Tisha B’Av was once a universally observed commemoration of disasters befalling the Jewish People. Nowadays, the fast is undertaken by perhaps 10% of the tribe. That in itself is reason to mourn.

Our Common Destiny, the new initiative to unify and strengthen the Jewish people through shared values, is launching the “Sort of Connected” (#DifferentButSame) social media campaign ahead of Tisha B’Av and Tu B’Av.

How can the saddest days of the year make someone happy?

Tisha B’Av can be a wake-up call, a gentle knock on our inner door. A chance to reframe our personal narratives and our communal stories.

As our traditional three weeks of mourning culminated with Tisha b'Av and its commemoration of destruction last Saturday night, our nation is still reeling from the horrors of yet more unbearable acts of gun violence, at least one motivated by racial hatred.

In the run-up to Tisha B'av, date of so many disasters in Jewish history, it behooves us to reflect on what the sages suggest may be the underlying spiritual roots.

Tisha b'Av, the 9th day of the month of Av, commemorates the destruction of of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and calamities throughout Jewish history.

At times of grief and mourning, it is appropriate that we experience the sorrow of our losses as a community. Find out where and when.

This Tisha b’Av morning, Bonai Shalom and Aish Kodesh are joining together to read, study and reflect in a somber yet meditative setting.

I was pondering maybe Tisha B'Av is a good time to advance a different way of thinking about the Shoah.

Tisha B'Av starts Monday night. Find out more here.

Tisha B'Av, the ninth of Av, recalls the destruction of the First & Second Temples, and the loss of Jewish independence in ancient Israel as well as numerous other tragic historic events.