Shabbat Greetings
Monday will be Rosh Chodesh Av– it’s the beginning of the second to last month of the year in the Hebrew calendar. That may not mean much to you, but to your rabbi and cantor, it means 8 weeks until the beginning of Rosh HaShanah and time, for sure, for a new perspective, a new focus.
This month is also known as “Menachem Av,” the month of comfort. We are about to enter into a period of intense mourning that culminates with Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av), a day of fasting and mourning as we remember the destruction of the Holy Temples in Jerusalem, along with many other moments of sadness and loss in the life of the Jewish people. When faced with monumental tragedy, we long for some words of comfort.
This moment in the calendar underscores the connection of our people for the land of Israel. We emphasize this connection at our moment of highest celebration, concluding the wedding ceremony with the breaking of a glass. Our joy is diminished when we remember the times of suffering. Some people have the custom of leaving a corner of their home unpainted, in hopes that the exile from Jerusalem will be temporary. There is no denying that pain is a part of our lives, as individuals and as a community, even as we seek comfort, strength, and the wisdom to move forward.
We know that there are five megillot (scrolls) in the Hebrew bible, read at various holy days and festivals throughout the year. The text for this upcoming sacred day is the Scroll of Lamentations (Eicha). Lamentations is an intense description of the suffering surrounding destruction. Significantly, Lamentations does NOT begin with the question “Why?,” “Why did this happen to us?,” but, rather, “Eicha-How?” How can we go on in the face of a tragedy of nightmarish proportions? How can we find meaning in life? And isn’t that really the only question that matters? The question of “Why?” is ultimately un-answerable. All we have is the “How?”
The rabbis DO try to understand their loss. Instead of blaming the conquering enemy armies, they ask us to look within. They ask us to consider the notion of “sinat chinam,” of senseless hatred among people that caused dissension and unrest and destroyed the unity of the people. I think that we can all deeply understand the terrible consequences of explosive inability to agree to disagree and engage in civil discourse. Just look at the challenges we have today in having any discourse of disagreement.
So we ask instead- “How?” How do we find strength to endure? How do we have the courage to go on? Rabbi Bonnie Koppell suggests that if we change the vowels in the word eicha, it reads- ayecha, “where are you?” Where are you when disaster happens, and how do you respond, on a personal level and as a community.
The message of this sacred period at the beginning of the month of Av transcends mourning one specific historical occurrence. If we sit idly by, we are not answering the question of “how”, and we are not answering the question, “where are you?” In some ways the answer to “how” can be found in the answer to “where are You?” If we can figure out where we are, perhaps we can figure out how we can endure? Challenge, pain, suffering, are inevitable. Where are we and how can we move forward – what is your answer?
Tisha B’Av is not the ONLY holiday this month. Two weeks later, we will celebrate Tu B’Av, the 15th day of the month, a traditional day of love and appreciation for the relationships that are the foundation of how we find comfort in a troubled world. May we be blessed with the ability, the strength and the wisdom to answer the question of “Ayecha– where are you?”, that we are HERE, that we are here for each other, and in the strength of asking we can begin to find an answer, in the strength we give each other to move forward in the face of devastating tragedy.
This week’s Torah portion which concludes the Book of Numbers, Matot – Masei (Numbers 30:2-36:13) describes the journey of the Israelites as they wandered in the wilderness. Perhaps this is a metaphor for where we are in our lives- on a journey, seeking a home and a place of comfort? Next week we will begin a new book of the Torah, the final book – Deuteronomy. As we look towards Rosh haShanah and the opportunity for new dreams, new opportunities, for letting go of past pain and finding a new direction, we say- chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek – may our strength only continue!
SHABBAT SHALOM