Friday, August 08, 2008

Tisha B'Av and the Zionist Revolution


Great to see not all secular Jews in Israel are self-loathing assimilationists! Secular Jews For The Temple are true Jewish nationalists who believe we must take the Temple Mount from the arabs once and for all, knock down their abominations, and rebuild our Holy Temple where it belongs. On Tisha B'Av (begins Saturday night), they are calling for the Jews to come to the Temple Mount en masse to demonstrate to the arabs that it's the Jews who are really in control, not the moslems.

I am so, so proud of them, and reading this report convinces me even more that the true Zionist revolution is nearing, the self-loathing liberals' days in power are numbered, and the enemy arabs' days in the Holy Land are soon coming to an end.

(IsraelNN.com) The fast of Tisha B'Av, the "saddest" day in the Jewish calendar, begins on Saturday night as the Sabbath ends, and ends Sunday evening at sundown. Its name literally means "the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av," the date of some of the gravest tragedies to have befallen the Jewish People. Most notably, both Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed on Tisha B'Av, but the list of calamities includes also the following:

  • G-d decreed, following the Sin of the Spies as recounted in Numbers 13-14, that the Children of Israel would not be allowed to enter the Land of Israel until the entire generation had died out.

  • The fall of Beitar, the last fortress to hold out during the Bar Kochba revolt in the year 135 C.E., fell to the Romans, marking the last milestone in the beginning of our current Exile. A year later, the Temple area was plowed under.

  • The Jews of Spain were expelled by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492.

  • World War I erupted in 1914.

  • The Jews of Gush Katif spent their last legal day in their homes in 2005, and were expelled three days later.

"Secular Jews for the Temple"

The centerpiece of Tisha B'Av mourning is the destruction of the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash). Among the many groups that have sprouted over the past several years promoting awareness of the Beit HaMikdash is one named "Secular Jews for the Temple."

Ahuvyah Tabenkin of left-wing Kibbutz Ein Harod said, "It's true that we don't exactly represent a majority of secular Kibbutz members... but the pioneers have always been a minority: the Zionists were a minority among the Jews, those who came to the Land were a minority among the Zionists, those who worked the land were also a minority, and now we are a minority as well. But I hope that soon we will be the leaders."

Tabenkin has nationalist, political and historical reasons why the Temple and the Temple Mount are important. Asked if he has religious considerations as well, Tabenkin told Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane, "Well, the word 'religious' can be the subject of long discussions. Look, the Gerrer Rebbe once said, 'When the Haskalah [Enlightenment] came to the world, with science, physics, etc., we [the religious] left it for the secular Jews; when Zionism came to the world, we gave that too to the secular; and now we have also left the Repentance Movement for the secular.' Accordingly, it looks like we [the secular] will also have to build the Beit HaMikdash."

Asked whether he calls for the actual construction of the Temple, he said, "There are many religious authorities, including Maimonides, who say that the Temple must be rebuilt, and so I think it should be done... As a first step, we must show that we control the Temple Mount... I call upon all of Israel to come to the Mount on [Tisha B'Av] and show that it belongs to the Jewish nation."

Prominent rabbis permit the ascent to parts of the Temple Mount after certain Halakhic precautions have been taken.


Tisha B'Av Laws

The Sages enacted Yom Kippur-like restrictions on Tisha B'Av, including no eating, drinking, washing, or marital relations. Leather shoes are not worn, and even Torah study - a major source of Jewish joy - is restricted to topics connected with the Destruction of the Temples, Tisha B'Av, and the like.

Though the afternoon before Tisha B'Av is generally marked by mourning-like practices, this is not true this year, when the eve of Tisha B'av is on the Sabbath. The afternoon Third Meal is larger than usual, as it will be the last meal for over 24 hours, and the usual Sabbath songs are sung. However, one must not eat after sundown on Sabbath, even though the Sabbath has not yet ended.

When three stars have appeared, the "short Havdalah" is recited ["Blessed is He Who separates between Sabbath and weekdays"], and Tisha B'Av officially begins; leather shoes are removed and unlaundered weekday clothes are worn. The evening prayer service is followed by one of the Havdalah blessings, that of "light," and Eichah (Book of Lamentations) is read aloud.

The other Havdalah blessings are recited on Sunday evening before eating; the blessing on spices is not recited at all this week. Those who feel they must eat on Tisha B'Av for health reasons should consult an Orthodox rabbi.


Shabbat Shalom, and may you have an easy fast on Tisha B'av!


-MZ

8 comments:

  1. I am an American, living in Canada, and a Christian. I am 100% behind the rebuilding of the Temple. It's very important that it be rebuilt. We need to throw the Arabs out completely of the country, they are nothing but evil.
    I want all the people of Isreal to know you are not alone, many, many of us support you and won't let you down !
    Dan Calhoun

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  2. I am an American, living in Canada, and a Christian. I am 100% behind the rebuilding of the Temple. It's very important that it be rebuilt. We need to throw the Arabs completely out of the country, they are nothing but evil.
    I want all the people of Isreal to know you are not alone, many, many of us support you and won't let you down !
    Dan Calhoun

    ReplyDelete
  3. there is no such thing as an easy fast, madze. no thing.

    ifffffffff, one is doing it for all the right reasons - it should be difficult.

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  4. This is the first I've heard of this. I'll be watching and looking for other news, but I doubt the media here will carry it. It would be interesting to see the reaction on the Arab street, to say nothing of Ahmadinajahd. Of course it would have to be a pretty big event to get his attention.

    Of course, I think you know the biggest obstacle to your rebuilding the temple wouldn't be the Arabs, it would be the world community and its leaders, including but not limited to the US president.

    This movement could eventually become a really big deal.

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  5. Dan, glad to have your support.

    Nanc, what's the deal with you locking me out of your "private" blog? I demand entry!

    Pagan, the group is small, but it's an important step in the right direction.

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  6. MZ: nanc is right; we're not supposed to have an "easy" fast nor are we supposed to wish it upon others. It should be hard.

    The INN article negates some of the things you have been saying over the years. I remember when I was leaving Israel you said you were "saddened but not surprised." I assumed then as I do now that this was because I wasn't religious("wasn't" because once again I'm attempting to return to tshuva). Does this prove you wrong?

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  7. Eitan, wishing someone an easy fast is just an old tradition among Jews. We know it will be tough, so we just hope that we make it through without it being TOO tough.

    How you say the article negates what I've always said is beyond me. It's what I DREAM of!

    Being saddened but not surprised by your leaving Israel was far more complicated than tshuva. Plenty of Orthodox Jews are upchucked from the land, too. I am always deeply saddened when a Jew makes yuridah, but seeing how many problems you had, plus the fact that you were not a religious Zionist, made it less than surprising.

    I hope you eventually will make it back again, but for now I hope you stay in America and get your life put back together. The road is long, and your path back to the Land doesn't have to be a direct line starting today.

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