Thank you for this beautiful and important article. I hope those who are interested in what this holiday is about will also check out "9th of Av Fear and Hope" on Youtube - a great video!

And man was it tasty ..

That's even more sad. I don't wish to mourn two temples that were destroyed a gazilion years ago - I save my mourning for the dead - and nothing else.

I mourn for the fact that the State of Israel is being governed by the most corrupted politicians of the worst kind. I mourn that the illness of socialism has permeated the country and the minds of the people. If only the true nationalists would stand up and protect Israel, we would be in a better place. Lets make a difference for the better.

people died when the Temple fell, not just murder they were slaughtered, I am just wondering what do you do in Holocaust memorial day?

that reigned among ALL Jews in the Tempel.

reviewing the responses it seems that Yossi Sarid has once again made himself the laughingstock of the lot. Why would people look at this person for any form of intellectual guidance? what a ________

Interesting article. Yossi Sarid's comments were not as bad as I thought they'd be. It is clear that Tisha B'Av strikes a chord deep in the Jewish soul. Our sages teach that every generation that does not re-build the Bais HaMikdash is as if was destroyed in that very generation. This is true, but at the same time we must not forget the intense human suffering and loss of life that went along with the "hurbans". Hundreds of thousands were killed in each hurban, as well as unspeakable suffering as Yirmiya so poignantly describes in Eicha. But, in a larger sense, we must personalize the message of Tisha B'Av, and stop thinking of it as something that happened 1000s of years ago. The modern State of Israel faces its greatest perils since it came to be. Not only is it surrounded by a sea of enemies that want its destruction, not only is its long-time ally and friend, the USA turning on it; but its own leaders are demonstrating a suicidal blood-lust to brutalize their own people. If we are to weather the coming storm, we MUST pull together as a people. We must stop the divisiveness and baseless hatred that destroyed the 2nd Temple. If we do not, we are doomed to endure yet another destruction.