This Wednesday evening and Thursday, Jews throughout the world will observe Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, which the sages set aside as a day of mourning several calamities suffered by the Jews of antiquity, including the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem. This week’s daily kavanot will trace the history and observance of Tisha B’Av from its establishment to the present day. Join us to observe this solemn day on Wednesday, July 26 at 7:15 p.m. at Temple Valley Beth Shalom.

Although the sages artfully crafted Tisha B’Av as a meaningful day of grief, with enduring warnings against the pitfalls of sinat chinam—senseless hatred—Jewish history repeatedly challenged Tisha B’Av’s existence as a day of national mourning.One of the first serious challenges to the validity of Tisha B’Av arrived with the Enlightenment. When Jews began to affiliate as full citizens in Western Europe and America, embracing the national identities of their host countries, many no longer saw a need for mourning Jerusalem’s destruction. Reform Judaism, in particular, viewed the lament for Jerusalem somewhat disdainfully, as illustrated by Rabbi David Einhorn’s sermon arguing for a new interpretation for the Ninth of Av:

Reform recognizes the decline of the sacrificial cult, of the priesthood, and of the state of Israel, a wise divine revelation to all of Israel, which, though seemingly appearing in conflict with the first one on Mount Horeb, actually is in close harmony with it. Reform recognizes in the flaming Temple mount not a curtailment but rather a continuation of the Divine work of salvation, which had begun on flaming Mount Sinai, marking the real beginning of the priestly mission, the conveyance of the divinity to all the children of this earth, for which Israel had been ordained at the Sinaitic choice.

Jerusalem’s destruction, according to Einhorn, represents not a tragedy, but an essential act of revelation that leads directly to an evolved Jewish tradition that can share its texts and values with the world at large.The next serious challenges posed to Tisha B’Av occurred with the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948, and with the capture of Jerusalem—including the Temple Mount—in 1967. Critics questioned why, with Jerusalem once again a thriving, Jewish city, Jews needed to observe a day of mourning for the city’s destruction. The sages even give credence to the idea of abolishing the day, with midrashic writings suggesting that the fast day would no longer be observed in the messianic era.These recurring challenges to Tisha B’Av ask us to consider not just the day’s potential significance, but also the source of our discomfort with communal, historical mourning. Is it time, as Einhorn suggests, to change mourning into celebration? Is it time, as some Zionists suggest, to abandon grief entirely? Or is it time to reinvigorate our connection with this solemn day and the lessons it carries?—Rabbi Josh Knobel