Beginning July 15, we enter the Hebrew month of Av. As the calendar approaches Tisha B’Av on July 23, the mood changes. The “Nine Days” period is traditionally marked by reduced celebration, postponing weddings and other festivities, limiting music and other expressions of joy, and increasing reflection on what the Jewish people have lost. On Tisha B’Av itself, Jews fast and mourn the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem, along with other catastrophes that have marked Jewish history.
For many contemporary Jews, especially outside Orthodox communities, these observances can seem distant. They commemorate events nearly 2,000 years old. Why should they still matter? They should because Tisha B’Av has never been only about buildings. It is about the consequences of a nation that loses its unity, its purpose and, ultimately, its ability to safeguard its future.
Jewish tradition famously attributes the destruction of the Second Temple not simply to Roman military power, but also to sinat chinam — baseless hatred among Jews themselves. Whether understood literally or symbolically, the lesson has endured. External enemies can exploit divisions, but internal fractures often create the opportunity.
That message feels remarkably contemporary.
Israel today faces extraordinary military, diplomatic and political pressures. The Jewish Diaspora confronts levels of antisemitism unseen in generations. College campuses, social media and even some civic institutions have become battlegrounds over Jewish identity and Israel’s legitimacy. At the same time, Jews themselves argue passionately over government policy, judicial reform, military service, the hostages, settlements, religious pluralism and the future of Zionism.
These debates are not signs of weakness. Jewish civilization has always prized argument. The Nine Days do not ask Jews to stop disagreeing. They ask whether our disagreements still reflect a shared sense of responsibility for one another and for the future of the Jewish people.
There is another lesson that makes Tisha B’Av different in 2026 than at almost any other time in Jewish history.
For nearly 2,000 years, Jews mourned the destruction of Jerusalem while living as scattered minorities, uncertain whether they would ever return. Today we mourn while living in the most successful period of Jewish history since the Second Temple fell. Jerusalem is once again the capital of a sovereign Jewish state. Hebrew is again the language of everyday life. Israel has become a global center of Jewish learning, innovation and culture. Across North America and elsewhere, vibrant Jewish communities continue to build schools, synagogues, charities and institutions that earlier generations could scarcely have imagined.
That does not diminish the meaning of Tisha B’Av. It deepens it. The challenge is no longer merely surviving history. It is proving worthy of the blessings history has returned to us.
Every generation has had reasons to observe Tisha B’Av. Ours is no exception. The purpose of the fast in 2026 is not simply to remember what was destroyed centuries ago. It is to recognize how much has been rebuilt, how much remains fragile, and why preserving both Jewish unity and Jewish purpose may be the greatest act of remembrance of all.
