, , „ 94",:t 0tOlikkAPV-tgir:MINZASOMM:117 ..„ ze,1/4400 Cover Story/The Big Story • Hair Care Hair Extensions & Hair Pieces Our Lament (ponytails, braids) (customer colors available) Ra- Nail Care 2448 1312 BCE The poignant, painful and unusual text we read on Tisha bAv. • Body Jewels vt*. Trench Bratty Accessories C.4\its FOR SUMMER FUN.– ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM AppleTree Editor toe rings, hair/face glitter, makeup, lotions s te. Shop Where The Pros Shop All Products at Discounted Prices GUARAN'i*EED r,:, ukti. ,... i. •„ N SUMMER. 11 URS: Mon St Tues 9:00am-6:00pm Wed & Fri 9:00am-8:00pm 3830 70 BCE D e struction r of Second Ternple b' Romans under .Titus. MOre than as rr result :of War, million Jes die r.r famine and disease.More than g pillion Jews exiled to all parts r of the Roman Empire, Sat 10:00am-5:00pm 6243 Orchard Lake Rd. pothack Steakhouse foorafield ( r 24 a> 38-4330 -4329 Fax 3892 '132 BCE Barlcochba revolt crushed More than 100,00 Jews killed. 3893 133 -BCE Turnus Rufus ploughs the site of the Temple. Romans build pagan city of Adia Capitolina on site of Jerusalem. "THE BEST FRESH SUSHI" SAPPORO Japanese Restaurant Lunch Special Bento $6.75 Sushi Lunch Special $7.95 Dinner Special (Teriyaki or Tempura) 2 For Only_$19.95 r :5% OFF YOUR BILL II (Dinner Only) I a I. 6835 Orchard Lake Rd., West Bloomfield, MI 48322 (at Md Orchard Mak, Farmer Jack Center) (248) 828-8111 4855 1095 BCE First Crusade declared by Pope Urban II. Ten-thousand jews killed in first month. Crusades bring death and destruction to thousands of Jews and totally obliterate many communities in Rhindand.and France. .5050: 1290 BCE Expulsion of Jews from England, accompanied by pogroms and con- fis-cation of books and property. 5252 1492 BCE Inquisition in . pain and Portugal culminates it the expulsion of Jews . for the Iberian Peninsula. 5702 1942 BCE Deportations begin from Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka concentra- tion camp. 5754 1994 BCE AMLA. Jewish corn- ota mfinity center in Buenos Ai.res kills 86 people and wounds some 300 others. dr, 7/27 2001 60 Timeline courtesy of Oh_ r Sonayaeli International www.ohnedu n Hebrew, it is called Eichah, taken from the first word of the first chapter, "How." How does the city sit solitary, that was fill of people, the author cries. In English, it is called Lamentations. It comprises five chapters, all of which focus on the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E., and it is the central text read on Tisha b'Av. Written from the perspective of several poets who lament the devastation that befell Jerusalem and its residents, Eichah is filled with poetry and metaphors — and mystery. Sometimes, the writer speaks achingly, directly to Jerusalem itself, and asks the city to call out to God; sometimes, he speaks of its destruction in the third per- son. At times, the writer is an individual, while other times it is a chorus that tells of Israel's loss. Like many of Judaism's most famous prayers, Eichah's first four poems are alphabetic acrostics; additionally, chapter three is a triple acrostic. Interestingly enough, chapters in Eichah are not really devoted to a certain theme. Instead, each makes references that are often repeated throughout. The first chapter speaks of the loneliness of the destroyed Jerusalem, no longer inhabited by Jews and without allies in the world. The second chapter describes which particular parts of the city were ruined, and God's role in bringing them down. The fourth chapter tells of how the former dwellers of Jerusalem are in pain, while the final chapter speaks of the agony of those who stayed in Jerusalem after the city had been attacked. The real heart of Eichah is the third chapter, in which the motif is great suf- fering, and hope lost and found. Here, the author writes in 3:18, "I thought my strength and hope had perished before the Lord." But still, he says, he will not droWn in his despair, for God cares for those who trust Him. Though God will certainly punish, the author says, so, too, will He forgive. But meanwhile, man must examine his own soul and reflect on his behavior to understand why God has deemed such harsh punishment neces- sary. As the chapter ends, the author returns to lamenting what he has suf- fered, and begs God both for vengeance and salvation. While Eichah would seem to make clear the fact that God is delivering pun- ishment that is well deserved, nowhere does the text say what the residents of Jerusalem did to receive such a terrible fate. There is this mysterious phrase: "It was for the sins of her prophets, the iniquities of her priests/Who had shed in her midst the blood of the innocent." No scholar has been able to point to exactly what sins the prophets and priests committed. In fact, it is certain that Jerusalem's Jewish community was not engaged in one of the most egre- gious sins: idolatry Consequently, many rabbis have said the writer of this statement simply was looking for something to explain the destruction. One of the most compelling questions about Eichah is exactly who wrote it. No name is attached to the verses. Some point to a variety of authors; oth- ers suggest it was Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. Most identify the author as Jeremiah. Why Jeremiah? Jeremiah did, in fact, live through the destruction of Jerusalem, and scholars throughout history have commented on the similarities in the writing styles found in the Book of Jeremiah and Eichah. Yet some point to the obvious differ- ences between the personality evinced by the author of Eichah and that of Jeremiah. The most striking: Jeremiah had no hesitation about telling why Israel would be punished, while the author of Eichah struggles to come up with an answer, and never really finds one. No doubt because of its poignant sub- ject matter and language, Eichah has inspired numerous works of art, espe- cially in the field of music. One of these has become a Gregorian chant used in the Catholic Church, while contempo- rary composers, including Ernst Krenek, Manuel Rosenthal, Igor Stravinsky and Leonard Bernstein, all composed works inspired by Eichah. 0