Throwback Thursday Tisha B'Av Special: Don McLean Sings "Waters of Babylon" ("Al Naharot Bavel") in 1975

If you were expecting a joke today, we're sorry to disappoint you. Today is Tisha B'Av, an annual fast day in Judaism which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of the Jews from the Land of Israel.

The day also commemorates other tragedies which occurred on the same day, including the Roman massacre of over 100,000 Jews at Betar in 132 CE. Instituted by the rabbis of 2nd-century Palestine, Tisha B'Av is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, a day in which all pleasurable activity is forbidden, and is marked by synagogue attendance the night before and during the day. But that doesn't mean there's no singing, or more accurately, chanting.

The highlight of the day's service is the chanting of the megillah of Eicha (Lamentations), written by the prophet Jeremiah. Eicha is read in synagogues and in groups meeting indoors and outdoors.

If Eicha's dirge-like melody and mournful lyrics don't speak to you, there's another musical way to get into the mood. In 1975 Don McLean performed his hit song Babylon in front of a live audience in Dublin and had them singing along with him. The lyrics are just perfect for Tisha B'Av, adapted from Psalm 137 in Tehilim (The Book of Psalms). 

עַ֥ל נַהֲר֨וֹת ׀ בָּבֶ֗ל
שָׁ֣ם יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִ֑ינוּ
בְּ֝זׇכְרֵ֗נוּ
אֶת־צִיּֽוֹן׃

By the rivers of Babylon,
there we sat and also wept,
as we remembered Zion. 

 

   #Throwback Thursday     #TBT

Time Out for Tisha B'Av - A Day for Fasting and Lamentations

Today we continue the observance of Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which ends tonight. It's a day of fasting and reading from the Book of Lamentations, which describes the sad state of the Holy Temple and the city of Jerusalem after its destruction in 586 B.C.E. by the Babylonians.

At the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem today, the contrast is striking. On Tisha B'Av, thousands of residents and visitors find their way to join the throngs who recite Lamentations but also sing songs of hope and prayer. 

Yesterday we shared the singing of Acheinu, a prayer for our brothers in trouble or in captivity. Today we post a video of a throng at the Kotel singing Ani Ma'amin, Maimonides' thirteen principles of faith.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Tisha B'Av Starts Tonight - A Time for Reflection on the Destruction of the Holy Temples

There is no day during the year when we can't find an opportunity to laugh, chuckle, guffaw, grin, or maybe just crack a smile.  Without humor, the world would be a much grimmer place.  Even during the High Holy Days and on fast days, most of us find a moment to share an anecdote or witty comment with friends.  

Tonight and tomorrow are no exception, but the overall mood of the elongated day is much more sorrowful than any other.  The reason, of course, is that tonight we begin the observance of Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, which lasts until Tuesday night.

Tisha B’Av is a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the two Temples. It also happens to be the day that many other calamities have befallen the Jewish people, some of which are listed below:

• 587 BCE (3338)- The First Temple is destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. The Jews are sent into what later became known as the Babylonian Exile.
• 70 CE (3830)- The Second Temple is destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus.
• 135 CE (3895) - The Romans defeat Bar Kochba's last fortress, Betar, and destroy his army. Bar Kochba himself is killed along with more than 100,000 other Jews. The Roman Emperor Hadrian turns Jerusalem into a Roman city.
• 1290 (5050) - King Edward I of England signs an edict expelling all Jews from England.
• 1492 (5252) - The Alhambra Decree takes effect, expelling the Jews from Spain and from all Spanish territories.
• 1914 (5674) - World War I begins when Germany declares war on Russia, setting the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.
• 1940 (5700) - Himmler presents his plan for the "Final Solution" to the Jewish problem to the Nazi Party.
• 1942 (5702) - Nazis begin deporting Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto. 

On Tisha B'Av, Jews gather in darkened synagogues to read Eicha (The Book of Lamentations) and reflect on the tragedies that befell our people through the millennia.

 

So we won't post any jokes or hilarity today and tomorrow, but we'll share a couple of videos that are appropriate for the day.

Today's post is a video taken at the Kotel in Jerusalem in 2020, when Shai Abramson, Chief Cantor of the Israel Defense Forces sang the prayer Acheinu, accompanied by volunteers for Magen David Adom.

 

Acheinu kol beit yisrael, han'tunim b'tzara uvashivyah, haomdim bein bayam uvein bayabasha. Hamakom Y'racheim Aleihem v'yotziem mitzra lirvacha um'afaila l'orah umishiabud lig'ulah, hashta ba'agala uvizman kariv.V'nomar: Amen

אַחֵינוּ כָּל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, הַנְּתוּנִים בְּצָרָה וּבַשִּׁבְיָה, הָעוֹמְדִים בֵּין בַּיָּם וּבֵין בַּיַּבָּשָׁה, הַמָּקוֹם יְרַחֵם עֲלֵיהֶם, וְיוֹצִיאֵם מִצָּרָה לִרְוָחָה, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹרָה, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה, הַשְׁתָּא בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב.

Translation: As for our brothers,​ the whole house of Israel, who are given over to trouble or captvity​, whether they abide on the sea or on the dry land: May the All-prese​nt have mercy upon them, and bring them forth from trouble to enlargeme​nt, from darkness to light, and from subjectio​n to redemptio​n, now speedily and at a near time; and let us say, Amen.  A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.