The period of national mourning
YOSSI ARON
WE are now in the midst of the period of national mourning generally known as the “Three Weeks”. Its traditional Hebrew name, however, is not “shalosh shavuot”, but “bein hamezarim” -— “between the straits” -— referring to events at either end of the period that press upon and oppress our nation.
Significantly, the Hebrew root of mezarim -— m’z’r -— is related to zar (narrowness) and zarah (trouble), as well as to Mitzrayim — Egypt. Egypt’s name, which served as a symbol of oppression for Israel, also essentially reflected the fact that as an inhabited civilisation, it too was basically the thin strip of the fertile Nile Valley pressed upon from two sides by the encroaching desert.
The word “three” does, however, appear in traditional texts in a related context, regarding special haftarot read during these weeks. Those haftarot are the shlosha depur’anuta -— three readings regarding punishment, which replace the type of haftarah that would ordinarily be expected (a chapter from the writings of the prophets relating to the theme of the parshah).
And as per the subject matter of those haftarot taken from the words of Jeremiah and Isaiah, these weeks too appear to be a time when the hand of pur’anut — punishing tragedy — repeatedly struck our nation. Indeed, this period encapsulates a litany of events spanning Jewish history from biblical times to the final messianic redemption.
The Mishna (Ta’anit 4:6) relates five events that took place on Tammuz 17 (the first day of the three weeks) and a further five on Av 9 (its climax and conclusion).
Occurring exactly 40 days after Shavuot, Tammuz 17 was the date that Moses descended from the mountain, witnessed the worship of the golden calf and smashed the tablets bearing the 10 Commandments. Thus right from when Israel became a nation, Tammuz 17 symbolised rebellion and its consequences -— a sin that has reverberated throughout the generations.
Just prior to the first (Babylonian) destruction, Tammuz 17 saw the Temple service cease, owing to the absence of sacrificial animals in the besieged city. This foreshadowed the radical change in focus of Jewish worship to the format accepted in the Diaspora.
At the time of the Roman siege, it was then that the city wall was breached, presaging the final three weeks of hand-to-hand fighting inside the city. Earlier, a Greek officer named Apostomus had carried out the ultimate insult to Jewry by publicly burning a Sefer Torah (thereby also presaging anti-Semitic excesses for subsequent generations), following which an idol was placed in the Temple.
Regarding Tisha b’Av, the five listed events span a similar period. Upon the return of the spies sent to Canaan by Moses, the people cried. A heavenly voice decreed: “On this night you wept not wishing to enter the land. There will come a time when you will weep over being forced to leave it.”
Both Temples were destroyed on this date. Following the Roman destruction, the Bar Kochba rebellion led to destruction of the fortress of Betar with unbelievable loss of life. Then came the total destruction of the remnant of Jerusalem. It was ploughed over; only the Wailing Wall remaining as a symbol of the greatness since destroyed.
Yet tragic events associated with Av 9 extend beyond the mishnaic list.
Tisha b’Av 1492 was the deadline for the final departure of Spanish Jews expelled from the country where they had experienced a golden era of independence. On Tisha b’Av 1914, World War I began. Ironically, the “war to end all wars” would not achieve that end. Instead, it set in motion the events leading to the rise of Hitler — and the advent of modern Jewry’s greatest tragedy.
But there is also another reason for mourning -— the fact that the end of the exile has not yet come. And therein lies a paradox encapsulating the secret of continued Jewish survival. For the sages reminded us that on the very day of the destruction, the Messiah is born.
In anticipation of imminent redemption, halachah even incorporated certain festive aspects into the Tisha b’Av liturgy; thus as on any festive occasion, tachanun (confession) is not recited. In the tradition of Rabbi Akiba — who laughed when he saw foxes entering the holy of holies, saying that if the promise of destruction was fulfilled how much more certain can we be of fulfilment of the promise of redemption —- we also hear on the very moment of Tisha b’Av that the end of days is at hand.
May we indeed soon see the days commemorating tragedy turned to days of rejoicing, bimhera beyamenu, speedily in our days.
Yossi Aron is The AJN‘s religious affairs editor.
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