Lamentations and Tisha B'Av

The book of Lamentations is the song and response of the Hebrew people to the fall of Jerusalem. Not surprisingly, this book has continued as part of the liturgical tradition of the Jewish people, as they grieve the losses of many generations. It is traditional for the Jewish people to read the book of Lamentations on both the evening and the morning of Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av, an annual day of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies the Jews have endured. Several painful events are said to have happened on this day:

• The spies returned from the land of Canaan, and only Joshua and Caleb had faith that God could bring the people into the land. God, therefore, declared that the Israelites would continue to wander in the desert until the older generation died, and this generation would not see the promised land. 
• The destruction of the first temple. (586 BC)
• The destruction of the second temple. (70 AD)
• A massacre of the Jewish people at the battle of Betar. (133 AD)
• The temple mount was ploughed under. (134 AD)
• The Jews were forced out of England.  (1290 AD)
• The Jews were forced out of Spain. (1492 AD) 
• Germany declared war on Russia, setting the first World War into motion, then the second, and eventually the Holocaust. (1914 AD) 

(Dates and info from: What Happened on the Ninth of Av?) 

The Jewish people observe a 3 week period of mourning leading up to Tisha B'Av and an intense period of mourning for the 9 days prior, beginning with the 1st of Av, which is traditionally held to be the day that Aaron, the priest and brother of Moses, died. Tisha B'Av then marks the beginning of a time of reflection on the previous year as the people prepare for the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

The Christian people have embraced this tradition of reading portions of Lamentations during set periods of grief and mourning, namely Lent. Liturgical Christian churches commonly read from Lamentations on the Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week and on Good Friday, prior to Easter.

In the midst of Lamentations, we find this poignant and piercing gem of hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.” (from ch3)

John Parsons, at Hebrew For Christians, describes the book of Lamentations as God's cry for the people, the tears of Jeremiah as symbolic of "God's compassionate love" for the people. God is not absent from the book, despite the depth of the suffering. The covenant endures. (The Fast of Tammuz and the Three Weeks o Sorrow)