Shavua Tov
This coming Wednesday evening and Thursday, the Jewish people will observe Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning that commemorates the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. It is one of the most solemn days on the Jewish calendar, inviting us not only to remember our past, but to reflect honestly on the kind of people and community we aspire to become.
The Talmud offers a profound and challenging teaching. In Yoma 9b, our sages ask why the Second Temple was destroyed. Their answer is both timeless and deeply relevant: sinat chinam, baseless hatred. They teach that it was not simply external enemies that led to destruction, but internal division, factionalism, and the inability to recognize the dignity and humanity of one another. It is a sobering reminder that communities are often weakened not only by the challenges they face from outside, but by the fractures that emerge within.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook offered the antidote. If the Temple was destroyed through sinat chinam, then it will ultimately be rebuilt through ahavat chinam, baseless love. Love that is offered freely. Respect that is extended even in disagreement. Compassion that is rooted in the understanding that every person is created b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God.
This idea speaks directly to one of the defining principles of Jewish Peoplehood. We are one people, bound together across continents, denominations, generations, and perspectives. Our strength has never come from thinking alike. Rather, it comes from recognizing that we belong to one another. As our tradition teaches, “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh” All Israel is responsible for one another (Shevuot 39a).
How blessed we are to experience that reality here in Tucson.
Our Jewish community is enriched by remarkable synagogues, agencies, schools, organizations, and countless homes where Jewish life is nurtured each day. We share a deep connection with our brothers and sisters in Israel, throughout North America, and across the Jewish world. Each institution, congregation, and family contributes something unique to the extraordinary tapestry of Jewish life we are privileged to call our own.
At the Tucson J, we are honored to help strengthen those bonds every day. Our mission is to help create greater Jewish community and more vibrant Jewish life by bringing people together across differences, fostering relationships, and creating spaces where everyone belongs. We often speak of the idea that we can be unified without being uniform. Tisha B’Av reminds us why that aspiration is so essential. Unity does not require unanimity. It requires humility, empathy, curiosity, and an abiding commitment to one another.
The enduring Israeli song Shir LaShalom reminds us that peace is not something we simply wait for it is something we choose to build through our words, our actions, and our willingness to see one another as partners in a shared future. That message resonates deeply with the call of Tisha B’Av. Likewise, Pete Seeger’s beloved American folk song Turn, Turn, Turn, drawing its words from the Book of Kohelet, reminds us that every season has its purpose “a time to weep, and a time to laugh… a time to break down, and a time to build up.” Tisha B’Av invites us into a season of remembrance, not so that we remain in mourning, but so that we recommit ourselves to rebuilding our communities with compassion, understanding, and ahavat chinam love freely given.
As we prepare to observe Tisha B’Av, may we honor the lessons of our past by choosing a different path for our future. May we reject the dangers of sinat chinam and embrace the promise of ahavat chinam. May we continue to strengthen the bonds of Jewish Peoplehood, deepen our commitment to one another, and work together to build communities worthy of the dreams of those who came before us.
May this Tisha B’Av inspire us to rebuild not only walls of stone, but bridges of understanding, compassion, and love.
Cochenu b’Achduteynu | כחינו באחדותינו | Our strength is in our unity.
Am Yisrael Chai | עם ישראל חי
Todd Rockoff
President + CEO, Tucson J
