Tisha b’Av, which falls this Sunday, is a day of national mourning that marks the destruction of the First and Second Temples, while Purim celebrates the salvation of the Jews of Persia as described in the book of Esther. Yet Laura Lieber points to a link between them: two ancient poems that, while written in the style of Tisha b’Av dirges (kinot), are attributed to Queen Esther:

It is difficult to imagine two holidays with more disparate moods: the giddy joy of Purim juxtaposed with the bleak solemnity of Tisha b’Av. There are, however, points of connection. . . . [W]hile the book of Esther does not name God, it does refer to the exile and the loss of Jerusalem, particularly when introducing Mordechai. . . . [There is even a] custom of chanting those verses that recall the exile of the Judeans from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar to the melody of Lamentations, which is read on the Tisha b’Av. . . .

A potent affinity between the book of Esther and Tisha b’Av can be found in the composition of kinot placed, as it were, in the mouth of Esther. These works expand upon the moment in the biblical story when the Jewish queen embarks on a fast and calls upon fellow Jews to engage in penitential rituals with her, as she is to risk her life by visiting the king uninvited. Her community, already vulnerable in exile, faces another existential threat.

Esther’s laments . . . lack any of the carnivalesque irony or frisson of the subversive humor that we expect in Purim poetry. Instead, Esther’s two laments sound authentically penitent. The rhetoric and aesthetics of Tisha b’Av kinot provide the author of these “literary” Purim poems . . . with a set of norms to which Esther’s prayers should conform.

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.