Transcript
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I want to talk to you just a little bit
about the book of lamentations, the book
of Aha. It was written by Jeremiah the
prophet who lived before, during, and
after the destruction of the temple. He
actually wrote the book Aha years before
the destruction of the temple. He wrote
it to rattle people and wake them up.
And now, everyone last night, everyone
this morning, that's the book that all
of Israel is plugging into on this day
of tishab. So imagine when it was
written, it was like going to the doctor
because you're not feeling great and
instead of hearing a diagnosis, the
doctor begins to read your eulogy. It's
like a what what's happening? And so
that's how echel was first written. And
the book starts with the words a which
are usually translated as alas.
But that's not really the right
translation. The word aa is the expanded
Hebrew word for a which means how. So
the right verse really reads, "How did
this happen, a lonely sits the city,
what was once full with people, how like
a widow is she who is great among the
nations." It's like a isn't just how,
but it's like how has this happened?
This didn't need to be the case. It's a
question really for us to reflect. What
did we do to bring this destruction? How
could we have stopped it? How can we
make it better now? And the first time
that word appears in the Torah, it takes
us all the way back to the Garden of
Eden. It says, "Then the Lord came to
Adam and said to him, where are you?"
Genesis 3:9.
Where are you isa? It's not said the
same way, but it's literally the same
exact written word. Where are you? The
same letters. In some ways, it's really
asking the same question. How did this
happen? Where are you? Where are you
this tishabove? Where are you in life?
When tragedy falls upon the people of
Israel, the response is always, how did
this happen? And where was I? And that's
really the entire purpose of this day,
the purpose of this fast, the reing of
keynote and lamentations, the purpose of
this gathering. It's ultimately to call
us to go inside, to reflect, to
soulsearch, to take responsibility
wherever we find ourselves.
[Music]
