Moment in Time: Tisha B’Av – A Time to Comfort

During my recent sabbatical, I stood before fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem—words written between the 3rd century BCE and the 1st century CE, the oldest surviving manuscripts of our sacred texts.

Discovered in the caves of Qumran in 1946, these fragments form a living bridge between ancient Judaism and the vibrant, unfolding story of our people today.

One fragment, in particular, has stayed with me as we mark Tisha B’Av—the 9th of Av—a day that recalls the destruction of the First and Second Temples, as well as the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. It is a day that holds the weight of our history.

And yet, from within that weight comes a voice that refuses to let despair have the final word. The prophet Isaiah calls out: “Nachamu, nachamu ami—Comfort, oh comfort My people.”

Spoken to a people in exile, these words are not only consolation—they are a quiet act of defiance, a reminder that even in a moment in time of loss, we are never abandoned.

We live in an era when challenges to our people and our story persist. But our tradition has never been defined by fear. It has been shaped by resilience, by memory, and by an enduring capacity to imagine what comes next.

So on this Tisha B’Av, we do more than remember what was broken. We affirm what endures. We turn toward one another in compassion. And we choose, again and again, to carry forward a vision rooted not in fear, but in hope.

With love and Shalom,

Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro