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The S&P Downgrade and Tisha B’Av: A Spiritual Lesson From a Day of Calamity

The S&P Downgrade and Tisha B’Av: A Spiritual Lesson From a Day of Calamity

Last week, the stock market took its biggest hit in three years. Then today, after news of the S&P downgrade, it got clobbered even further. This all happened on the cusp of the saddest, least auspicious day of the Jewish calendar year – Tisha B’Av. Some of the most cataclysmic events in Jewish history occurred on this day – murder, destruction, exile, expulsion – the worst moments our people have ever known.

We mourn on Tisha B’Av for everything we’ve lost, but the second half of the day turns to hope, because we know that despite the lows our people have seen, we’re ultimately headed for some place good. While watching a stock chart the other day, I got to thinking about how when you zero in on just one day of trading, the ups and downs can seem pretty intense. But if you pull back to a five day snapshot, a one month snapshot, and certainly a one year snapshot, suddenly those spikes that looked so sharp close up, look more like little blips from afar.

So too, when it comes to the history of our people, the intensity of the struggles must be viewed with similar perspective. That’s not meant to take away from the depth of the challenges we’re faced with, but rather to remind us that even when it seems as though we’re headed towards a bottomless pit of pain and suffering, our ultimate trajectory is upwards. Let’s just hope the same can be said about the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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4 comments

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Elle (Tzipporah) says on August 9, 2011
So well put.
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robert cropley says on June 16, 2021
Is it not also very interesting that September 11 2001 was 9 11? Even that it was 2 towers that fell symbolic of 2 temples. Also a skyscraper in Iran collapsed on Jan 19 or 119…
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Edyta says on August 12, 2011
Hi Alison, I am writing it from Poland. I have found your site about a week ago and can’t stop reading it!
I work in big American corporation which calculates investment funds. Last week was crazy! I was thinking about those people who lost so much money and had no idea what to do next with their lifes. It so sad thah so many of us define ourselves by material things we possess…
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Kaylah Deem says on February 5, 2012
Thank you for your blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
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Allison Josephs

Allison Josephs is the founder and executive director of Jew in the City has been involved in the field of Jewish Outreach for over twenty years and is the Partner in Torah mentor to actress Mayim Bialik. She was named one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers and one of the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36. Allison has been quoted or written about in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People Magazine, NYPost, Daily News, TMZ, The Daily Beast, and Hollywood Reporter. She has appeared on numerous television and radio networks including CBS, ABC, Fox5, TLC, Associate Press TV, and NPR; her articles have appeared in publications including The Washington Post, JTA, Jewish Week, Jerusalem Post, The Forward, and Kveller. Pearson Education, the largest textbook company in the world, produced a video segment on Allison’s life for the Judaism chapter of their textbook. She is a sought-after international lecturer whose corporate clients include Con-Edison and NYU Langone and hosts a weekly podcast on the Nachum Segal Network. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Philosophy and lives with her husband and four children minutes from the George Washington Bridge.