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Hi Reader
I'm writing to you from the floor. Literally. It's midafternoon in New York, my stomach is empty, my throat is dry, and I'm still sitting low the way we do on Tisha B'Av. Seven hours ahead of me, in Israel, the fast is already breaking. Living in two time zones does something strange to a day like this. Half my heart is still mourning. The other half already smells the coffee my family is pouring back home.
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From The Ground
Last night, before we sat down for Eicha, the whole camp lined up in the dark and walked by torchlight. No talking, just footsteps on the grass and flames held high, girls in black skirts and white sneakers walking two by two toward the building where we'd read the megillah together. It's a tradition at my camp, and honestly at most Modern Orthodox sleepaway camps. I've watched it every summer for years and it still gets me every time. Hundreds of teenagers who could be anywhere else in the world, choosing to walk in silence toward grief because it's ours to carry together.
Meanwhile in the Old City in Jerusalem, thousands gathered at the Kotel tonight the same way they have for almost two thousand years.
And yet, this is Tisha B'Av. We don't stop building just because we're mourning. We build because of it.
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If I Can Fast in Gaza, We Can Fast in Freedom
Former hostage Bar Kupershtein spoke about fasting through Tisha B'Av last year, in a Gaza tunnel, and what this day means to him now that he's free to sit on the floor by choice instead of by force.
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Before They Tore Her House Down, Rachel Said Thank You
On October 7th, Rachel and her family hid in their safe room while Hamas terrorists moved through her house in Be'eri. They drank her coffee. They fired their weapons inside her walls. They set it on fire. By open miracle, her family survived. Now Be'eri is rebuilding, and Rachel's home had to come down to make room for what's next.
Moments before the demolition, she stood outside and said Mizmor L'Todah, Psalm 100, thanking Hashem for the gift of life. Our sages teach that Mashiach is born on Tisha B'Av, that hidden inside our deepest heartbreak is already the first spark of what gets rebuilt. Rachel lived that teaching out loud, on her own front lawn. ๐ฏ๏ธ
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She Buried Her Son. Then She Put On a Uniform For Him.
Einav Danino's son, Master Sgt. Ori Danino, was murdered by Hamas after being kidnapped on October 7th while trying to save others. At 47 years old, Einav enlisted in the IDF. This week she graduated as an officer, in a unit built to help wounded soldiers rebuild their lives. She didn't just mourn Ori. She picked up where he left off. ๐
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An 80 Year Old Grandfather Marched the Whole Route With His Grandson
Berets everywhere in Israel this week, ceremony after ceremony, and this is the photo that stopped me in my scroll. ๐ฎ๐ฑ
This week's Golani Reconnaissance beret march included Grandpa Itzik, age 80, who joined his grandson Corporal Y' for the entire march and even helped carry the stretcher.
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He Passed His Beret to the Son of the Doctor Who Saved His Life
Aviad was critically wounded fighting to rescue hostages. The doctor who saved him has a son, and that son enlisted in the same Givati Brigade, inspired by Aviad's story. At his graduation this week, the two of them traded berets, one battle tested, one brand new. That's the whole circle, right there. ๐ช
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1,200 Bar and Bat Mitzvahs at the Kotel, All in One Week
The Maccabiah Games, the "Jewish Olympics," brought thousands of international athletes and guests to Israel this year, many for the first time. 1,200 of them celebrated their Bar or Bat Mitzvah at the Western Wall, made possible by the Maccabiah, KKL-JNF, and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. Mazel tov to every single one of them. ๐
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Soldiers Watched the World Cup From a Former Hezbollah Stronghold
IDF soldiers took a break this week to catch a World Cup match from Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, a site that used to be a Hezbollah stronghold.
And down in Tel Aviv, the whole city stopped for the finals. If there's one thing that unites every Israeli regardless of anything else, it's soccer. Even during the Nine Days. โฝ
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Jerusalem Just Beat Out Nearly Every City on Earth
Travel + Leisure ranked Jerusalem the 7th best city in the world for 2026, based on votes from over 661,000 travelers, and named it the top destination in the Middle East and Africa. Thousands of years of history and it's still winning people over one visit at a time. ๐
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Colombia Is Coming Back
After a political shift in Colombia, the two countries are restoring diplomatic relations, and Colombia will be opening an embassy in Jerusalem. Quietly one of the better pieces of news this week. ๐จ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฑ
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A Friend We Lost This Week
US Senator Lindsey Graham passed away this week at 71 from an aortic rupture. He was one of Israel's strongest friends in Washington, someone who had President Trump's ear on Israel's behalf more times than we can count, and someone who visited Israel again and again because he actually meant it. A real loss, for the US and for us. Thank you, Senator Graham. ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐บ๐ธ
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If you want to sit with the day a little longer after this: Rachel Goldberg Polin's interview with Dan Senor, Jen Airley's episode on OU Israel highlighting organizations preparing for Mashiach and the Third Beit Hamkidash, and the new documentary Just Tell Me You're Alive are all worth your time. |
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