Responsibility Amidst Chaos

This Monday marks Tisha B’av, a day in which Jews around the world commemorate historic Jewish catastrophes. Whether it be the destruction of the Temples, the countless exiles from Europe or the massacres of the Crusades, Tisha B’av is a day in which we grieve collectively alongside Jews throughout history.

This year, Tisha B’av is different, arriving only nine months after October 7th.This year, we are mourning not for historic events long passed but for contemporary tragedies that are still unfolding before our eyes. We are waiting for hostages to be freed from their captors. We are waiting for yet another attack from Iran or its proxies on the Lebanon border. On this Tisha B’av, we will not be combing through our past to identify our grief.

This year, our grief is fresh and new.

In his book, This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared, Rabbi Alan Lew explains that Tisha B’av is the beginning of the High Holy Day season.  He writes that “Tisha B’Av is the moment of turning” when we begin to assess our own responsibility amidst chaos. 

Rabbi Lew writes,

“When things go bad, there is an enormous temptation to blame it on externals, on the evil of others, or on an unlucky turn of events. Spiritually, however, we are called to resist this temptation, no matter how strong it may be and no matter how strongly rooted in fact or reason or history it may seem.”

In one sense, this idea feels repulsive – victim-blaming in its worst form. We are not at fault for the horrors of Jewish history and certainly not responsible in any way for October 7th.  But in another sense, recognizing our own capacity for change in the face of our grief is important. We are not powerless agents who are incapable of playing a role in the healing of our people or our world. We very much have a role in our ongoing narrative. Our tradition emphasizes an embrace of responsibility amidst chaos. 

As Jews who live in the reverberations of October 7th, this means supporting our Jewish communities, instilling Jewish pride in our children, and defending Israel and the Jewish people. Instead of simply allowing our grief and our sadness to paralyze us, let these emotions drive us to recognize our role to play in this very broken world.  

Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh B’Zeh – All of Israel is Responsible for One Another

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