Tisha B'Av 5774: Very sad, but more hopeful than ever

Tonight begins the fast of Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the month of Av.  In addition to the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem, many other catastrophes to the Jewish people occurred on Tisha B'Av; they are detailed elsewhere, and, quite frankly, too many in number to be pure coincidence.  Tisha B'Av is a very sad and mournful day.

Make no mistake about it:  We Jewish people now live in very dangerous times.  Our active and blatant enemies now attack us, in the face of condonation and cheering by our passive enemies.

Yet, I somehow sense a reason for hope.  Many factions of our people, factions traditionally antagonistic towards one another, have cooled down the hostilities of late.  This is not to say that there has been perfect unity, not by any means.  But still, there has been a palpable cessation in hostilities in certain quarters; in order to not pour gasoline on the embers I shall not now name particulars.  And if we come together, then nobody can destroy us.

Yes, there is increased hazard from our enemies.  And, given some activities in which I am now involved, in which I contemplate involvement in the near future, and given some travel plans for the foreseeable future, I may well take some personal hits from the violence against Jews.  But even if I personally am a victim, I just am more optimistic than ever before that the Jewish people will not only survive, but succeed and flourish

Despite the efforts of so many out there, we are not going to go away.

Am Israel Chai!