Letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green) Jerusalem
Thursday, July 26, 2007
I have received a number of e-mails recently, begging me not to be such a “Cassandra”.
Who was this “Cassandra”? I remembered vaguely that she was famous in Greek poetry, but I didn’t remember what she was famous for and therefore consulted my encyclopedia.
Cassandra apparently was able to foretell the future. According to Greek Legend she warned the Trojans in vain not to take the Wooden Horse inside the walls of Troy, which, of course, resulted in the destruction of Troy.
Certainly we Jews need a few Cassandras to continually warn Israel not to let the Wooden Horse (the Arab enemy) take over our G-d-given Biblical Land of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem!
Tisha B’Av, the ninth of the month of Av, is the traditional day of mourning and fasting in the Jewish calendar. On that day, Jews around the world remember the tragedies which occurred on Tisha B’Av.
TISHA B’AV IN HISTORY
Antiquity
On Tisha b’Av, five things occurred: 1- It was decreed upon Israel in the desert that they would not enter the Land; 2-3 – Both the First and Second Holy Temples were destroyed; 4- A great city named Betar was conquered…It [Betar] fell into the hands of the Romans and they were all killed, and it was as great a tragedy as the Destruction of the Temple; 5- The wicked Turnus-Rufus plowed up the area of the Temple and its surroundings to fulfill what was said by the prophet, (Jeremiah 26:18) ‘Zion will be plowed like a field’. (Rambam, Hilchos Ta’anis 5:3).
Spain
Nor was that the end. On Tisha b’Av, 1492, one of history’s most infamous deadlines arrived. It was on that day that the Jews of Spain had to convert or leave the country- or face torture and the auto-dafe. One Jew was spared from the decree- Don Yitzchok Abarbanel, the famous Torah commentator and statesman who, as finance minister of Spain, had saved profligate Ferdinand and Isabella from bankruptcy. He was too valuable to be confronted with a choice that would have forced him to leave the country. But Abarbanel spurned the ‘generosity’ of his monarchs. He tried to induce them to withdraw the decree. Failing, he led as many as 75,000 of his fellow Jews in a march that reached the Spanish border and crossed it on Tisha b’Av.
Europe
World War I began on Tisha b’Av. To contemporary people, the tragedy of our century is the Holocaust of World War II- and, indeed, the words have still not been invented to describe the extent of its loss and suffering.
It is impossible to minimize the events of World War II, but, viewing this tortured century in its historic sweep, we must conclude that the fires began to rage during World War I and that it was a pivotal event in shaping the trends of Jewish experience that are still unfolding.
The German sweep into Eastern Europe beginning in 1914, uprooted Jewish communities and demolished a laboriously built tradition that took centuries to shape. Enlightenment, Bolshevism, Socialism, Nationalism, and all the other movements that characterized rebellion against Torah demands and authority, surged through the breach in the wall of tradition. Virtually all of the major rabbis in the wide swath cut by the Germans were exiled for several years. Rabbi Chaim Soloveichik, the Chofetz Chaim, and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzenski were only a few of the many who were forced to leave their flocks leaderless for years at a time. Cities were devastated and tens if thousands of Jews became homeless refugees.
Small wonder that the devastation of the war was no less spiritual than material. The diminished stature of the Rabbinate, the extreme poverty afflicting communities and yeshivos, the Bolshevik Revolution and the clamping of an Iron Curtain around the three million Jews of Russia, the decay of German political and economic life and the emergence of an evil genius named Hitler- all these and more were legacies of World War I.
In a deeper sense, just as World War II was a legacy of World War I, World War I was a legacy of earlier times- because World War I broke out on Tisha b’Av, the day that was designated for punishment. The heartbreak and tribulation of this century, too, are manifestations of the historic Tisha b’Av.
Israel
The expulsion of 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gush Katif by the Sharon-Olmert governments occurred the day after Tisha B’Av, in 2005.
On the eve of Tisha B’Av, Jews read from Megillas Eichah, the Book of Lamentations. This book of mourning is ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah:
“Alas- she sits in solitude! The city that was great with people has become like a widow. The greatest among nations, the princess among provinces, has become a tributary.
“She weeps bitterly in the night and her tear is on her cheek. She has no comforter from all her lovers; all her friends have betrayed her, they have become her enemies.”
“Slaves ruled us; there is no rescue from their hands.”
“There was none to rescue us from them, because they could not free us except with the consent of their own masters.”
(This explanation made me think of the present time. Ehud Olmert cannot do anything without the consent of President Bush!)
Does Jeremiah’s lament have any meaning to Jews today? Is the Ninth of Av relevant in a world where Jews are sovereign in the Land of Israel, Jerusalem teems with people and is far from solitary, and Jews are able to pray in the Old City of Jerusalem at the Western Wall? Why is there a need to mourn when, in fact, Jews today should be celebrating the fact that after 2,000 years a Jewish state has again arisen in the Jewish home-land?
Do we really need to fast for our sins and the resulting loss of sovereignty- when, today, there is a Jewish state and a Jewish army and a Jewish parliament in the Land of Israel?
The Jews may have Sovereignty over the Land of Israel, but we have not yet rebuilt the Temple. Only in an ideal age will a messiah from the line of King David lead the effort to reestablish the Temple and bring recognition of G-d as One to the world.
Also, we have not yet reached the ultimate messianic goal of a world of peace and brotherhood!
Headline in Wednesday’s Jerusalem Post:
“Europe gets more ‘awkward’ on Israel”. In Plain English this means: Ministers from ten Mediterranean countries are taking a more assertively pro-Arab line!
Our greatest painful disappointment is the United States and its President George W. Bush. President Bush is the first American President who wants to create another Arab state- carved out of the Land which the
G-d of Israel gave to the Jewish People as “an everlasting inheritance”. This, of course, includes all of Judea and Samaria, the ancient Jewish Biblical heartland!
Bush made clear in a recent speech that the Arabs must be rewarded with money, American legitimacy and above all, Israeli lands. However, I find that President Bush’s most disappointing and unforgivable sentence in his speech is the following:
“THE ISRAELIS SHOULD FIND PRACTICAL WAYS TO REDUCE THEIR FOOTPRINTS IN JUDEA AND SAMARIA”
Whose footprints exactly is President Bush talking about? Those of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Of King David and King Solomon? Of Sarah, Rivka and Leah? Of Mother Rachel? Of The Prophets? Of the Christian Messiah?
Dear President Bush,
On the eve of Tisha B’Av, more than ten thousand people took part in the revival of the tradition of walking around the walls of the Old City, to show their great love and allegiance to Jerusalem.
Consider all those footprints! Small ones of toddlers! Bigger ones of children and teenagers! Real big ones of soldiers, parents and grandparents!
With all your power you will not be able to find “practical ways to reduce their footprints”!
Do not place your trust in Abbas- the man who has pocketed billions of dollars in assistance from the US, the EU and Israel, but has never lifted a finger against terrorists or done anything to end the corruption endemic in his government!
Dear President: I am a simple elderly American Jewish lady, fortunate to be able to live in the eternal Jewish Capital of Jerusalem. You are one of the most powerful men in the world! But surely we both believe in the motto of our American currency:
“In G-d We Trust”!
With Blessings and Love for Israel,
Ruth Matar
The Jewish Cassandra
P.S. I am including a moving letter from Judy Lash Balint, the author of “Jerusalem Diaries: In Tense Times”. This book is available for purchase from www.israelbooks.com.
From: Judy Lash Balint, Jerusalem:
A brisk breeze blows through the concrete canyon created by the
buildings that make up Jerusalem’s municipal complex, Safra Square.
The wind ruffles the sackcloth mourning garment worn by a youngish
woman sitting alone on the hard ground in the middle of the square as
Tisha B’Av descends on Jerusalem.
Along with hundreds of others, she’s there to mourn the long litany of
national tragedies that has befallen the Jewish people around this
date all through Jewish history. While Yom Kippur is the day for
personal reckoning, Tisha B’Av is the occasion for some national
soul-searching over what led to our various ancient and recent disasters.
As we sit waiting for the start of the recitation of Eichah, the
mournful lament for his people penned by the prophet Jeremiah, a
friend reminds me that we spent last Tisha B’Av together at Mt. Herzl
attending the heartrending funeral of IDF soldier Michael Levin z”tl,
a young American immigrant killed in the Hizbollah war.
There were civilian casualties too last Tisha B’Av. Five people were
killed by rockets fired into Israeli towns that day. Shimon Zribi, his
15-year-old daughter Mazal, Albert Ben-Abu, and Aryeh and Tiran Tamam
all perished in Akko last Tisha B’av.
At this year’s march around the Old City walls, Knesset member Aryeh
Eldad and Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich, the former Soviet Prisoner of Zion,
both drive home the message that last year’s war as well as the
previous summer’s tragic expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif, both
resulted from weakness. MK Eldad told marchers that the people are
stronger than the leaders and expressed confidence that we could “turn
the wheel back.”
Mendelevich, one of Israel’s most unsung heroes, explained that he
felt compelled to say Kaddish at this spot just outside the Temple
Mount “for the heroes who fell here.” He turned to face the site of
the Temple and the thousands of marchers who had listened quietly to
his stirring talk rose behind him to gaze up at Lions Gate and join in
the response to his passionate rendition of the ancient words of
praise and hope.
Last night, more than ten thousand took part in the revival of the
tradition of walking around the walls of the Old City on Tisha B’Av
that has captured the attention of growing numbers of Jerusalemites in
recent years. It’s difficult to estimate the crowds, but it took the
better part of half an hour for the masses to move out of Safra Square
at the beginning of Jaffa Road and set off on their way after the
public reading of Eichah.
This year marked the 13th anniversary of the revival of the custom,
initiated by the Women In Green organization headed by Nadia and Ruth
Matar.
Tisha B’Av is the one day of the year when Jewish prayers are
broadcast over a public address system, in contrast to the daily call
to prayer blasted out five times a day over amplification systems from
mosques in eastern Jerusalem. It’s actually a little disorienting to
hear the Hebrew of Eichah amplified over the main city square.
As the marchers move off following a huge banner proclaiming a slogan
of allegiance to Jerusalem, organizer Nadia Matar reminds the crowd
that this is not a demonstration or a rally, nor is it a social event.
In fact, no reminder is necessary, as the restrained mass of Jews
soberly sets out to encircle the gates of the Holy City.
Scattered amongst the marchers are a significant number of
non-observant Israelis. Women wearing pants walk side by side with
others whose hair is carefully covered with a scarf or hat.
There are wheelchair “marchers” and a number of octagenarian walkers,
some supported by younger relatives, who manage to reach the end of
the hour-long route.
As we pass New Gate, the main entry to the Christian Quarter, we see
that all traffic on Route #1 (the main north/south gateway through the
city) has been redirected as we take over the streets and pour down
the road toward Damascus Gate. Spotlights and snipers are dotted on
the rooftops and although most of the Arab stores are shuttered tight,
soldiers keep a tight watch over several dozen Arabs who watch us
march by as we pass Saleh el Din Street, the main commercial avenue of
eastern Jerusalem. Border police hold back a few dozen Arabs coming
out of Herod’s Gate as we stream past.
Walking down the hill toward Damascus Gate we turn to look back at
those behind us. People as far back as we can see.
The march is a hands-on outdoor classroom for many parents. All along
the way, fathers are explaining the significant sites to sons and
daughters. “Saba (grandpa) fought here,” one tall, bearded man tells
his 10 year old son as we round the corner towards Lions Gate, where
Israeli paratroopers entered to liberate the Temple Mount in the 1967
Six Day War.
“Look over there,” says a young mother to her wide-eyed daughter.
“You can see the stairs where the Jews used to go up to the Temple,”
she says as we walk up the hill in front of the southern wall.
In front of us we see the Mount of Olives crowned with its Arab and
Christian institutions. There’s a refreshing feeling of freedom as
thousands walk freely down the road that overlooks the oldest Jewish
cemetery in the world.
Many marchers wander over to the wall to gaze at the Kidron Valley
below with Absalom’s Tomb and the monument to the prophet Zechariah.
Across the valley we can see the Maale Hazeitim development that acts
as a buffer between Abu Dis and the Temple Mount.
Rounding the corner, we look up at the imposing Southern Wall of the
Temple with the steps and Huldah’s Gate, before making the ascent
towards Dung Gate and the entrance to the Western Wall. Glancing
backwards again, the sight of the crowds of people still behind us is
awesome. Quiet and dignified, the march has gone off without incident.
Getting out of the area proves challenging, as the Egged bus company
lays on dozens of buses to get people in and out of the Old City,
causing their own traffic jams.
Close to midnight the road leading to Zion and Dung gates is still
blocked by a line of the green Egged buses packed to overflowing with
the faithful who will spend the night sitting or lying on the ground
at the site of the catastrophe that gave us Tisha B’Av.
At 1 a.m. I see the young woman in sackcloth stretching out on a
concrete ledge inside the tunnel that links the Kotel plaza to the
Moslem Quarter. She’s no longer alone.
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