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“For these things, I weep” (Eicha / Lamentations 1:16)
Erev Tisha b’Av 5786 | A Ritual of Grief and Solidarity Amidst a World In Pieces
Wednesday, July 22nd at 7:30 PM | Federal Plaza, Downtown Chicago
Case-sensitive RSVP link: bit.ly/9AvChicago | Co-Sponsors include Rabbis for Ceasefire, Higaleh Nah Chavurah, IfNotNow Chicago, Tzedek Chicago, JVP Chicago, and more
*traditional, complete reading of Eicha / Lamentations upon sundown (after approx 8:18 PM on 7/22)*

Tisha b’Av, the 9th day of the month of Av, is an annual fast day on the Jewish calendar traditionally marking historical tragedies that befell the Jewish community (the destruction of the first and second temples, in 586 BCE and 70 CE respectively, the expulsion of Sephardic Jews from Spain in 1492, the Nazi Holocaust, etc). Tisha b’Av marks the beginning of the season of teshuva: spiritual - personal - communal return, repair and reconciliation.

Today in 5786 / 2026, woven into the lamentations of our spiritual present are cries at the ongoing destruction of Palestinian life by Israel. We rise in solidarity with Palestinians facing the violence of the Israeli military, and with all who continue to face the destruction of empire at home and abroad. Join us for a ritual of public mourning and teshuva, of turning towards sacred repair and urgent action as we cry out proclaiming the inviolable dignity of all human life.