Broken Apart - Tisha B'Av

The weather is beautiful in Atlanta today.  It's breezy, taking the edge off the heat, making it easier to fast.  Today is Tisha B'Av, the 9th day of the Jewish month of Av, a day designated for mourning and fasting.  On this day, both the First and Second Temples were destroyed in ancient Jerusalem, as well as a myriad of other historical tragedies. The Temple was God's house.  Not having that space to be with God was inconceivable. The inconceivable happened.  The inconceivable is happening. Reading the Book of Lamentations is horribly painful.  It's hard to take in.  There is lots of writing about how good comes from bad.  What if we didn't add on the "but, then...", or the "what's next" -  ilke telling a grief-stricken friend that their loved one "is in a better place".  What if we gave ourselves permission to feel brokenness in all its misery? What if, for one day or one moment, today or any other day, we truly feel how are our homes have been and are being broken apart?  Mourning doesn't negate the miracle of coming together, of love and healing, it claims space for all of human experience.