By Rabbi Andrea Steinberger, Rabbi at University of Wisconsin-Madison Hillel, and Tzofim Segel

This morning in Tzofim we arrived in our ulam (our rec hall) to see a tower built with wooden blocks and words like  compassion, kindness, patience and support. Chanichim (campers) and madrichim (counselors) circled around the tower singing songs of peace and hope. They sang “Oseh Shalom” – make peace. They sang, “Lo Yisa Goy El Goy Herev” – A nation shall not raise a sword against a nation and they should not learn any more war. Everyone in Tzofim watched anxiously as one by one,  tried to take out pieces of the tower without causing it to fall. Twenty minutes went by before the tower fell with an enormous crash.

It was a game. It was a metaphor. But the lesson was obvious to a middle schooler. Words and actions of kindness are what builds us up. Taking them out makes our tower fall.

This is the way that we observe Tisha B’Av in Tzofim at OSRUI.  Legend has it that in ancient days the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed as the result of hatred between people. The Talmud tells a story of a man who had a friend Kamza and an enemy, Bar Kamza.  He accidently invited his enemy to his party rather than his friend.  The anger and hatred that ensued from this mistake caused the Temple to fall. Since then the Jewish people have witnessed other acts of hatred in the Crusades and the Holocaust, to name a few. Even today we see acts of violence, sometimes as a result of misunderstanding, our not hearing each other out, our lack of learning about one another.

The Jewish people has survived despite incredible odds.  One of our coping mechanisms has become our interest in tikkun olam, repairing the world.  And at summer camp this year, perhaps Tisha B’Av will remind us how important it is to be kind to each other – our fellow campers and counselors. Our Jewish values will teach us to be good members of the community and to be peacemakers in our world.