בס”ד
Today is Tisha Be’Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. For nearly two millennia, the Jewish people have observed this day in mourning. Not only because of the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, but because of what those destructions meant: a rupture in the relationship between the people of Israel and Hashem; a loss of spiritual clarity in the world; and an exile that continues to this very day.
But what about you?
You who are not Jewish but have chosen to stand with Hashem, the God of Israel.
You who live by the eternal truth of the Seven Noahide Laws, and who see in the Torah not just the history of one nation, but the spiritual architecture of humanity itself.
What does this day mean for you?
Let’s explore that together.
A Day of Tragedy—But Not Just for the Jews
Tisha B’Av commemorates tragedy. Yes, it marks the fall of Jerusalem. Yes, it marks the destruction of the Temples. But what lies beneath these events is more than architecture—it’s the shattering of a vision. A vision of unity between heaven and earth, between the Divine and human.
The Beit HaMikdash—the Holy Temple—was more than a building. It was the dwelling place of the Divine Presence (see Exodus 25:8). And we know that the prophet Isaiah said it would be a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7). That means you were meant to be there, too.
The tragedy of Tisha Be’Av is not just a Jewish tragedy. It’s a human tragedy. Because when the world lost the Beit HaMikdash, it lost its heart.
“Why Should This Matter to Me?”
You might ask,
“I’m not Jewish. I’m not obligated in Jewish holidays. Why should this day matter to me?”
And it’s a good question.
It’s true. The Torah was given specifically to the Jewish people at Sinai—with commandments and rituals that are not incumbent upon the nations. But there are some days on the Jewish calendar that do have global meaning.
Take Rosh Hashanah, for example. What we call the Jewish New Year. In the Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:2, the Torah teaches that on this day all the world stands in judgment before the Creator.
Or Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. In Temple times, special offerings were brought for each of the 70 nations. And the prophet Zechariah foretells that in the future, all nations will come to Jerusalem to celebrate this festival together (Zechariah 14:16).
Because ultimately, we are one human family.
From Adam to Noah, from Noah to today, Hashem has been calling humanity back to Him. Not with a thousand religions, but with one divine truth, expressed in different ways for different roles.
Why Jerusalem?
Jerusalem is not just another city.
It’s not Rome. It’s not Mecca. It’s not Washington, Moscow, or Beijing.
It’s the city where God chose to dwell. We have that expression throughout the Tanakh.
Why is that the place?
Because it was home to the Beit HaMikdash. That’s why the Beit HaMikdash was built in the first place—because it is the place Hashem chose for His Name to dwell.
And the Beit HaMikdash—that physical building which marked the indwelling of the Divine Presence—made it the center of spiritual gravity for the world.
What Went Wrong?
But what happened?
As the Rambam teaches in Hilchot Avodah Zarah, chapter 1, the earliest humanity knew the one God. Adam walked with God. So did Noah. But over time, people made a terrible mistake. They began to serve the stars, the forces of nature, intermediaries. They believed they were honoring God by honoring His servants.
And thus, idolatry was born.
It wasn’t just a philosophical error. It was a mistake that fragmented humanity. It fractured the truth. And when humanity forgot God, it forgot each other.
But Hashem never forgot us.
The Jewish people were chosen to receive the Torah in its full form. But the Seven Noahide Laws, the foundation of human civilization, were there from the beginning (see Genesis 9). And many of you today are reclaiming that birthright. You’ve left behind false religions. You’ve rejected theological confusion. You’ve returned—not to the Jewish nation perhaps—but to Judaism, to the God of the Jews, and to the moral clarity of His word.
That’s not small.
That’s a prophecy in motion (see Isaiah 2:2–4).
History Is Not Dead
It’s tempting to think that Tisha B’Av is about history. But history is not dead.
History is repeating itself—only now with hashtags and headlines.
We live in a time of moral and spiritual inversion—where darkness calls itself light, and light is called hate (see Isaiah 5:20). The world says it cares about human rights. The UN passes resolution after resolution—against one nation: Israel.
The International Criminal Court threatens to arrest Israeli leaders for defending their citizens against genocidal terrorists.
University students chant for the destruction of the Jewish state, calling it liberation.
Mainstream media platforms lies.
Celebrities virtue signal for causes they don’t understand.
Young people—confused and idealistic—are swept up into a manufactured storm of anti-Zionism, which is nothing more than the world’s oldest hatred, wearing new clothes (see Psalm 83:4).
What Unites the Hatred?
What’s behind it all?
It’s a strange coalition of radical Islamists, Muslim Brotherhood–linked regimes, Marxist and postmodern ideologues, global bureaucrats, and influencers from TikTok to the Ivy League.
What unites these people?
A common enemy: the idea of Israel, the people of Israel, the mission of the Jews, and the God who chose them (see Deuteronomy 7:6–8).
It’s not rational. But exile never is.
This day—Tisha B’Av—teaches us that when the Temple is missing, the world loses its axis of truth. Chaos reigns. Lies become law. And the very people who were tasked with bringing light to the nations become the most hated among them (see Isaiah 42:6, 49:6).
That’s exile.
The Role of the Righteous Among the Nations
That’s why you, friends—the righteous among the nations—have a role.
Because if the war is spiritual, the response must be spiritual, too.
It’s true: there’s a State of Israel, a strong economy, a vibrant culture, a resilient people. But still, there is no Beit HaMikdash. There is no Temple.
And so the world is still broken.
Even for Jews—with all our modern success—we know that redemption has not yet come. That’s why we spend this entire day in introspection and teshuvah, hoping that we will finally set into place the tikkun that will bring about the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash and the beginning of Geulah—of redemption.
The Temple is not just about sacrifice or ritual. It’s about Hashem’s presence (see Exodus 25:8). It’s about Hashem’s closeness to this world. Until the day the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt, the world will remain spiritually incomplete.
And as long as that day has not come, Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning—not just for the Jews (principally for the Jews), but not only for the Jews.
For anyone who longs for truth, peace, and clarity in this world.
What Can You Do?
So what can you do if you are what they call a Noahide these days?
There have been people like this throughout the centuries. In Roman times—and we’re speaking about Tisha B’Av, because the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans—Judaism was very popular. Which is one of the things that made it very dangerous.
Those people were called God-fearers—people who walked the path of the righteous among the nations.
What can you do on this day?
You don’t need to fast.
You don’t need to recite the Kinot, the ancient laments.
You don’t need to sit on the ground.
But you can pause.
You can mourn.
And you can stand with the Jewish people.
Because they are not just another nation. They are the ones who have carried the vision of God’s unity through fire and exile, through hatred and falsehood across the centuries.
And you too serve the G-d of Israel.
You too yearn for His truth to fill the earth (see Isaiah 11:9).
When you support the Jewish people—not just politically, but spiritually—you’re aligning with your own destiny. Because one day, says Isaiah, all nations will stream to Jerusalem (see Isaiah 2:2). Not in hatred. Not in protest. But in longing. In peace.
And when the Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt, it will be for all of us.
It will be a house of prayer for all nations.
So mourn with us.
Hope with us.
And above all, stand with us.
Because when redemption comes,
it will not be for one people only—
It will be for a world that finally remembers who it is.
— Tisha B’Av
By Rabbi Tani Burton
If you want more questions for contemplation, SEE THE OTHER BLOGS FROM RABBI TANI BURTON ABOUT DE PARSHAT QUESTIONS
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