On Tuesday of this week we observed the anniversary of the destruction of the Temples.
Why did Tish’a Be-’Av fall on a Tuesday this year?
The answer is that Tish’ah Be-’Av always falls on the same day of the week as seder night at the beginning of Passover.
How are those two observances connected?
One possible answer is that the Israelites went down to Egypt in the aftermath of Joseph’s having been sold into slavery. But that narrative of baseless hatred in the book of Genesis ends with the story of of redemption from Egypt and the giving of the Torah in the wilderness, where Israel was “as one person, with one heart” (Rashi on Ex. 19:2).
In the Jewish calendar, we are now approaching the 15th of Av, an occasion that emphasizes the very opposite of hatred — the value of love.
May we be able to overcome the many difficulties at present that cause divisions among camps within the Jewish people. May we merit the privilege of making strides toward the values of love and unity that Passover recalls and distance ourselves from the hatred that led to the great destruction.
