon and yearning for the home that had been lost, but also, as the book of Lamentations expresses, crying for a broken relationship with God. With the foundation of the state of Israel, for many Jews Tisha B'Av lost its relevance. After all, we were back home. That's an undeniable truth, but even the most important miracle that happened to the Jewish People in the last 2,000 years can't prevent us from a spiritual exile.
Tisha B’Av marks our calendar as the day after which we undertake the process of return, Teshuvah, that we aspire to reach toward Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. In Tisha B'Av we try to recognize our exile, we try to understand how far we are from the places which we strive to be as individuals and as a society.
Today we cry. We cry because it's just what we need. Our tears help us to see more clearly. We read from the book of Lamentations." - Rabbi Nico
We draw strength as our sorrows are shared, and in community we seek solace and comfort as we pray, sing, and reflect together.
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