Our History Cries Out: Kinnos as Tikkun
When we sit and say Kinnos,
we’re not just remembering the past.
We’re carrying all of Jewish history—
the destruction of both Temples,
the Crusades, the Inquisition,
the endless exiles, the pogroms,
the Holocaust,
our fallen soldiers, our murdered fellow Jews.
We bring it all before HaShem and say:
Enough.
We’ve had enough of the darkness.
We’re begging for the Ohr HaGanuz—the hidden light.
Rav Moshe Dovid Vali teaches that Kinnos are not just words of mourning.
They are tikkun—they are repair.
In fact, the words קינות (Kinnos) and תיקון (Tikkun) share the same Hebrew letters.
These aren’t just words of sorrow.
They are words of healing.
They carry spiritual light,
they protect us from harm,
and they help repair the brokenness of the world.
Kinnos aren’t just about what was.
They’re part of how we bring about what will be.
