Two years ago, our Cherry Hill, NJ Women’s Tefilla Group held its first reading of Eikha, the book of Lamentations, which is read on Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning which commemorates the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. This reading has since become an annual ritual. A number of factors motivated me to initiate this gathering, the primary one being the experience of a close friend who had attended a women’s Eikha reading in Bet Shemesh, Israel, and raved about it. For her, hearing the mournful words of Eikha read through the unique medium of a woman’s melodious voice, heightened the spirit and meaning of the words. I have personally always found it meaningful to hear and read Eikha myself, and enjoy humming along with the reader.
Our Women’s Tefilla Group put together a reading that incorporated different elements of Eikha readings that we had attended over the years. Many of us had gone to summer camps, where the reading was held outside, with candles and other props to make the evening visually meaningful. Many of us attended Eikha readings where a d’var Torah or discussion helped us put the evening in the proper historical and religious perspective. In addition, Tefillat Ma’ariv, the evening prayer, would often accompany the reading, along with Kinot, or poems of lament.
With these elements in mind, we set up candles and prepared to hold a beautiful reading in an outdoor setting. However, we never actually made it outside, because unlike the lovely Pocono Mountains, the heat and bugs of Cherry Hill, NJ forced us inside! Nevertheless, the Eikha service, which began with our davening Ma’ariv together, was inspiring and meaningful. We found that many more women were able to actively participate in the service than in the Torah reading on Shabbat or in the reading of Megillat Esther on Purim. Many women had learned to read Eikha as teenagers; additionally, there is no requirement to read from a klaf (parchment manuscript with no punctuation or cantillation marks). We divided up all the chapters of Eikha, and each was read by a different woman. We also recited several selected Kinot. Finally, our d’var Torah took on a historical and educational perspective; the speaker focused on the prophet Zechariah and discussed the burning issue of his time, namely, how Tisha B’Av should be commemorated at the time of the rebuilding of the Second Beit HaMikdash.
Attending our Women’s Tefilla was a sizeable, but intimate group of approximately twenty-five. We have found that, while there is potential for more attendees to drive in from nearby suburbs in the Greater Philadelphia area, the late hour, coupled with fasting, makes it attractive only to our local community. In addition, many of our regular attendees are away for the summer, including girls who attend summer camps.
Our meeting on Tisha B’Av, the saddest day of the year for the Jewish people, brings full-circle our collective Women’s Tefilla gatherings. It is our goal to celebrate together, with multiple generations of women, both the sad and happy times that are encompassed by the Jewish calendar, as well as those that comprise our community life cycles.
When thinking about our Eikha reading and other Women’s Tefilla gatherings, I am reminded of the memorable words of a friend who recently passed away: “We are all uttering the same words; each in our own voice.”1 However, when we utter them together in a group of like-minded women, the words have a special meaning and the voices a special sound, of unity, beauty, and mourning.