Rabbi's Blog

On Tisha B'Av, we mourned the historical destruction of our Holy Temples and the devastation of Jerusalem. Jewish tradition guides us to mourn a host of other historical tragedies on Tisha B'Av as well. It serves as a container for our collective mourning.

Even though the Roman Empire destroyed our Temple, the rabbis blamed the destruction on the baseless hatred that developed from internal disagreement, misunderstanding, and heated debate leading up to the Roman siege. The tragedies were foisted upon us by our tormentors, but our Talmudic sages guide us to use this day to look inward.

This year, Tisha B'Av was particularly poignant in Israel because of the way the Judicial Reforms have created a rift of mistrust and a tear in the fabric of Israeli society.

Below you can find statements by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), together with The Rabbinical Assembly (RA).

We pray for compromise, understanding, and respectful debate.

AJC:
https://www.ajc.org/news/ajc-statement-on-israeli-reasonableness-standard-law?ms=WB_ACT_20230724_IsraelUpdateBreaking-07.24.2023&utm_campaign=Israel2023&utm_source=AJC.org&utm_medium=BreakingNews&utm_content=IsraelUpdateBreaking-07.24.2023

USCJ and the RA:
https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/story/conservative-movement-deplores-knessets-passage-bill-override-reasonableness-clause-law