Scarred, But Still Standing – Tisha B’Av 2024

I’m the kind of person who spends their Tisha B’Av watching the Gush Katif documentary on YouTube, crying from my bed. 

Really. That’s what Tisha B’Av looks like for me. Well, looked like. 

This year, I don’t need a movie to see Jews suffering. This pain stings daily as I pass by ripped posters of our beautiful hostages, or as my cell phone alerts me of another soldier killed.

I, and I am sure many of us, am completely scarred by the ongoing trauma of October 7th and the resulting war. 

Scarred online, scarred in real life.
Scarred by the graphic videos that I watched on repeat for work.
Scarred by the harrowing testimonies of survivors.
Scarred by the addiction to technology to follow the latest news.
Scarred by walking through Kibbutz Be’eri to witness the destruction.
Scarred by the slurs and physical threats on social media.
Scarred by the friends who have cut ties without dialogue.
Scarred by the masked protestors screaming in my face denying my right to exist. 

Scarred. And forever bruised, like a tattoo on my heart that I didn’t ask for. And yet, compared to many, I feel I have it good.

This is the cyclical history of the Jewish nation: We’re attacked, we’re targeted by propaganda, we’re cast away from our homes, and somehow we wake up the next day with the courage to stand up again as proud Jews. 

Because that’s what a nation does when they have a mission and no other choice. That’s what we do when we have one sliver of land and nowhere else to run to. 

We stand up, we dust ourselves off, and we continue to fight for the right to live in peace. 

This Tisha B’Av, I have many reasons to cry already. I don’t need to watch the Gush Katif documentary. (Though I still might.)

I challenge us all to embrace the scars, the fears, the sadness and the pain. Let’s allow ourselves to really feel it on this day of mourning, and to remember all we have lost along with the Beit Hamikdash. 

Then let’s come out of Tisha B’Av and show the world that עם ישראל חי. That we are stronger than ever, that we will dance again and overcome all challenges together.

While we are scarred, we are still standing, and we aren’t going anywhere.
Life is the greatest victory.