Tag Archives: Tisha b’Av

(Rashi) Anti-theodicy (Tisha B’Av)

The through-line in Rashi’s commentary to Lamenations is that, yes, the people sin, but that God is responsible for the calamity, for what we today call anti-Semitism, for the human inclination to sin, for setting up a barrier between God … Continue reading

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What Was Was Was (Gal Cohen)

[Gal Cohen, What Was Was Was (2020)] The shredding of memory into strips seems apropos to both the current moment and to Tisha b’Av

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Tisha B’Av Lament (Reading Lamentations Rabbah)

No political hot take, Lamentations Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary to the biblical book, is an ambiguous lament. This is more true of the main body of the text as opposed to the by-and-large more “orthodox” proems, focused as these are upon … Continue reading

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“The Children Are Ready to Burn Down The Temple”

Hanging out at the Western Wall for Tisha B’Av I could not help feel that those out mourning the destruction of Bayit Rishon and Bayit Sheni (the First and Second Temples) are going to be the ones whose acts will … Continue reading

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