Tisha B’Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, begins tonight. The Mishna says that five disasters occurred on this date, including the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
The Rabbis who lived during the time of the destruction of the Second Temple were, understandably, preoccupied with the causes of these calamities. In one well-known source they tell us that the First Temple fell, in 586 BCE at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, because of the high rate of idolatry, sexual immorality and bloodshed. The Jews of the Second Temple time behaved much better, they say, but nonetheless the Romans were still able to capture Jerusalem and destroy the Temple, in 70 CE, because of the people’s causeless hatred.
While the reasons for the destruction of the temples, and for the other calamities that occurred on this day, have been hotly debated by rabbis and scholars for many years, it’s worth looking at the fact that these highly-respected people felt that disaster came upon the people due to the people themselves. They brought it upon themselves based upon their inner and outer way of being.
The age in which we now live seems filled with similar “sins.” We are told that we live in a time on the edge of major transformation. We see Earth changes, war, terrorism, and immoral behavior all around us.
Maybe on this day, Jew and non-Jew alike should stop and look within. We should ask ourselves how we can behave more in a more moral manner. We should find ways in which to treat each other with more love, compassion and understanding. We should work on developing a consciousness that wants to create change – positive change – in this world. We should become change agents.
In this way, maybe we can avert additional calamities and disasters on this day or on any other and bring about the kind of changes we desire: peace, prosperity, abundance, and love for all mankind.
