A Time To Laugh And A Time To Cry
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 07.23.07
We know, we know: TreeHuggers don’t dwell on environmental doom and gloom. We are modern, we are hip & we are environmentally responsible. Say it again! But every so often, we just need to cry. We put on a Tori Amos album, curl up in a ball in our beds and weep like there is no tomorrow. And it can feel good, because sometimes the world is just plain sad. Take today for example. Come nightfall, starts Tisha B’Av or the Ninth of Av - the saddest day of the Jewish calendar. Major calamities happened on this day in Jewish history – such as the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem on separate occasions. In order to mark this day of tragedy, observant Jews fast. They also don’t wear leather, they don’t wash their bodies, they don’t use oil products and they do not engage in marital relations.
Among the list of customs, one of the most pronounced is that Jews should be sad. Very sad. Playing music or participating in activities that bring joy are discouraged. Some people go to great lengths to be unhappy by reading unpleasant passages in the Bible or by sitting on uncomfortable chairs. Therefore, to get our Jewish readers in the right Tisha B’Av spirit, we have collected a list of 10 TreeHugger posts that we can cry buckets over.
1. Brazilian Fishermen Kill 83 Dolphins, Joke About It
2. Tiger Organs: As Tigers Disappear, India Calls For Trade Ban
3.Indonesia Fastest Forest Destroyer
4. Caribbean Corals Heading Towards Extinction?
5. The Thames Whale and the Killers in Eden
6. Not With A Buzz But A Wimper
7. One In Six European Mammals Faces Extinction
8. A Picture is Worth... Pollution in China
umm, what has has this got to do with environmental issues ? - Lets try and keep religion out of this forum , or give equal billing to all religions.
"TreeHuggers don’t dwell on environmental doom and gloom. We are modern, we are hip & we are environmentally responsible."
I hope you're referring to folks at Treehugger.com because some of us who care about the environment like to face the truth regardless of whether it's gloomy and pessimistic.
Human civilisation is moving towards a scientifically certain catastrophic calamity within this century that threatens to end our short run on this planet. Something tells me that we aren't going to avert this event by being hip.
Thank you for posting something about Tisha B'Av! I've always believed that Judaism is a practical religion with a lot to offer to mainstream society, and it's comforting to see someone else acknowledge it with something that we do so well: the handling of grief.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Keholet 3:1-8
I'm Jewish and I've never heard of Tisha B'Av. Maybe it's an orthodox custom?