Today is Tisha b’Av, the Ninth day of Av (Leo), and one of the most solemn days in the Jewish calendar. This is the day on which tradition (if not all historical accounts) suggest both the First and Second temples were destroyed; Kabbalists say that this is the day, however, on which the Messiah will be born. It is a day, certainly, to reflect — and for many, it is a day to fast. And it is a day to reflect on that original shining city on a hill, that real and transcendent Jerusalem. Yehuda Amichai was perhaps the greatest modern poet writing in Hebrew, this is one of his most famous pieces.
If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem
If I forget thee, Jerusalem,
Then let my right be forgotten.
Let my right be forgotten, and my left remember.
Let my left remember, and your right close
And your mouth open near the gate.
I shall remember Jerusalem
And forget the forest — my love will remember,
Will open her hair, will close my window,
will forget my right,
Will forget my left.
If the west wind does not come
I’ll never forgive the walls,
Or the sea, or myself.
Should my right forget
My left shall forgive,
I shall forget all water,
I shall forget my mother.
If I forget thee, Jerusalem,
Let my blood be forgotten.
I shall touch your forehead,
Forget my own,
My voice change
For the second and last time
To the most terrible of voices –
Or silence.
YOU GET SUCH PROPS for acknowledging Tisha B’Av and you’re not even Jewish! While we don’t get the same kind of murderous hatred that we are used to seeing elsewhere, rarely do Jews ever get this kind of validation in this country. Thank you.