Weekly Newsletters and Special Announcements

July 9, 2021 | 29 Tammuz 5781 | Parashat Mattot-Masei 
 
PURPOSE POTENTIAL AND THE NEW MOON OF AV
Rabbi Tilchin's message this week is dedicated to the memory of Leland Wieder – Levi ben Yitzhak - beloved father of Rabbi Kvod Wieder 
 
Tonight we being the new month of Av – the 5th month in the Jewish Calendar year - designated as the nexus for collective Jewish grief. The first nine days (known as “the nine days” in traditional Jewish parlance) culminate on the 9thof Av (Tisha b’Av) when we mourn as a people for the countless indescribable tragedies that the Jewish people have endured for nearly 3000 years. 
 
Jewish codes of law offer specific behavioral guidelines for adjustments we can make in our daily routines to help us mentally and emotionally prepare for the 9th of Av. Read about them here. They are specific, nuanced and there is always room for exception. The laws of the nine days are a clear example of the guiding Jewish principle that we must live beyond our grief.  We may not mourn a loved one for more than a year, even one lost to tragedy, because, at some point, the joys of living a full life must be prioritized.  
 
COVID-19 has, so far, led to 4 million deaths worldwide. 606,000 people have died in the United States alone. Amid the lives, livelihoods, hopes and dreams that were dashed during this unexpected health siege, much beauty was revealed. Most people (not all) were able to find some happiness and access personal growth that may never have been discovered were it not for our forced solitude. Simple marriage ceremonies were held. Babies were born. Books were written. People loved and laughed with one another over Zoom. Our battered planet experienced a little time to heal. Daily miracles never ceased. 
 
The beginning of every new month (Rosh Hodesh) is considered a tempered celebration because it represents both diminishment and potential. That the moon is barely a sliver means that there is not much light illuminating our darkness. And yet, we chant Hallel and other special prayers because we have faith that, day by day, the moon will fill out until it realizes its full potential as a robust, shimmering ball of light that enables us to find our way in the darkness. So far, the moon and its planetary partners have not let us down. This flawless cycle is God’s handiwork. 
 
In Masechet Ta’anit 26b, we learn “When the month of Av enters, we diminish our joy.” On Rosh Hodesh Av, we impose upon ourselves practices that reduce our natural inclination toward satisfaction and fulfillment. In essence, we are supposed to capture the feeling of what it is like caring for a loved one during their last weeks or months, during which we move through each day putting one foot in front of the other, doing our best to support the person who is ill. We tend to neglect our own self-care and sublimate fears and feelings until our loved one has passed – the portal event through which we can begin working through our own pain and grief that (we hope) will ultimately lead us to a place of acceptance, gratitude, personal growth and ultimately joy.   
 
Tisha b’Av (this year on July 17-18) is intended to be that portal experience for us as a people. We begin hearing prophetic words of hope and engaging in personal work during the Shiva d’Nehemta (the seven weeks of consolation after Tisha b’Av leading up to Rosh Hashanah) that lift us from our darkness and feed our souls. In the ideal, we, like the beautiful world around us, have the opportunity to begin a cycle of Rebirth, Renewal and Return on rich, well-tilled soil. 
 
Shabbat Shalom and Hodesh Tov, 
Rabbi Marcia Tilchin 

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