Students at Sydney’s Emanuel School gathered on Thursday to mark Tisha B’Av with a ceremony of remembrance and reflection.
Years 6 to 12 students came together to observe the fast day, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history.
During the ceremony, students lit memorial candles in memory of those who died through destruction, persecution and violence.
The tribute also honoured victims of antisemitism, from the Holocaust and the Bondi massacre through to the present day.
Students joined in a recitation of Eicha (Lamentations), the biblical book traditionally read on Tisha B’Av.
The opening word, “Eicha”, meaning “How?”, gives voice to grief, loss and the search for meaning in times of suffering.
The school said the reading also encouraged students to reflect on their responsibility to one another and the part each person can play in building a more compassionate and united society.
The ceremony concluded with an address by Year 11 student Tennyson Wheeler.
Wheeler asked how people can continue dreaming of better lives and a better world when society appears to have accepted mediocrity.
The school said Tisha B’Av was a sombre day of mourning and reflection, but also a time to rise, move forward, strengthen communities and work to repair the world.
Tisha B’Av falls on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av and is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar.
Click here to read the address by Year 11 student Tennyson Wheeler.