Churban

By: Mrs. Miriam Kutoff

On Tishah B’Av (the ninth of Av), we sit on the floor and cry

Remembering

The tragedy of over 2500 years ago

Our beautiful Beis Hamikdash (Holy Temple), the house our glory, the place where heaven kissed earth

Gone

Consumed by the flames

The streets of our city, once praised as beautiful in its vista, the joy of the entire land

Now filled with the corpses of its noble sons and daughters

Their blood running in rivers through its once joyous thoroughfares

The survivors led off to Babylonia in chains

The Churban (destruction) of our first Bais Hamikdash

Leaving us shaken, with nowhere to turn

Except to You, our Creator

From You, to You, we flee

Only You can send us trouble, only You can save us from it

Our oppressors can take our land. They can even take our homes.

But they can never take our souls.

Even when Hashem (G-d) hides His face, He is still with us.

On Tisha B’Av, we sit on the floor and cry

Remembering

The tragedy of 2000 years ago

Our Bais Hamikdash, our pride and our joy, the place we experienced connection with Hashem

Gone

Consumed by the flames

Our families and homes being destroyed by the Romans

The dead of previous battles in the Galilee

And of battles to follow in Masada and Beitar

Compounding our devastation

The Churban of our second Bais Hamikdash

Leaving us shaken, with nowhere to turn

Except to You, our Creator

From You, to You, we flee

Only You can send us trouble, only You can save us from it

Our oppressors can take our sovereignty. They can even take our security.

But they can never take our souls.

We are forever Hashem’s nation.

On Tishah B’Av, we sit on the floor and cry

Remembering

The tragedy of 500 years ago

Our center of Torah in Spain, our wealth, comfort, and prestige

Gone

Consumed by the flames

One Thousand years of scholarship and peace

Ended by the Expulsion

Families and communities scattered

Cast out to face dangers of pirates and storms

To become second class citizens in many new lands

And those who could not leave

Hid their Judaism

And were caught by the cruel Inquisition and burned at the stake

Or slowly lost their Judaism through centuries of fear

The Churban of Spanish Jewry

Leaving us shaken, with nowhere to turn

Except to You, our Creator

From You, to You, we flee

Only You can send us trouble, Only You can save us from it

Our oppressors can take our social standing. They can even take our possessions.

But they can never take our souls.

Hashem will never forsake us. Not completely. Not forever.

On Tishah B’Av, we sit on the floor and cry

Remembering

The tragedy of 65 years ago

Our scholars, our simple men, our families, our people

Gone

Consumed by the flames

Our once flourishing communities

Their blood now soaks the earth

That they lived on, taught on, prayed on, built generations on

For 500 years

Destroyed without mercy, by a “civilized” foe

Dying as Jews even in the hardest of tests

The Churban of European Jewry

Leaving us shaken, with nowhere to turn

Except to You, our Creator

From You, to You, we flee

Only You can send us trouble, Only You can save us from it

Our oppressors can take our loved ones. They can even take our bodies.

But they can never take our souls.

The Jewish people will never perish.

As we continue to walk the tear-soaked path of Exile

Let us not forget

Our history is a cycle

There are glorious heights

And tragic plunges

We must learn the lessons

Of our past destructions

And forge ever onward

With renewed determination

Toward the day

When death will cease forever

And Hashem will wipe the tears from every face

And remove the shame of His beloved nation

And we will finally understand why all of history’s tragedies had to occur.