Tisha B'Av

Tomorrow night begins Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, a day of fasting and mourning for the loss of the Temple and other Jewish tragedies. My family does not observe this fast day, but last Summer in Kansas I had an opportunity to experience it for real.

And I loved it.

Call me crazy, but it's true.

On Tisha B'Av, Jews everywhere cease to eat or drink, wear leather shoes, bathe or anoint, study Torah, or have marital relations for 25 hours. It is customary to sit on a low stool or the floor until midday, and some even sleep on the floor. The scroll of Eicha (Lamentations) is read in synagogues, extra prayers are said, and the tallis and tefillin are not worn until afternoon prayers. (They are usually donned in the morning.)

What will I mourn this year?

I will mourn for the Temple; I will mourn for those who died at Masada; I will mourn for the victims of the Inquisition; I will mourn for the victims of the Holocaust.

And I will also mourn assimilation.

I will mourn for the Jewish children who receive no Jewish education.

I will mourn for those Jews who have never known the joys of Shabbat.

I will mourn for those Jews who do not support Israel.

Because truly, they are missing something.