Tisha B’Av is the major day of communal mourning in the Jewish calendar, specifically focused on the destruction of the First (586 B.C.E.) and Second (70 C.E.) Temples in Jerusalem. This year, Tisha B’Av begins Saturday night, August 6.
Just as we are meant to increase our joy when the month of Adar begins, our Mishnah teaches that when the month of Av begins, we decrease in joy. The beginning of the month of Av brings with it certain traditional restrictions; the week in which Tisha B’Av falls brings even more. There are some who will not eat any meat within the first nine days of Av; some reserve that for only the week leading up to Tisha B’Av. Our ancient texts suggest that during this week, to mark its solemnity, we do not cut our hair or wash our clothes, and we certainly do not dress in our finest. Perhaps, in our modern world, we would offer other suggestions to decrease our joy over the course of these days.
Recently, however, a colleague shared a teaching that reimagines what might be asked of us in these days of Av. When the month of Av enters, teaches the Talmud, one should decrease in joy. Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira (1861-1937) wants us to read it differently. He teaches that, though the Talmud says to “decrease in joy,” it should be read, “decrease … in joy.” In other words, he teaches, though it is proper to mourn, even in that mourning we find space for joy, knowing that better times are ahead.
What joy are you holding on this Monday morning in Av?
—Rabbi Sari Laufer