Nourish Your Biblical Roots

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11):
One of the most remarkable videos that we have of
European Jews in the early nineteen thirties is a group
of children singing Hatikva, written in the late eighteen hundreds
by Naftali herz Imber, a Jewish poet from Poland. The
children in the video had no idea that less than
a decade later, most of them, along with their families,

(00:33):
would be murdered by the Nazis. They also had no
clue that the very song they sang would become the
national anthem of a Jewish state that did not yet exist.
For the Jewish people, Hatikva captures two thousand years of
exile in our hope for the future. These are the words,

(00:53):
as long as deep within the heart a Jewish soul stirs,
and forward to the end z of the East, and
I looks out towards Zion, our hope is not yet lost.
The hope of two thousand years to be a free
people in our land, the land of Zion and Urusha

(01:15):
lym Jerusalem. Two millennia of persecution could not break the
Jewish spirit because of one powerful word, Hatikva, the hope.
Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel said just as a man cannot
live without dreams, he cannot live without hope. Hope is
what sustained the Jewish people through their long and bitter exile.

(01:39):
Hope leaves room for God and his providence. Hope lets
us believe that, no matter how dark the world seems today,
there can be a better tomorrow. The prophet Jeremiah foresaw
the difficult exile and described both the bitterness and the
centrality of hope. I remember my fliction and my wandering,

(02:01):
the bitterness and the gal Yet this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord's great love,
we are not consumed. For His compassions never fail. This
is from Lamentations three nineteen to twenty two. If we
want our children to never give up and never give

(02:22):
in when it comes to their values and beliefs, we
must teach them hope. Hope is what led the bruised
and battered nation of Israel back to our homeland, and
it is hope that will lead our world to the
Messianic era. I imagine that hope did not always come
easily to the Jewish people. I grew up with a

(02:43):
grandfather who survived the Holocaust that wiped out most of
our family and one third of the world's Jewish population.
I cannot fathom how it was possible for any Jews
to have hope for a future while thousands were guest
and creamy to daily. It was the darkest chapter in
Jewish history, and it is incomprehensible that anyone could see

(03:08):
the light. My grandfather told me countless stories about what
happened to him and his family during the Holocaust. He
grew up in Germany, and when it became apparent that
the Nazis intended to exterminate the Jews, his family left
everything they had and fled. The family was fortunate enough
to have a car, which they used to drive as

(03:29):
far as they could to cross the border. At some
point along the way, the car ran out of gas
and they were stranded. My great grandmother stayed with my
grandfather and his brother while their father went to look
for gas. While he was gone, my great grandmother and
the boys heard the Nazis approaching. They waited as long
as they could for my great grandfather to return, but

(03:52):
when the bullets got too close, they ran. They left
their car, the little belongings that they had, and their
father and husband behind. It was terrifying. When things eventually
quieted down, they were grateful to be alive and certain
that my great grandfather had been killed in the incident. Meanwhile,

(04:14):
my great grandfather had been on his way to get
gas for the car when he was told that the
Nazis were heading in the direction of his family. He
abandoned the quest for fuel and ran to find his
family and bring them to a safe place. But by
the time he got to the car, all he saw
were shards of glass bullets and no sign of his family.

(04:34):
He was certain his family had been murdered. Still, he
did not give up hope that perhaps they had survived,
And while my great grandmother tried to move on without
her husband, a part of her refused to give up
hope that maybe, just maybe he was alive. Each one
held out to the tiniest bit of hope that the

(04:55):
other had survived, and eventually they found one another. These
were my bedtime stories growing up. Seared into my soul
is the notion that no matter how hopeless a situation looks,
there is always room for hope. Against the dark backdrop
of the Holocaust, I learned to see the glimmer of light,

(05:17):
no matter how faint, in every situation. Years later, I
would hear my father compare the aftermath of the Holocaust
to Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones. After the show Ah,
the Jewish people were decimated. Whole communities were utterly wiped out,
and along with them hundreds of learning institutions, millions of

(05:38):
Jewish scholars, countless cultural centers, and the security that Jews
once enjoyed living in this world. How could such a
decimated people go on and live again? And yet from
the ashes of the Holocaust, Israel rose to life. Just
three years after World World War two ended, the State

(06:01):
of Israel was declared an independent nation. The Jewish people
returned to their ancient homeland and immediately set to work
to drain the swamps, make the desert's bloom, and bring
back life to the Holy Land. The following decade saw
a resurgence of Jewish life in Israel and around the

(06:22):
world in countries like the United States and Canada that
took in Holocaust survivors and gave them a second chance
at life. By the time I was born, the Jewish State,
Israeli Army and religious freedom for Jews, and most parts
of the world were all givens. I never knew a
time without them. Nevertheless, I also never forgot the stories

(06:44):
I heard firsthand from my grandfather about what happened in
the terrible years before. This has always been the Jewish
way to hope for the future while remembering our painful history.
Once a year, my family and I would join Jews
around the world in our yearly mourning for the destruction

(07:06):
of the Holy Temples and every tragedy the Jews have
experienced ever since antishaba' av. This day has been mourned
for thousands of years, for centuries during which there seemed
to be no end in sight to the long and
painful suffering. However, from my perspective, although I fasted as

(07:27):
the adults did starting when I was twelve after my
bot Mitzvah, and felt the sad energy of the day,
I could not help but also feel a sliver of joy.
Yes we have suffered, yes we have faced challenges, but
oh how far we have come, and how brightly God's

(07:48):
providence has been demonstrated to his children over and over again.
That ray of light amidst the darkness formed my hope
for the future and a vision of redemption. It may
sound strange at first, but it is a Tishebov, the

(08:09):
darkest day on the Jewish calendar, that we truly experience hope.
Just as it takes the darkest skies to see the
brightest stars, it is on this black day that we
can experience the greatest flight. Tishaba Av, literally the ninth
of Av, is the saddest day of the Jewish year.

(08:31):
Both the First and Second Temples were destroyed on Tishabav.
With the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans
and seventy CE, the Jews of Israel were dispersed to
the four corners of the Earth, setting in motion and
exile whose ramifications are still felt today. But those are
not the only tragedies to occur on this day on

(08:54):
tishaba Av. In one thirty five CE, the final Jewish
rebellion against the row Omens in the Holy Land was
squelched and hundreds of Jews were brutally butchered. Exactly one
year later, the Temple mount was raised so that a
pagan temple could be erected in its stead. In twelve
ninety on tishaba Av, the Jews were expelled from England

(09:17):
in fourteen ninety two on tishaba Av, the Jews were
kicked out of Spain. World War II and the Holocaust
were the direct results of World War One, which you
guessed it began on July twenty eighth, nineteen fourteen tishaba Av.
On this night, Jewish communities read the Book of Lamentations,

(09:38):
which begins Echah literally, how can it be? We lament
the dramatic change that the Jewish people underwent when they
were exiled from their land and the temple was destroyed Jerusalem.
Once the city of Joi had been transformed into a
city of mourning, the Jewish people, admired, esteemed, and a

(10:01):
great spiritual people were reduced to exiles, poor and helpless.
Most tragic of all was the shattered relationship with the
God of Israel, When once the Jews enjoyed a unique
and powerful connection to the Lord as his chosen people,
his special treasure, the apple of his eye. We cry out,

(10:26):
how can it be, Eah? How can it be that
the Jewish people went through the Holocaust, this single most
devastating event in their long history of suffering. How can
it be that, after so many years, we still have
not restored our relationship with God. How can it be
that the world still has so much evil within it?

(10:49):
As we read in Lamentations, this is why I weep
and my eyes overflow with tears. In Lamentations one sixty,
on this one day a year, we acknowledge and cry
for every calamity that there has ever been. Following the

(11:09):
Book of Lamentations, we recite elegies describing the many tragedies
that have befallen the Jewish people throughout the centuries, and tishaba'
Av we observe the laws of mourning, including sitting on
low chairs, not greeting one another, and not wearing any
freshly laundered clothing. In addition, Jewish adults do not eat
or drink, engage in marital relations, wear leather shoes, shower

(11:33):
or ply soothing oils. The general atmosphere is somber, and
we refrain from any physical activities that give us pleasure. However,
tishaba Av is not all about tragedy and mourning. Through
the darkness. There is a ray of light, a glimmer
of hope, a glance into the future. As we mourn
what we lost in the past, we look forward to

(11:55):
what God has in store for us in the future.
A story is recorded than the Talmud, which is Judaism's
oral tradition, that took place after the destruction of the
Second Temple. On the ninth of Ave seventy CE, Rabbi
Akiva and his colleagues traveled to Mount Scopus and they
witnessed the temple's destruction. They were so distraught that they

(12:17):
tore their clothing in mourning. When they got to the
Temple mount itself and saw foxes running around where the
Holy of Holies once stood, they cried. However, Rabbi Akiva laughed,
why are you laughing? The rabbis asked, why are you crying?
Rabbi Akiva replied incredulously. The rabbis explained that they were

(12:38):
looking at the holiest place in the world, and now
foxes run through it. How could we not cry, they exclaimed,
That is why I'm laughing, Akiva answered, He continued. One
prophet said, because of you, Zion will be plowed like
a field, it says in Micah three twelve. And another prophet,

(13:00):
Zachariah said, once again, men of women of ripe old
age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of
them with the cane in their hand. Because of their age.
The city streets will be filled with boys and girls
playing there. Since the words of one prophet have been fulfilled,

(13:21):
said Rabbi Akiva, I now know that the words of
the other prophet will also be fulfilled. To this, the
rabbi is exclaimed, you have comforted us, Akiva, you have
comforted us. In the book of Lamentations recited antishaba' Av,
we further read in Lamentations three twenty nine, let him

(13:43):
bury his face in the dust. There may yet be hope.
While we mourn on this day, it is also a
day of hope. The tears that we shed on this
stay water the seeds of redemption, and we pray from
Psalm one twenty six' five those who so with tears
will reap with songs of. Joy this is, why for

(14:06):
all of the mournful elements of the, day Tishaba' av
is officially recognized as a. Holiday lamentation one point fifteen,
reads The lord has rejected all of my strong men
in my Mist he has called an appointed time against
me to crush my young. Men The hebrew term for
appointed time is mohed which is reserved exclusively for describing.

(14:32):
Holidays what is there to possibly celebrate on this? Day
the answer is. Hope according To jewish, tradition the. Cherubs
the cherubs on The Holy ark and The temple Represent
god And. Israel when the relationship Between god And israel was,
strong they faced each. Other, however when it was, not

(14:54):
they faced away from each. Other and the day that
The temple was, destroyed, surprise the cherubs were found in
a loving. Embrace this signified that Although god destroyed The,
temple he would always Love, israel feel their, pain and
carry them through difficult. Times he would neither destroy his

(15:16):
people nor desert, them and would accompany them into. Exile,
Ultimately god would return his nation To israel and rebuild The,
temple as he had. Promised In zachariah eight, nineteen we,
read the fasts of the, fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth

(15:39):
months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals For.
Judah the fast days mentioned in the verse are all
connected to events that led up to the destruction of
The temple and the. Ninth. Above god promised that these
days are destined to be transformed into. Holidays in, Fact jewish,

(15:59):
tradition each is That tea Shaba av is also the
birthday of The. Messiah the holiday quality Of tia Shaba
av reminds us that Ultimately god will restore what we have.
Lost in other, words there is hope for the. Future
mourning for the first two temples creates a yearning for
the Third temple and gives us hope that one day

(16:22):
there will be a world where evil does not. Exist every,
year before the sun sets on the eighth Of, ave
our family sits down to a. Meal unlike other holiday,
meals instead of, dessert we end with traditional mourning, food
a piece of bread with an egg dipped in. Ashes
the ashes symbolize the tragedies that we are about to. Mourn,

(16:44):
however the, egg with its circular, shape also reminds us that,
nothing even the worst of, times lasts. Forever once the
sun sets on Tishaba, av it. Begins my husband AND
i bring our children to the synagogue where we mourn
as a. Community we leave our jewelry and leather shoes,
behind and we're simple clothing and shoes at the. Synagogue

(17:08):
we enter quietly and refrain from greeting. Friends we sit
on the floor in, darkness and with a flashlight in,
hand we follow along as The book Of lamentations is
recited aloud to the traditional melancholy. Tune, naturally when my
children were old enough to, understand they asked us why
do we do all of these strange? Things this provides

(17:32):
the opportunity to teach them about. Hope we teach our
children that while our focus is on, gratitude, contentment and
joyfulness the rest of the, year we take one day
to think about and express our emotions about all the
things that make us. Sad we are allowed to be
angry With. God we are, permitted even, encouraged to question his.

(17:57):
Ways we are allowed to be sad about the tragedies
that are a part of. Life there is only one
emotion that we cannot, feel and that is. Despair children
know that we do not live in a perfect. World
they see the brokenness all around. Them people get. Sick
unexpected disasters such as floods and fires and earthquakes occur

(18:18):
all too. Frequently there are kids that go, hungry families
that are falling, apart children In israel who must run
to bomb, shelters terror, attacks hate, crimes mass. Shootings the
list goes on and. On but as people of, faith
we believe that this is not how the world is
supposed to. Be we believe that we are on a

(18:40):
journey toward a perfect. World all year, ROUND i give
my children the tools that they need in order to
deal with the difficulties and challenges that they face in.
LIFE i teach them, resilience how to find the positive,
aspects and to have faith In god and his. PLANS
i teach them to pray to our Almighty god and

(19:01):
to consider how we might help make the world a better.
Place and Tishaba. AV i teach my children an entirely different.
LESSON i tell them that our broken world is. Unacceptable
it is not the Way god intended our world to,
be and it is not the way that things will always.

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Be we can never get used to the way things
are or settle for a less than perfect world by
engaging in these yearly customs of. Mourning our, children no
matter what, age can grasp the sense that something is not.
Right they can tell that people are. Sad unusually. Sad

(19:43):
it is not rare that adults cry during The tea
Shaba av. SERVICE i still remember in my childhood hearing
the sobbing Of holocaust survivors in the. Synagogue as children
get older and begin to understand the sadness that is
related to the loss of The, temple they also begin

(20:03):
to embrace the possibility of a Third temple and a better.
World if not for, tishaba'v it is highly unlikely that
we would remember that there was a, temple and that
there will be a temple rebuilt again In, jerusalem and
the significance Of God's Holy temple in our Midst when
we teach our children that this isn't the way the

(20:25):
world is supposed to, be we teach them that, indeed
there is always. Hope this world will not always be,
Broken The temple will be, rebuilt The messiah will, come
and our souls will be. Complete in the scriptures we,
read return to your, fortress your prisoners of. Hope even
NOW i announce THAT i will restore twice as much as.

(20:48):
You this is From zachariah nine. Twelve we are prisoners of,
hope captive to our, faith confined by our trust In.
God what a beautiful world picture to instill in our.
Children hope is a foundational idea in both The jewish
And christian. Faiths in, fact has been argued That judaism

(21:11):
brought the concept of hope to the world in the first.
Place when the Biblical abraham, lived the prevailing belief was
that the gods determined man's. Fate people had no control
in changing their. Destiny their fate was left in the
hands of the capricious. Gods, abraham, however taught of a Loving,

(21:33):
god with whom anything is. Possible abraham And, sarah who
had their Son isaaca ages ninety and one, hundred, respectively
proved that. Point no matter how terrible or impossible a
situation may, seem there is always room for. Hope in
The book Of, exodus the very foundation of The exodus

(21:56):
stories that The israelites cried out To god because of their.
Suffering god heard and. Intervened their situation seemed, hopeless but
The israelites demonstrated that The god Of israel is A
god of. Hope there is no room in faith for.
Despair Rabbi Jonathan sachs, wrote despair is not A jewish.

(22:18):
Emotion od loo avda tik. Fatenu these are the words
from Our hebrew anthem Of. Hatikva our hope has never been,
Destroyed for there is A jewish way of telling the
story of our. Situation what happens is not, chance but
a chapter in the complex script of The, covenant which

(22:42):
leads mysteriously but assuredly to our. Redemption thank you for
listening to The Nourish Your Biblical roots.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
Podcast if you like what you have, heard visit me
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