Tisha b'Av: A Call to our Conscience

For the first time at Tisha b'Av, we will also be holding a service the following morning, Sunday, July 22 at 11:00 am. Our observance will take place outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office at 2nd and Chestnut in Center City and will link the Jewish people's experience of displacement and despair that we mark on Tisha b'Av with the experiences of those who face detention and deportation and even the tearing apart of families. "We will chant from Lamentations, we will pray, we will sing, and we will demonstrate, as a synagogue and as a community, that we will not stand by in silence as our government perpetrates these actions in our name." Please click on the attachment below for the event flier.

From Rabbi Josh:

Tisha b'Av as a call to our conscience

I have said over the past weeks that Americans - and the Jewish community in particular - cannot remain silent about the tragic situation that is taking place on our borders, where those seeking asylum or just freedom and opportunity are demonized, criminalized and, in many cases, are still separated from their children.  These are not the values this country was founded on and they are certainly not the values of the Jewish people - either from our core ethical teachings or our historical experience.

Part of that experience includes Tisha b'Av, the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the Exile of the Jewish people.  As we do every year, we will be holding a solemn and moving commemoration at the synagogue which includes a reflective service and chanting the Book of Lamentations.  But in addition, for the first time, we will also be holding a service the following morning, and it is something very different than anything we have done before. 

I say "as a synagogue and a community" because I am already hearing interest from other synagogues and organizations that wish to join our effort, including HIAS and Reconstructing Judaism. We will be inviting any like-minded people - Jews and non-Jews - to join us in our effort and in sending a message.   Please click here to read the Op Ed I wrote that will appear on the Jewish Exponent's website Friday (7/13) and in their print edition next week that lays out some of the same thoughts I've shared with you in recent weeks and announces our initiative.

I hope many of you - including those of you who have not observed Tisha b'Av with the community in the past - will join us down in Center City for this important opportunity to stand up for our values.  I will be updating you in the future as more organizations join on, but I want to make sure we have a vital core of Or Hadash members in attendance.  And if you can't attend in person, you can still support the effort by sending a donation to my discretionary fund at the synagogue that I will use to fund efforts in support of immigrants' rights.  Tisha b'Av is a fast day, so I would encourage everyone to send whatever amount you would normally spend on food in a day to the discretionary fund, or else to an immigrants' rights organization of your choice.

I said we couldn't be silent - and now is our opportunity to speak out, remembering our people's experience of tragedy and acting on behalf of those who seek refuge and safety.