Speaking of mourning, here we have the sugiya about how much mourning should go with 9 Av. Interestingly, it only in the context of how long to refrain from cutting hair and doing laundry that we have a discussion. What is also interesting is that the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda -- that one should refrain from cutting hair and doing laundry for the whole month of Av -- which really is closest to the three week time period that seem normative nowadays (though a different three weeks) is not even considered as a viable option. The main argument is between Rabbi Meir (from Rosh Hodesh Av until 9 Av) and Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel (just the week that 9 Av falls in). The Talmud sees it both ways, and leaves the discussion open. And it is still left open in the Shulhan Aruh, where Karo sides with R' Shimon ben Gamliel and the Rema sides with Rabbi Meir.
How much mourning does 9 Av require? There is a limit put on mourning for individual people, but the bounds of mourning for 9 Av are up for debate. How does one express enough their sadness for a tragedy? Perhaps we can compare this to the proliferation of Holocaust museums around the world. The museums purpose of educating the next generation not to forget about the people who died and what happened in the Holocaust I would imagine is a similar goal to racking up the days of mourning around 9 Av -- it is just a different method of teaching it. Can someone ever do enough for the memory of those unjustly murdered and for the civilization lost? Probably not. But when can the living take the lessons from the tragedy and move on?
Friday, January 18, 2008
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Right. I think our generation is really going to have to figure this out vis a vis the Holocaust, and it's place in our ritual/education/identity. I like your point that mourning for an individual seems to have defined limits, while national mourning seems to bleed into other days and weeks and months.
I am struck by the fact that the gemarah, closer in time to the events, is still undecided about now much mourning we should do (and indeed notes two situations where two opinions are given specifically lekulah) but that in general things have been to mourning practices in regards to tisha b'av and the omer.
What does all this mean for us as we contemplate the first generation of Jews who will live entirely (or largely) without living witnesses of the Holocaust. It could be that when a destruction is still fresh, less ritualized mourning is needed, but that as it recedes into memory, the keepers of the culture fear it will be lost and respond by adding time and ritual. Or it could be that we simply let the thing slip away as a distinct disaster, much as we have done with the Spanish Inquisition and Expulsion, as well as the destruction of the first crusades. That takes time though, and I don't see that occuring with the Holocaust in our life-time. So the question remains open, as far as I can see: how will our generation, a link between living memory and ritualized memory, respond to this challenge?
Thoughts?
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