Today we commemorate 9th of Av, the day of the destruction of our Temple. A day of sadness for every Jew, no matter who he is.<\/p>\r\n
But for me, as a Baal Teshuvah, this day has a very special importance, and you will immediately understand why.<\/p>\r\n
It was 9th of Av, 3 years ago. I was a child then - a secular teenager, a little past the age of religious observance, whose connection to religion was purely coincidental.<\/p>\r\n
In the accompanying article, I will mention that it took me a while before I could talk about my personal process of repentance, as I naturally had a desire to repress my previous life.<\/p>\r\n
Anyway, like many secular people, I didn't really know the significance of the day. I knew it was the day of the destruction of the Temple Mount, but other than that, I didn't know or understand anything about the essence of the date.<\/p>\r\n
As a secular person, I didn't really connect with the "concept" of Tishrei.<\/p>\r\n
As a rule, if you ask secular people about the three weeks and nine days, you will encounter complete ignorance (they have more of an idea about Ramadan).<\/p>\r\n
During these days, everyone is on vacation, so children no longer have school at this time and teachers cannot teach them, even in a nutshell, about Tishrei.<\/p>\r\n
Running to the supermarket<\/strong><\/p>\r\n \u00a0I was no exception, but suddenly, three years ago everything changed for me.<\/p>\r\n The eve of Tishrei B'Av arrived, and I decided to fast. How did I arrive as someone who had not fasted on Yom Kippur that year - and suddenly fast on Tishrei B'Av?<\/p>\r\n Tears are flowing down my face as I write this, remembering my past. It's a bit complicated, but I'll try to explain.<\/p>\r\n That year, when I heard about Tishrei, it gave me something like a "spark of holiness." I read about this day and was amazed.<\/p>\r\n In my opinion, it was the first time in my life that I developed independent thinking and not dictated by social dictates, stigmas, and stereotypes. After 'researching' the day - right before the start of the fast, I ran to the supermarket near my house and spontaneously, without thinking too much, bought a few things for a 'breakfast meal'.<\/p>\r\n I quickly returned from the supermarket, ate quickly, and drank as much as possible, after having eaten and drunk almost nothing the rest of the day.<\/p>\r\n As the fast began, I realized that I was about to have 24 hours of fasting. I hoped to get through it peacefully with the little food I managed to put in my mouth. So it's true, towards the end of the fast I almost fainted and went to bed, but it was an experience that opened a door, or perhaps a window, for me to draw closer to God Almighty.<\/p>\r\n The power of reflection<\/strong><\/p>\r\n In those days, the newspaper headlines were dominated by the incidents of "spitting in Beit Shemesh," "exclusion of women," etc.<\/p>\r\n The day of Tisha B'Av, with all its meanings, entered my consciousness and I suddenly realized that there is another side that is not necessarily a monster...<\/p>\r\n I learned the meaning of the destruction and its causes, and the consequences of gratuitous hatred strengthened my shaky Jewish identity, and made me understand the destructive power of 'reflection.'.<\/p>\r\n People see the media as objective bodies that report only the truth. But I realized that the media may not report lies, but neither does it report objective truth. I realized that it operates through a mechanism that takes marginal cases and turns them into a supposedly widespread reality, in order to provide a big, spicy headline.<\/p>\r\n I have a sharp criticism of the conduct of the general media. I see it as one of the main causes of incitement and delegitimization against the Haredi sector. As a convert, believe me that I know what I'm talking about.<\/p>\r\n The hatred does not stem from pure motives, it must be admitted, but comes from a place of ignorance and basic lack of recognition of the Haredi world.<\/p>\r\n I hope with all my heart that with the complete redemption that will come, the eyes of all who are in error will be opened, and everyone will be granted the privilege of seeing the truth soon in our day, Amen.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I was older than 13, the eve of Tishrei B'Av arrived, and I decided that I would fast \u2022 How did I come to be someone who did not fast on Yom Kippur that year and suddenly fast on Tishrei B'Av? \u2022 It's a bit complicated, but I'll try to explain","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[9406,5231,6429,9407],"class_list":["post-188694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-138","tag-9406","tag-5231","tag-6429","tag-9407"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n