Many years ago, I worked at a summer camp as the Jewish Program Director. My job included creating all-camp Shabbat programs and bringing creative Jewish activity and learning alive for campers and staff. Since it was summer, there was just one holiday observed at camp, in addition to Shabbat: Tisha B’Av, the date on which we remember the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem – actually, the date came to mark the destruction of both the first and second Temples, and other calamities in our history as well, including the ill-fated Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans in 133 CE, the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492.
I felt so sad that this was the holiday we had to honor at summer camp. Why couldn’t it have been Sukkot – we could have built incredible forts for sleeping under the stars! Or Tu B’Shvat – think of all the tree planting, nature exploration and art projects about trees we could have done.
But honoring historic losses and fulfilling the mitzvah of introspection about communal mistakes was what our calendar gave us. So my staff colleagues and I created a program with beautiful music that encouraged calm reflection and a ritual in which we formed a human spiral. In that spiral, on the floor of the dining hall, we sat together while campers and staff read aloud from a list of historical tragedies that have befallen our people and others as well. We acknowledged that our people and others have been through crises and losses that have impacted us and our families even centuries later.
And then we invited whoever felt moved to share a short sentence about other hard things they wanted to acknowledge from history or our current world. We did not know how many young people would feel they had something to say, or who would be brave and willing to speak. Then, so many young people spoke that we had to gently bring this part to an end. Next, we invited them to share what gives them hope. The sharing went on, and on. Adults, teenagers and eight-year-olds shared what gave them hope in very hard moments.
Camp ended some days later, and new campers arrived for the next session. Staff members approached me and asked when we would be doing this important ceremony. Tisha B’Av was over, but in the middle of summer camp, they insisted we do something that enabled a kind of acknowledgement and sharing that is rare and necessary.
Today is Tisha B’Av. The Jewish people continue to live through immense grief and stress all over the world and particularly in Israel. And we also experience joy, connection and hope, especially when we are not pressured or expected to pretend that things are easy. In fact, it may be the chance to be real that provides the very opening for change and for change.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller
Tisha B’Av July 23, Va’etchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11) Torah Reading July 25, 2026
July 23, 2026 by Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller • D'var Torah, Julie Saxe-Taller
Many years ago, I worked at a summer camp as the Jewish Program Director. My job included creating all-camp Shabbat programs and bringing creative Jewish activity and learning alive for campers and staff. Since it was summer, there was just one holiday observed at camp, in addition to Shabbat: Tisha B’Av, the date on which we remember the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem – actually, the date came to mark the destruction of both the first and second Temples, and other calamities in our history as well, including the ill-fated Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans in 133 CE, the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492.
I felt so sad that this was the holiday we had to honor at summer camp. Why couldn’t it have been Sukkot – we could have built incredible forts for sleeping under the stars! Or Tu B’Shvat – think of all the tree planting, nature exploration and art projects about trees we could have done.
But honoring historic losses and fulfilling the mitzvah of introspection about communal mistakes was what our calendar gave us. So my staff colleagues and I created a program with beautiful music that encouraged calm reflection and a ritual in which we formed a human spiral. In that spiral, on the floor of the dining hall, we sat together while campers and staff read aloud from a list of historical tragedies that have befallen our people and others as well. We acknowledged that our people and others have been through crises and losses that have impacted us and our families even centuries later.
And then we invited whoever felt moved to share a short sentence about other hard things they wanted to acknowledge from history or our current world. We did not know how many young people would feel they had something to say, or who would be brave and willing to speak. Then, so many young people spoke that we had to gently bring this part to an end. Next, we invited them to share what gives them hope. The sharing went on, and on. Adults, teenagers and eight-year-olds shared what gave them hope in very hard moments.
Camp ended some days later, and new campers arrived for the next session. Staff members approached me and asked when we would be doing this important ceremony. Tisha B’Av was over, but in the middle of summer camp, they insisted we do something that enabled a kind of acknowledgement and sharing that is rare and necessary.
Today is Tisha B’Av. The Jewish people continue to live through immense grief and stress all over the world and particularly in Israel. And we also experience joy, connection and hope, especially when we are not pressured or expected to pretend that things are easy. In fact, it may be the chance to be real that provides the very opening for change and for change.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Julie Saxe-Taller