A note about saying the Kinot. There was a time before movies, before YouTube, before Drama as we know it, even. But there has always been poetry and song. Sometimes rejoicing, sometimes as a keening. It was how people expressed their emotions. We have lost this ability, as a whole. Try to get a bit of it back this Tisha B'Av (if Moshiach is not yet revealed) when you recite the Kinot (or hear them recited). Breathe deeply, use your imagination, try to really understand the history and the pathos of the day and all of the tragedies that fell between the 9th and 10th of Av... in too many generations. Above all... on Tisha B'Av itself, more important than fasting even (not to excuse avoiding the fast) is loving your People, all of them, as a whole and as individuals. Even annoying Uncle Joey Nickels. If you do you will naturally avoid the biggest mistake one could possibly make on Tisha B'Av... and again.... not about the issue of fasting! No... the worst possible sin you could do on Tisha B'Av is repeat the sin that made it into a day that lives in infamy. The sin of the Spies. To be afraid to live in Israel. To denigrate it... to say it's so hard to live there, to make a living.... like the old joke... "How does one attain a small fortune in Israel? Arrive with a large one."
What is Born on Tisha B’Av?
A Time of Reversal: From Mourning to Awakening
The three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av culminate in a fast, but not a fast of despair. It is a fast of teshuva, a time to awaken from numbness, to cry out, to remember. Through the recitation of Kinos, we connect to the historical pain of our people. These laments are not mere poetry - they are our memory, the bridge that binds our present reality to the truths of the past.
Before there were movies, there was poetry. Kinos are poetry - and we must let ourselves be moved by them.
What Is Memory?
Memory links us to the past. It allows us to feel what our ancestors lived through. It demands of us empathy, awareness, and action. On Tisha B’Av, we engage with memory not to wallow in sadness, but to stir the embers of responsibility.
Faith in the Future
"I believe completely in the coming of the Anointed One; and even though he may hesitate, with all that, I await his arrival every day." - The Twelfth Article of Faith (Rambam)
Our Sages tell us that Moshiach is born on Tisha B’Av. Whether literally or metaphorically, this is deeply symbolic. Unlike other religions, where salvation lies in the past, Judaism demands of us a future-facing faith. We are not clinging to a Messiah who has already come - we are waiting, working, yearning for one who is still to be revealed.
The Hesitation of Redemption
Why is he hesitating? What is the world not yet ready for?
“With all that…” we say - with all that injustice, all that complacency, all that spiritual laziness.
He hesitates because we do not truly want change. We tolerate corruption. We indulge greed. We numb ourselves with consumption. We hesitate too - to let go of ego, of comfort, of habit. Tisha B’Av is born from the desire to say: Enough.
Questions in Heaven
The Sages teach: “Did you anxiously await the redemption?” This is not a written exam in heaven. It's not a yes/no checkbox. It's a lived question. Did your life reflect longing? Did you make room for redemption in your actions?
Waiting for Moshiach isn’t passive. It’s not sitting by the mailbox - it’s chasing the mailman down on a motor scooter. Desire, in Judaism, means action.
Belief vs. Awareness
As a rabbi, I sometimes say: “I don’t care if you believe in G-d.” Because it’s not about belief - it’s about awareness. If G-d exists, He exists whether you believe or not. The question is: Are you aware of Him? Can you feel Him in your breath, in your pain, in your purpose?
The goal is not intellectual comprehension. You don’t need to "understand" the wind to feel it. The same is true for the Divine.
Exile of the Shechina
We say the Shechina is in exile. What does that mean?
G-d is everywhere, yes - but our awareness of G-d isn’t. The Temple was a place where the Presence was palpable. A nexus point for human consciousness. Its loss is not just architectural - it's existential.
Without it, we are like children who no longer know where to turn. Our Father is no longer "just a phone call away." We have forgotten the sound of His voice.
Where Is the Shechina Now?
The Sages teach: She went into exile with us. She dwells in the relationships between us now. In the love we offer freely. In the moments we act against the grain of ego and for the sake of another. Baseless hatred destroyed the Temple. Only unearned love can rebuild it.
What Is Edom, Really?
Edom is the force in us that wants to conquer. To consume. To be the center of the universe. Edom is the part of every human being that places self over soul, appetite over awe.
We’ve enshrined that part of ourselves in the god of Mass Media, in empire-thinking, in domination. Even religion is not immune - many faiths wish not to redeem the world but to control it.
The Beast Within
The exile of the Shechina means that the Divine is hard to find. In Her place, we see the beast: humanity untempered, savage, devouring the planet and one another. That is why we need Tisha B’Av.
So What Is Born on Tisha B’Av?
• When we hear of the Pogroms, what is born is a desire for Jewish Nationhood.
• When we hear of the Crusades, what is born is passion for our Beliefs.
• When we hear of the Ten Martyrs, what is born is a desire for Sage Leadership.
• When we hear of the Famine during the Siege, what is born is clarity that we must get along.
• When we hear of the destruction of the Temple, what is born is that we miss Our Father.
• When we look into the ashes of the Holocaust, what is born is the Will to say: Enough.
Judaism Is Not Christianity
I mean this respectfully: Christianity puts faith in one who has already come. Judaism says: It’s not done yet. We still have work to do.
My own early exposure to faith came through the Christian values of a childhood friend - values of honesty, decency, and kindness. But Judaism insists that Moshiach is not a person we follow but a reality we prepare for.
The Purpose of the Mikdash
The Temple was not merely a holy building - it was a place where we could feel the Divine. The First Mikdash was destroyed when individuals lost their connection to that Presence. The Second fell when the collective was poisoned by sinat chinam - baseless hatred.
If free love is loving someone for no reason, free hate is hating someone for no reason - for being different, for challenging our identity, for not affirming our "me-ness."
Conclusion: The Will to Say “Enough”
Tisha B’Av is not a day of despair. It is the seed of redemption. It is when we are finally honest enough to admit that things are broken - and to resolvåe not to live with that brokenness.
What is born on Tisha B’Av? The Will to Say: Enough.
Let that will lead us toward the rebuilding of something real, beginning with ourselves, with each other, and with the Shechina among us.
The three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av culminate in a fast, but not a fast of despair. It is a fast of teshuva, a time to awaken from numbness, to cry out, to remember. Through the recitation of Kinos, we connect to the historical pain of our people. These laments are not mere poetry - they are our memory, the bridge that binds our present reality to the truths of the past.
Before there were movies, there was poetry. Kinos are poetry - and we must let ourselves be moved by them.
What Is Memory?
Memory links us to the past. It allows us to feel what our ancestors lived through. It demands of us empathy, awareness, and action. On Tisha B’Av, we engage with memory not to wallow in sadness, but to stir the embers of responsibility.
Faith in the Future
"I believe completely in the coming of the Anointed One; and even though he may hesitate, with all that, I await his arrival every day." - The Twelfth Article of Faith (Rambam)
Our Sages tell us that Moshiach is born on Tisha B’Av. Whether literally or metaphorically, this is deeply symbolic. Unlike other religions, where salvation lies in the past, Judaism demands of us a future-facing faith. We are not clinging to a Messiah who has already come - we are waiting, working, yearning for one who is still to be revealed.
The Hesitation of Redemption
Why is he hesitating? What is the world not yet ready for?
“With all that…” we say - with all that injustice, all that complacency, all that spiritual laziness.
He hesitates because we do not truly want change. We tolerate corruption. We indulge greed. We numb ourselves with consumption. We hesitate too - to let go of ego, of comfort, of habit. Tisha B’Av is born from the desire to say: Enough.
Questions in Heaven
The Sages teach: “Did you anxiously await the redemption?” This is not a written exam in heaven. It's not a yes/no checkbox. It's a lived question. Did your life reflect longing? Did you make room for redemption in your actions?
Waiting for Moshiach isn’t passive. It’s not sitting by the mailbox - it’s chasing the mailman down on a motor scooter. Desire, in Judaism, means action.
Belief vs. Awareness
As a rabbi, I sometimes say: “I don’t care if you believe in G-d.” Because it’s not about belief - it’s about awareness. If G-d exists, He exists whether you believe or not. The question is: Are you aware of Him? Can you feel Him in your breath, in your pain, in your purpose?
The goal is not intellectual comprehension. You don’t need to "understand" the wind to feel it. The same is true for the Divine.
Exile of the Shechina
We say the Shechina is in exile. What does that mean?
G-d is everywhere, yes - but our awareness of G-d isn’t. The Temple was a place where the Presence was palpable. A nexus point for human consciousness. Its loss is not just architectural - it's existential.
Without it, we are like children who no longer know where to turn. Our Father is no longer "just a phone call away." We have forgotten the sound of His voice.
Where Is the Shechina Now?
The Sages teach: She went into exile with us. She dwells in the relationships between us now. In the love we offer freely. In the moments we act against the grain of ego and for the sake of another. Baseless hatred destroyed the Temple. Only unearned love can rebuild it.
What Is Edom, Really?
Edom is the force in us that wants to conquer. To consume. To be the center of the universe. Edom is the part of every human being that places self over soul, appetite over awe.
We’ve enshrined that part of ourselves in the god of Mass Media, in empire-thinking, in domination. Even religion is not immune - many faiths wish not to redeem the world but to control it.
The Beast Within
The exile of the Shechina means that the Divine is hard to find. In Her place, we see the beast: humanity untempered, savage, devouring the planet and one another. That is why we need Tisha B’Av.
So What Is Born on Tisha B’Av?
• When we hear of the Pogroms, what is born is a desire for Jewish Nationhood.
• When we hear of the Crusades, what is born is passion for our Beliefs.
• When we hear of the Ten Martyrs, what is born is a desire for Sage Leadership.
• When we hear of the Famine during the Siege, what is born is clarity that we must get along.
• When we hear of the destruction of the Temple, what is born is that we miss Our Father.
• When we look into the ashes of the Holocaust, what is born is the Will to say: Enough.
Judaism Is Not Christianity
I mean this respectfully: Christianity puts faith in one who has already come. Judaism says: It’s not done yet. We still have work to do.
My own early exposure to faith came through the Christian values of a childhood friend - values of honesty, decency, and kindness. But Judaism insists that Moshiach is not a person we follow but a reality we prepare for.
The Purpose of the Mikdash
The Temple was not merely a holy building - it was a place where we could feel the Divine. The First Mikdash was destroyed when individuals lost their connection to that Presence. The Second fell when the collective was poisoned by sinat chinam - baseless hatred.
If free love is loving someone for no reason, free hate is hating someone for no reason - for being different, for challenging our identity, for not affirming our "me-ness."
Conclusion: The Will to Say “Enough”
Tisha B’Av is not a day of despair. It is the seed of redemption. It is when we are finally honest enough to admit that things are broken - and to resolvåe not to live with that brokenness.
What is born on Tisha B’Av? The Will to Say: Enough.
Let that will lead us toward the rebuilding of something real, beginning with ourselves, with each other, and with the Shechina among us.