Tisha B´av March and Dialogue

Israel National News ^ | 17:01 Jul 26, '04 / 8 Av 5764

[yonif]

Tonight (Monday) marks the beginning of Tisha B'Av - the ninth day of the month of Av - the Jewish People's national day of mourning and fasting. Commemorating several sad events in our history, it is most noted for being the date of the destruction of both Holy Temples in Jerusalem - some 2,500 and 2,000 years ago, respectively. They both stood on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.

In keeping with the Jewish tradition of showing our longing for the rebuilding of the Holy City, many thousands of people are expected to participate in tonight's tenth annual Tisha B'Av march around the Old City of Jerusalem. The march, sponsored by Women in Green, will begin at 9:30 PM at Safra Square, and will then proceed to the New Gate (several meters to the east of the end of Jaffa Rd.), Damascus Gate, Lions Gate, Flower Gate, Dung Gate and the Western Wall.

The Tisha B'Av commemorations begin this evening with the Maariv evening prayer service, followed by the reading aloud of Eichah, the Book of Lamentations. Eichah will be read publicly in several locations, including in Jerusalem at Safra Square City Hall and the International Cultural Center for Youth on Emek Refaim St., and in Tel Aviv at the Beit Ariela center near the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

Minister Natan Sharansky (Likud) and former Minister MK Rabbi Michael Melchior (Labor) will take part in both of the latter events, which will metamorphose into public panels and discussion/study groups. Sharansky will begin in Jerusalem, appearing together with Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun, retired Supreme Court justice Dalia Dorner, and others, after which the audience will break up into small Torah study groups. In Tel Aviv, Rabbi Melchior will take part in one of several dialogue pairs, along with TV personality Yair Lapid, hareidi newspaper publisher Dudi Zilbershlag, and others. Sharansky and Melchior will replace each other in the above two events as the evening wears on.