Resource Category: Tisha B'av

On Tisha B’av, we mourn the loss of the first and second Temples that once stood in Jerusalem and pray for the rebuilding of the third. Over the centuries, however, the holiday also has evolved into a day of commemoration of tragedies affecting different Jewish communities at various points in history across the globe. On Tisha B’av, we remember tragedies both communal and individual, and are thus given the opportunity to come together and learn to rebuild one another’s mental health after the devastating effects of those tragedies, and more, exemplifying the mental health middah of kol Yisrael arevim zeh la zeh (all Jews are responsible for each other).

To that end, the Blue Dove Foundation is proud to present articles and resources to help practitioners explore the ways Tisha B’av helps us learn how to build up one another after experiencing great loss as well as about how to practice mourning that is nourishing for the soul and healthy for the mind.

What to Do When Our Walls Fall

Jerusalem’s walls may feel like a far-off historical artifact, but those walls and their destruction are actually deeply relevant to our lives — and our mental wellness — in two critical ways. Walls, like many things in our lives, offer security and identity, and we need to remember them.
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Coping with Grief and Trauma Following October 7 and Recent Events in Israel, Gaza and the United States

By Ruth Weinberg, LPC | There is no one Jewish experience or perspective. Clients expressed a huge range of feelings, reactions, opinions and political beliefs. This has been an unbelievable time in our world. My heart goes out to all living beings struggling with the terror and violence they have lived, witnessed or been exposed to. In addition, I empathize with all those who have endured hateful and painful experiences as they try to cope with these events. Though sadly there is no easy fix for our pain, this article offers strategies for coping with grief and trauma arising from the recent violence in the Middle East and the reverberating antisemitism that has followed.
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Catching Friends Before Rock Bottom

It is true that people aren’t always ready to accept help, even when they desperately need it, but that doesn’t mean we need to wait until they hit rock bottom before accepting or seeking help. We can and should intervene before our friends get to that point. But we need to understand how to do it most effectively and sensitively.
Person helping another person up.
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Tisha B’Av: A Day of Hope and Loss

Don’t let your flame go out. Mourning and despair signify your care for something beyond yourself; maybe it is forever lost or temporarily unobtainable, but your yearning is the first step to rebuilding. If the fire remains burning, not all hope is extinguished. There is a nostalgia or vision for better times. The process and hard work come in chasing that renewal, and it all starts with a hope to drive us.
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