Tisha b'Av

So I was going to write a somewhat rambling blog post about how I'm not sure about mourning the destruction of the Temple when its rebuilding, even assuming the myriad difficulties involved in that were resolved amicably and to everyone's satisfaction, wouldn't impact my life in any way, not to mention the destruction going on now in Gaza makes it kind of hollow...

...but then I found this post that says pretty much what I was going to say already anyway, so I'll leave that link there and quote part of it:

During the Nine Days preceding Tisha B’Av, the 25-hour fast commemorating the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem, we reflect on baseless hatred (sinat chinam). The Talmud teaches us that it was the baseless hatred among the people Israel that partially brought about the destruction of the Second Temple. (Along with, you know, high-level political drama with Rome.) We learn in Tractate Yoma:

“But why was the second Sanctuary destroyed, seeing that in its time they were occupying themselves with Torah, [observance of] precepts, and the practice of charity? Because therein prevailed hatred without cause.”

...and so it is incumbent upon us to reflect on the baseless hatred in our own lives – and in the world today – as we fast to commemorate its manifold victims.

If you ask me, we in the Jewish community have a lot of reflecting to do: baseless hatred is eating our community alive as the war in Gaza continues.

There's quite a bit more there, and I think it's worth reading.