Tisha B’Av began this past Saturday night and continued through Sunday—a date on the Jewish calendar set aside for remembering the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. It's a day that invites us to reflect on loss, resilience, and what it means to connect to holiness. 

Tisha B’Av isn’t widely observed in Reform communities. While the day mourns the destruction of the Temples, the Reform movement views it as a turning point that led to new ways of praying and connecting with God beyond any single place. Reform Judaism teaches that holiness isn’t confined to a building, but can be found wherever people come together with purpose, community, and heart—as exemplified here at Temple Judea.

As we shared last week, this summer’s theme at Camp Sababa was Holy Spaces. For two weeks, our campers explored what makes something sacred, and how that sense of holiness lives not just in places, but in people. One of the centerpieces of that experience was building scale models of the ancient Tabernacle and First Temple. These were not quick crafts. The campers poured care, imagination, and pride into every detail.

It’s not lost on us that, just hours before we were commemorating destruction, our campers were celebrating the kind of holy connection, teamwork, and creativity that helped bring those very structures into being. It’s one thing to mourn the loss of the Temple. It’s another when our learners begin to understand why it mattered so deeply to our people in the first place. Tisha B’Av is about that very tension—between memory and meaning, between grief and resilience.

The models will be taken apart sometime this week, not as an ending, but as a recognition that holiness doesn’t live in the place itself, but in the hearts and community that brought it to life. We’re proud of our campers for stepping into that lesson so fully and reminding us that while sacred structures may not last, sacred moments and values can endure.

But Judaism doesn’t leave us in sorrow. As we teach our children and remind ourselves, even in times of loss, we find ways to reconnect and renew our relationship with God and one another. That’s why, just a few days after Tisha B’Av, we arrive at Tu B’Av—a celebration of love and connection. In that spirit, we invite you to join us this Friday, August 8, for Erev Shabbat at 6:15 pm, as we celebrate the strength we find in each other at Temple Judea and the holy space we continue to build together.