Tisha B’Av

Tisha B’Av, the ninth day in the month of Av, is a day of fasting in Jewish tradition, regarded as a day of deep mourning and introspection. It is the historical day when our people experienced the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the Second Temple several hundred years later by the Roman Empire. The nine days preceding Tisha B’Av provide an opportunity for reflection on our collective destiny and ways to come together.

We choose to observe this period with three key tenets in mind: Unity, Resilience and Redemption. We are told that baseless hatred among our people led to the destruction our people experienced and the exile that followed. Our greatest weakness has been our own division. The converse, of course, can be our greatest strength, if only we reach out and grasp it. In this spirit, we asked several of our community leaders to share some of their reflections on these themes with us in the form of short videos.