Tisha B’Av – which falls on August 13 this year – is a day of collective grief and reflection on the destruction of the ancient Temple and the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the centuries. And there have been many.
But even as we reflect on the tragedy of our history, we are also reminded of how – in the wake of destruction – we imagined a radically new and vibrant future. Just as we shifted from grief to radical imagination 2,000 years ago, we need to do so today to envision a bold new climate future.
When our ancestors faced the destruction of the ancient Temple, they mourned and lamented. Then they got to work. Crafting a new paradigm for a new era, they replaced the Temple-based sacrificial system and built a Judaism centered on learning, prayer, and mitzvot. The Judaism we practice today is defined by what our ancestors did in the wake of destruction.
This year, we are struggling to come to terms with the devastation of our planet. The relentless increase in our global temperature is warming earth, air, and water, and accelerating the dangers to human life. The climate crisis is devastating countless lives already – especially in communities already struggling to survive – and threatens to wreak havoc at a global scale.
But like our ancestors before us, we cannot lose ourselves to despair. We too live in a time in which we must remake our world. We have the opportunity to step into action and raise our collective voice for bold policies: Climate solutions that can transform our society for generations to come.
As we mark Tisha B’Av, I want to share one way you can move from grief to action: Join Dayenu as we launch Chutzpah 2024 and help mobilize half-a-million climate-concerned voters to go to the polls this fall.
In order to transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy solutions, we need climate champions in offices across the country. We need to challenge the fossil fuel industry and invest in sweeping, systemic change.
This Tisha B’Av we commemorate destruction and loss – and then we turn to envisioning and building a different future. I hope you will join us.
rabbi jennie rosenn
A visionary and leader in the non-profit sector, Rabbi Jennie Rosenn founded Dayenu in 2020 to mobilize the American Jewish community to confront the climate crisis with spiritual audacity and bold political action. The organization has since grown exponentially, and now mobilizes thousands of Jewish climate activists.
Rabbi Rosenn has spent more than two decades leading Jewish non-profit organizations, advocating for social change and creating dynamic new initiatives at the heart of the Jewish social justice movement. Before founding Dayenu, she served as vice president for community engagement at HIAS, where she built a robust Jewish movement responding to the global refugee crisis.