Why I Like Tisha B’av

I admit that Tisha b’Av is not everyone’s favorite holiday. Not even mine. Still, there is something about the ninth day of Av that I am grateful for; not because it is enjoyable, but because of what it says about the Jewish people. Tisha b’Av warns me that I must remember. And a nation which remembers and knows its past will not forget to hope for its future.
No one weeps for Rome. There are many more Italians in the world than there are Jews. Do they gather by the tens of thousands at the Roman Forum to lament and pray? There are many more Greeks than Jews. The Acropolis is a tourist attraction - but does anyone mourn its destruction? Babylonia, Persia and ancient Assyria - who remembers, who sheds a tear, who cares? I like Tisha b’Av because only a people who knows how to cry will someday learn how to laugh. And I like Tisha b’Av because I need it.
In the midst of all the plenty, affluence and creature comforts, I need to remove my leather shoes and have the lights dimmed. I need to fast and not indulge myself. I need to read Lamentations for my ancient Temple and weep for my people. I need to focus on my ancestors’ martyrdom and on my blood soaked history, which in this country I tend to forget because G-d has, for the most part, blessedly spared us the wrath of our enemies.
I need Tisha b’Av because it reminds me of what it is to be a Jew. That Esau hates Jacob; that Pharaoh oppresses Israel; that Haman wishes to destroy us, and that the empires of the world abhor the Jew because he is a, “Nation that dwells alone.”
I like Tisha b’Av because it teaches us something profound: That for Judaism, historical events are not merely historical and not merely events. For others, history and events may take place at some point in time. But in Judaism, once an event occurs, it does not cease. It becomes a constant part of us, because they are not simply events: they create an awareness and a new consciousness we did not have prior. One that is continuous, ongoing, and eternal.
During this present exile I need Tisha b’Av because it reminds me that occasionally it is good to bemoan, to bewail, and to remember. And finally, I like Tisha b’Av because it contains the seed of hope. On this very day, our Sages tell us, the Messiah is born: How suggestive, how ironic, and how just. As King David assures us, “G-d will give us joy in accordance with the days of our suffering.” Thus it is a day that not only looks to the past, but also to the future.
Is it any wonder why I like Tisha b’Av? Is it any wonder that we all need Tisha b’Av?