Tel Aviv Outreach Workers Build Trust Amidst Urban Hardship on Tisha B'Av

On Tisha B'Av, a day traditionally marking the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, a new perspective on 'destruction' emerges from the streets of South Tel Aviv. The author recounts a night spent with the Yizhar program, an initiative by the Public Health Association aimed at harm reduction among people struggling with addiction, sex work, and homelessness. These individuals face daily destruction not of buildings but of their spirits and lives, often fleeing unsafe homes marked by violence and abuse.

The Yizhar team provides essential services such as showers, food, sterile syringes, and emotional support, fostering dignity and connection rather than pity. Despite the harsh realities, moments of sweetness, like offering a red candy, symbolize small acts of kindness that can spark hope. The author reflects on a Jewish tradition that even the unpleasant ingredient in the Temple incense, the helbonah, was necessary for completeness, drawing a parallel to society’s need to include marginalized people.

This experience highlights the ongoing social responsibility to acknowledge and support those living on the margins. While Tisha B'Av commemorates past destruction, it also calls for rebuilding. The Yizhar program exemplifies this by building trust and hope in the present, emphasizing that no society can truly rebuild without embracing all its members, especially those most vulnerable.