The ‘Three weeks’ – how do we make sense of it? This was the question posed by guest speaker, Educator Shira Jackson to an audience of Pinner ladies.
The lead-up to many catastrophic events in Jewish history were, she explained, all connected by one date – Tisha B’Av (9th Av). Whether it was the destruction on or around this date of both the Temples, the devastation to medieval European Jewish communities during the Crusades, the expulsion of Jews from Spain and other countries, and the escalation of the horrors in both World Wars, particularly the implementation of the ‘Final Solution’, this period over the centuries stands alone.
Using source material from the Book of Kings, Shira explained the significance of the four main Fast days that we observe, commemorating tragic events such as the breaching of the First and Second Temple walls by the Babylonians and then the Romans. Each one triggered more horrific tragedies for the Jewish people: “Thus Judah was exiled from its Land”.
The Jewish community at that time, being as cohesive as it was, kept tightly together. There was at that time no real concept of a ‘Diaspora’ which subsequently evolved over the ages, as the Jewish people spread out over the globe and were the victims of more tragic events, many of them geopolitical, on or around 9th Av. In Temple times however, she added, no matter how large the communal gathering, there would always have been enough chicken soup to go round!
Shira emphasised that the Three Weeks and the Nine Days leading up to TishaB’Av comprise such a significant continuum, that our past history in fact mirrors what is happening to the Jewish people at the present moment. Using quotations from the book of Eichah (Lamentations), she demonstrated for example that the words, “My maidens and my youths have gone into captivity!” describes the horrors and the aftermath of 7th October.
The evening ended on a positive note, with everyone singing ‘Acheinu’ together, and a general feeling of ‘achdut’ or unity.
Pinner Synagogue Rebbetzen Elise Kleiman said that Shira “delivered her talk in a very caring and emotional way,” and Synagogue member Tina Benjamin agreed, adding that the whole message “was at a level that the whole group understood.”
Pinner Synagogue Women’s Officer, one of the organisers of the event, summed it up: “It really was a very thought-provoking evening.”
