Today is the Fast of Tisha B’Av. Once a year, on this day, the Jewish People mourn the destruction of the first and second Temples in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). The fact that the temple is no longer in existence means that God’s presence is more distant from us that it used to be. For more than twenty-four hours it is forbidden to eat or drink; Jews sit on the floor as an expression of mourning, and recall the events surrounding the destruction by reciting the Book of Lamentation and other prayers of lament. The Book of Lamentations is the text that best expresses out broken hearts as we call out again and again, ‘alas’ or ‘how did this happen?’