Michael Gottsegen has shared: Anshel Pfeffer / It is wrong to fast on Tisha B'Av - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Pfeffer seems to be correct in a literal sense in arguing that the restoration of Jewish sovereignty, on the one hand, and the decision in 1967 not to rebuild the Temple, on the other hand, makes it time to declare the fast of Tisha b' Av suspended. It seems to me that the only reason for continuing to treat the day as one of mourning is either as a day for recalling past tragedies and sufferings which historical restitution alone can never truly rectify, or because the restoration of Jewish sovereignty aside, we still hunger for a redemption (human, socio-political, ecological, spiritual) that is scarcely any closer despite this restoration. If the latter is our rationale for mourning and fasting then we should acknowledge that we yearn for a perfection that never existed before, not in Temple times, and never since. Moreover, we modern Jews should be explicit in affirming that we have no desire to restore the Temple or any aspect of Jewish life that existed in that era. Indeed, Pfeffer's main worry might be that the fast day is so wedded to the idealization of the Temple period that participating in the rites associated with the 9th of Av cannot but send the wrong message to political friends and opponents alike, a message we ought not send.
Anshel Pfeffer / It is wrong to fast on Tisha B'Av - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News Source: haaretz.com
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