August 5
Beginning last night we have observed Tisha b'Av, the ninth of Av, the
annual day of mourning which commemorates the destruction of the First
and Second Temples and many other calamities that have befallen the
Jewish people throughout the years. All of the kvutzot joined together in
the San Simon park to read Eicha, The Book of Lamentations.
This morning all of the groups had a late wake up giving everyone an
opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. Today, as part of our
Tisha b'Av commemoration we focused on the Shoah and Israeli Society
and visited Yad Vashem. Many questions were put to our hanichim, among
them, What is the connection between the two most tragic and defining
events in Jewish history - The destruction of Jerusalem and the Shoah
(the Holocaust). How does the Shoah impact on Israel?
It was a "heavy" day as we sought to gain insight into how the portrayal of
the Shoah and the Holocaust-era resistance impacts Israeli society today.
Those who went to Poland had an opportunity for further reflection and
closure as a group.
The groups went back to the San Simon Park where they took part in a
reflective activity exploring their own personal connections to many of the
events that we commemorate on Tisha B'av. As we sing Am Yisrael Chai
we will remember the words of Church Father Jerome, a Christian traveler
in Jerusalem who wrote in 392 CE "Up to this day it is forbidden for the
treacherous citizens to enter Jerusalem...they may
enter only to lament there, and they have to pay for
the right to weep over the ruins of their state; not
even once\ are they permitted to weep free of charge.
And on the anniversary of the day when the city fell
and was destroyed by the Romans, there are crowds
who mourn.." Now we join those crowds over the
centuries but as proud, free Jews in our own land!
After dinner tonight they will meet with Rena Quint, a
Holocaust survivor living in Jerusalem, who was a
camper at Ramah Poconos in its early years.
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