Tisha B'Av

On this Ninth day of Av - known as Tisha B'Av - the saddest day of the Jewish Calendar - I wish my family, friends and the entire Klal Yisrael an easy and meaningful fast - and hope that this will be the last Tisha B'Av that we commemorate. Tisha B'Av commemorates the saddest events of Jewish History - when the Beit Hamikdash - the Holy Temple in Jerusalem - both in fact - were destroyed and the Jewish people forcibly thrown out of our land in exile. Check out the below websites for more info about this special day.

http://www.aish.com/h/9av/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tisha_B


Im Eshkachech Yerushalayim - Psalm 137 - If I Forget Thee Jerusalem

By the Rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.

There on the willows we hung our harps

For there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormenters demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion"
How can we sing the songs of Hashem while in a foreign land?


If I forget you, O' Jerusalem
may my right hand forget its skill

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

if I do not remember you,

if I do not consider Jerusalem above my highest joy.

These words were last sung by my little brother during my happiest moment - underneath the chuppah at my wedding just 8 months ago - it was sung to remind all that attended our wedding that even at the time when our hearts are bursting with happiness it is not complete without the Beit Hamikdash.

May we all know only happiness - L'Shanah Habaah B'Yerushalayim - Next Year in Jerusalem!