“The Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem,” by Francesco Hayez (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The 12th annual communal observance of Tisha B’Av will take place 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 29 at Mount Zion Temple, 1300 Summit Ave., St. Paul. The event is sponsored by Mount Zion, Beth Jacob Congregation, Temple of Aaron and the St. Paul Board of Rabbis.
The event will begin with a study session, “Reading the Book of Eicha/Lamentations as an Optimistic Drama — A Play in Five Acts.” The text of Eicha is laid out in acrostics without indicating that the “voice” alternates between Jeremiah and a personified Jerusalem, with several other characters making shorter appearances.
At 9:15 p.m., Ma’ariv will take place, followed by members from all three synagogues chanting Eicha.
Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month Av, is a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples. It has also become a day of general mourning for other major disasters that have befallen the Jewish people — from the Edict of Expulsion from England in 1290 and the Spanish Expulsion in 1492 to the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto.
For information, contact Mount Zion at 651-698-3881 or visit: www.mzion.org.
