Tisha b’Av

Wednesday, July 26 at 7pm
CRC Sanctuary + Livestreamed

Tisha b’Av is the fast day that comes on the ninth day of the month of Av. We invite members who have lost someone close in the past year to come and light a candle and share a memory of their loved one. Our service will also include the chanting of the Book of Lamentations, as well as sharing the traditional meal that starts Tisha B’ Av, of hard-boiled eggs and water.

Traditionally, Tisha b’Av remembers the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, our metaphor for ultimate sadness and loss. At Passover when we conclude each year with “Next Year in Jerusalem,” it is with the hope that the Temple will be rebuilt, the exile will end and our lives will again be whole. Many liberal congregations ignore Tisha b’Av because, as liberal Jews, we do not base our faith on the rebuilding of the Temple and the return to Zion, nor can we relate to the hot dry cycle of the Land that occurs at this time of year. Practically and theologically, we have made a commitment to making our lives whole and healthy in communities and all over the globe as well as Israel. 

At CRC, we have reclaimed this holy day as an essential part of our holy day cycle. Just as we cannot accept the responsibilities of the freedom that Passover brings without first having the fun of Purim, so we cannot be ready for the hope and joy of a New Year without doing the work of ultimate mourning and letting go of the sadness of loss on the Ninth of Av. On Tisha b’Av we are asked to face our greatest fears and greatest sadness as a community, so that we may continue the work of our healing, and, each year, be ready at Rosh Hashanah to begin at a higher, less painful, more conscious place. 

This service will be inside CRC’s sanctuary and live streamed to Facebook and YouTube.