This Tisha B’Av Don’t Sit Silently
Tisha B’Av commemorates the destruction of the two great Temples in Jerusalem, destroyed over six centuries apart. Rabbinic tradition teaches that the Second Temple was not lost because the people lacked scholarship or ritual observance. In fact, they were learned in Torah and the details of mitzvot (commandments). Their failure was moral: They failed in their treatment of one another. Isaiah describes the state of morality in Jerusalem in graphic language: “Alas, she has become a harlot, the faithful city that was filled with justice, where righteousness dwelt; but now murderers.” Isaiah 1:21 (JPS)
The immorality of the people of Jerusalem is illustrated in the most famous story in rabbinic literature regarding the destruction of the Second Temple, that of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza.
The story describes a banquet during which the host publicly humiliates and expels an accidentally invited guest. All the while respected leaders sit silently by and watch the abuse. Rabbinic commentary treats public humiliation as a form of moral violence, as though one sheds blood in full view of the community. But the deeper condemnation falls on the bystanders: Those who knew the behavior was wrong and did nothing to stop it.
We are living through our own era of sinat chinam, the sin of baseless hatred which the rabbis viewed as the true cause of the fall of Jerusalem. This hatred is expressed through racism, antisemitism, misogyny, anti-LGBTQ attacks, anti-immigrant politics, baseless wars, economic exploitation, and the denial or minimization of the climate crisis. The story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza asks why the spiritual leaders at the banquet failed to defend the vulnerable person before them.
Today, we must ask why so many leaders continue to stand idle while communities and ecosystems are placed at risk by the mega-crisis of climate change. This summer temperatures have reached all-time highs across the country. While hurricanes and wildfires are more dramatic, extreme heat causes more deaths. Children, older people, people who work outside, and inner-city residents who lack green space and air conditioners are especially vulnerable.
Our answer must be to stand up. Showing up matters. Speaking publicly matters. Refusing silence matters. We must insist that our elected leaders act with urgency and moral clarity on climate, and we must strengthen the state and local networks that do continue the work while federal leadership fails. Leading up to this Tisha B’av, over 60 Jewish organizations have joined together to enable Jews across the country to take action by participating in the Jewish Earth Alliance Pre-Tisha B’av Virtual Lobby Day for Climate Solutions. On July 21, hundreds of Jews will respond to the call of the rabbis not to remain silent when people are being harmed.
After the destruction of the Temple, the rabbis rebuilt Jewish communal life in the city of Yavne. Without political power or a central institution, they sustained their communities through teaching, organizing, and collective responsibility. Their example reminds us that when institutions fail, the work of the people does not end. Jewish Earth Alliance Pre Tisha B’av Virtual Lobby Day for Climate Solutions is one way we refuse silence in the face of the climate crisis. It is a chance to raise our voices in the halls of federal power with urgency and moral clarity.
Tisha B’Av is ultimately not only about mourning destruction. It reminds us that societies unravel when people fail to act in the face of injustice. The question before us is whether we will repeat the silence of the banquet hall or stand together and demand a livable, just future before more is lost.