קינה על מאורעות זמננו
A Tisha b'Av Lament for October 7th
Rabbi Moshe Hauer, Orthodox Union Tisha b'Av is a day when we mourn the range of tragedies that have marked Jewish history, beginning with the destruction of both Batei Mikdash. Many of these calamities from throughout the ages are represented in the book of Tisha b'Av kinot that we read in our shuls. While we are generally extremely cautious about adding contemporary prayers, the kinot are an exception, such that most shuls include a kina commemorating the Holocaust.
In this spirit, there have been efforts to write kinot for this Tisha b'Av that reflect on the profound tragedy of October 7 and its aftermath. Of special note is the rich, poetic, and deeply meaningful kina composed by Rav Yosef Tzvi Rimon. While all of us will have these events on our mind during Tisha b'Av, some shuls and individuals will seek to express those thoughts in the words of a kina.
The kina below was composed in response to a request from those less familiar with the nuances of Jewish thought and practice. It is an adaptation of one of the existing kinot written in the 11th Century and is shared here for those who may find it appropriate, relevant, and useful. Download PDF of Kina 
Would my head be filled with water and my eyes a fountain of tears / I would cry all my days and nights / for the corpses of my babes and infants and the aged of our people / I ask you to respond and join me in weeping, much weeping.
For the house of Israel and the people of the LORD who have fallen by the sword.
My eyes flow with tears, and I will take myself to the fields to weep / and ask others stunned and embittered to join in my wailing / for the beautiful young women and vibrant young men / kidnapped and led to slaughter / more beautiful and radiant than rubies, sapphire, or turquoise / they were slung and trampled like mud in the streets.
For the house of Israel and the people of the LORD who have fallen by the sword.
For these, I cry and moan / outside, there is murder, and indoors, terror / in Be'eri and Re'im, Kfar Aza and Sderot / our corpses strewn, nude and naked / bodies lying like refuse for wild beasts and animals / nursing children and the aged, young men and women / tormented by our attackers, enduring great shame.
For the house of Israel and the people of the LORD who have fallen by the sword.
My eyelids flow with water, dripping tears / I weep bitterly for the murdered of Tzahal, Israel's Defense Force / they assembled, risking everything, to courageously battle for God's name and to protect His people / the mighty who readily do His will / they were prepared to die for their love for their nation / I will moan for them with a torrent of tears / all of them deserving the greatest honor / while their families readily supported their sacrifice with strength / for them, I let out a piercing cry / along with our grief for the destruction of both Temples, razed today.
For the house of Israel and the people of the LORD who have fallen by the sword.
The festival of Simchat Torah was transformed into a day of tragedy / the day we had hoped to celebrate the gift of G-d's truth to our People / instead since that day our eyes flow with tears, we cry and shake our heads in disbelief / the nation of the precious Torah who pursue peace and a flourishing world / are depicted as corrupt murderers by the world around us / the light unto the nations dwells in darkness / for this we certainly mourn.
For the house of Israel and the people of the LORD who have fallen by the sword.
The enduring hatred for the eternal nation continues to grow / as our enemies plot to destroy and erase any trace of Israel / for this we mourn together with the burning of the House of our God / therefore, today [Tisha B'Av], I will arouse my grief / and lament, and wail, and cry with a bitter soul / my sighs weighing heavily from dawn to dusk,
For the house of Israel and the people of the LORD who have fallen by the sword. | |
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