I was asked a question the other day about the timing of the Jewish holidays. This morning I woke up with a thought on my mind which has been on my mind for quite a few years. My thought is captured in an expression. That expression is the title of this blog post, "The Final Tisha B'Av."
3 - Morning?
Tisha b'Av is an annual fast (ta'anit תַּעֲנִית) day in Judaism. Tisha B'Av is the last day in three-week period (three 7's) of mourning in Judaism that began on the fast of the 17th of Tammuz. This three-week period is dedicated to mourning. It is a commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusalem.
There are 7-weeks (49 days) between Tisha B'Av and Rosh Hashanah. This period is called the "Seven Weeks of Consolation." The period concludes with the Shofar Blast on Yom Teruah, the "Day of Blasting." The Torah calls the holiday יום תרועה (“a day of blasting” – Numbers 29:1). In common speech it is Rosh Hashanah, and in many Christian circles it is called the Feast of Trumpets — all referring to the same day and the same central mitzvah of blowing the shofar.
The Torah portion that is almost always read on the last Shabbat of the 7-weeks is called Parashat Nitzavim. In the overwhelming majority of years (more than 19 out of every 20 years), the weekly Torah portion read on that final Shabbat of consolation is Parashat Nitzavim (Devarim 29:9–30:20).
The portion is called "Nitzavim" because the very first words of the parashah (Deuteronomy 29:9 in most English Bibles, 29:10 in the Hebrew verse numbering) are:
אַתֶּם נִצָּבִים הַיּוֹם כֻּלְּכֶם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“You are standing (נִצָּבִים) this day, all of you, before Hashem your God…”
So the name Parashat Nitzavim literally means “You stand” or “Standing”, and it refers to the entire Jewish people standing together before God to enter into the renewed covenant just before Moshe’s death and the entry into the Land of Israel.
In Jewish thought, this parashah is therefore seen as a moment of national standing upright, unity, and recommitment — which is one reason it is almost always read right before Rosh Hashanah, the time of annual judgment and renewal.
A READING FROM THE PROPHETS
In Jewish practice, a Haftorah portion is also read on Shabbat. The "haftarah" is a short reading from the Prophets that follows the reading from the Torah in a synagogue. In english the word "Haftorah" means "completion" or "conclusion."
For thousands of years, the weekly Torah portion has been paired up with a corresponding Haftorah reading. So one can look back or forward in time and know which Torah and Haftorah portion was being read in the temple on any given Shabbat.
The title of this blog is "The Final Tisha B'Av." Since in every generation an evil one has risen to destroy the Jews and since Tisha B'Av is commemorated every year, the implication of "The Final Tisha B'Av" is that the Messiah has come. When the Messiah comes their won't be another "7-weeks" and their will be no more suffering or morning.
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| Peace Dove (Yona) |
On the week that Nitzavim is read, the corresponding Haftorah is from the book of the prophet Isaiah beginning at chapter 61. Below is the text from Isaiah 61:
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
6 But you shall be named the priests of the LORD,
They shall call you the servants of our God.
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast.
7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
8 “For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery for burnt offering;
I will direct their work in truth,
And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
9 Their descendants shall be known among the Gentiles,
And their offspring among the people.
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed.”
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its bud,
As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth,
So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise
To spring forth before all the nations.
