<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span style="font-size: 22px;" class="">The first day of Pesach (15 Nissan) and the actual date of Tisha b’Av (9 Av)<br class="">always fall on the same day of the week without exception. It has been asked<br class="">why one day dedicated to mourning and sadness should coincide with Pesach.<br class="">Jewish history, from its very inception, appears to be a veritable paradox. The <br class="">mystical wheel of Israel’s destiny is a dissonance of light and darkness, joy and<br class="">sorrow, hope and despair, etc. It has been said that from the depths of Israel’s<br class="">severest tribulations, the seeds of redemption are miraculously sown. <br class="">History clearly depicts how Israel’s deliverance constantly emerges from the midst<br class="">of tragedy. It is for this reason that Pesach, which symbolizes redemption, coincides<br class="">with Tisha b’Av, which embodies suffering and destruction. Accordingly, both holidays <br class="">fall on the same day indicating that salvation shall spring forth from the very core of disaster.</span><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><font size="4" class=""><i class="">…Such then is the message of Passover—undying conviction that death shall be swallowed up in victory; <br class="">that the dry bones of liberty, democracy and human brotherhood shall everywhere rise again, strong and<br class="">irresistible; and that the Passover ideal of human freedom shall become part of the very life of the nations.</i></font><br class=""><b class="">The late Chief Rabbi, Dr Joseph H Hertz</b></body></html>