an_old_friend wrote:
no homo's

by Rabbi Eliyahu Stern

Tisha b'Av (the 9th of the month of Av), the day Jews mourn the loss of
the Temple and their subsequent exile, is one of those holidays that
never made too much sense growing up. Let me explain by recounting a
story told to me by my teacher Rabbi David Hartman. Following the Six
Day War, Hartman, who was a rabbi in Montreal, was commemorating Tisha
b'Av with his congregation. He had just been in Israel celebrating
its glorious victory. As he looked out into his congregation he became
increasingly disturbed. Shaking his head and saying to himself, "What
are they mourning for? We have returned! We have returned to our
homeland." Hartman got up from his seat, walked over to the podium, and
asked for his congregation's attention. They were sitting on the floor
saying over lamentations, but they looked up from their prayer books
and gave their ears to their spiritual leader. Looking at them in shock
and disbelief Hartman exclaimed, "I want you all to know that the
Jewish people are singing and dancing in the streets of Jerusalem while
you are sitting here and crying." He then went back to his seat and the
bewildered congregation went back to mourning.

In recent years, Hartman's enthusiasm has become tempered by the
reality that we have not been fully redeemed and maybe we are still in
a state of mourning. The tumultuous events of the past few weeks in
Gaza and Lebanon remind us just how important that reality check is.
It's a shame, but this year we all have so much to be mourning about.