Sunday also saw our people mourn another, long-ago loss. It is said that a people who remember their heritage are destined to enjoy their future. We sure know how to do history - so many Jewish people around the world actually fasted from sundown Sat night for 25 long, hot hours. We mourned the loss of our temple 2000 (!) years ago. Try saying that and being taken seriously in some circles. But I know we are family here, and we share our deepest troubles and highest achievements. This year I seem to have heard a few versions of the same theme: Questioning what we are actually mourning, and suggesting that we are not missing a building but a way of life. We are not simply without this vehicle but it prevents us from a way of connecting with God. We cannot simply visit Jerusalem three times a year at the Temple, enriched with the energy and passion of pure worship. We also do not have the connection among our people, all equal and joined together in praise of someone higher than us. This is what we are missing, and we pray for the day that God returns to our midst, with clarity and love, to guide our every day.
Until then, we do our best to fulfill the prophecy of Zachariah, aspiring to truth and peace.
"So says the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. "
