Tisha b'Av

Today is Tisha b'Av (which for all you non-Hebrew speakers out there, literally means "the ninth of Av," Av being one of the Jewish months), and I have no class. It's a holiday commemorating the destruction of the first and second Temples... they were destroyed hundreds of years apart, but on the same date. People observe it by fasting and refraining from all other kinds of things, sort of like on Yom Kippur. I confess that I had to consult Wikipedia to learn what this holiday is about, because back home I never observed it, let alone even knew about it. But here it's a big deal and lots of things are closed, including the university. Perhaps people in Israel feel more connected to the history of the Temples and the Jewish people, and that's why they take this day so much more seriously here (not to mention the religious influence in the Knesset). And I guess it's a bit ironic that the one time in my life I get a day off from school for a Jewish holiday, it's one that I don't observe.

One of the most interesting things about being here is that it's allowed me to discover new things about my own country. The other day, on Shabbat, I began comparing religious influence on daily life in Israel and the US, and realized that I've been kind of mistaken about my country for a long time. The thing is, everyone knows that no matter how much we pretend otherwise, the US is basically a Christian nation. It was founded on Christian principles as a haven from religious persecution -- but not as a haven for everyone, just for certain sects of Christianity. I've always thought it ludicrous that we pretend to be so secular; how can you call yourself secular when Sunday, the Christian Sabbath, is the day when shops close early and there's no mail?

But being in Israel has made me realize how secular the US really is, and shown me what it's really like for one religion to dictate the way everything runs. Because Shabbat here is way more intense than Sunday at home. Sure, I know that there are still places in the States where absolutely everything shuts down on Sundays. But in most of the country, you can still go to the store, take the bus, and do almost everything else that you can do on any other day. In Israel on Shabbat, mostly everything shuts down. It's a little different where I am -- Haifa is a mixed city with a large Arab population, and in some parts of the city places stay open. There's even some bus service on Shabbat, which is unheard of in the rest of the country. But despite all this, I still felt the effect of Shabbat as I walked around Haifa this past Saturday. There was hardly anyone else on the streets. Metal grills were pulled down over storefronts, and doors were locked. The Haifa Art Museum was open, and that's where I went with a couple friends, but afterwards when we tried to find food, the only place open was McDonald's (go figure).

And today, Tisha b'Av, the country is shut down once again for a Jewish holiday. It's definitely a little weird being in this kind of majority, the kind that can shut down stores (it's usually the Christians who take care of that back home), and it's even weirder that despite this holiday being for my religion, it's a holiday I don't observe. Sundays in America are also holidays I don't observe, but they are so much more secular than I ever realized. It's definitely pretty cool that being here has given me a new perspective for when I go back home.