Dear TBZ Community:
The transition between Tisha B’Av (the 9th day of the Jewish month of Av) and Tu B’Av (the 15th day of Av) is one of the most poignant transitions in our calendar, and one that I feel we especially need to mark this year.
Tisha B’av is the saddest day of the year, the day in our calendar when we commemorate the many tragedies that have happened to the Jewish people. Only six days later we celebrate Tu B’av, a joyous holiday on which, according to the Mishnah (Ta’anit 4:8) the unmarried girls of Jerusalem dressed in white garments and went out to dance in the vineyards. The Talmud declares that there were no holy days as happy for the Jews as Tu B’Av and Yom Kippur. The joy of Yom Kippur is a topic for another day (and anyone who has been to TBZ for Yom Kippur probably has a sense of it!), but the upcoming holiday of Tu B’Av elicits joy with its celebration of the possibility of love.
Between the two is Shabbat Nachamu, which is this Shabbat. It is called Nachamu (Consolation) for the first words of the Haftarah (the reading of the prophets of this week), in which the prophet Isaiah says to the people of Israel נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי – Comfort, comfort my People.
These six days between Tisha B’Av and Tu B’Av are not only intense because they take us on an extreme journey from sadness to joy but because they hold seeming contradictions: for example, our tradition teaches that on Tisha B’Av, Mashiach (the Messiah) will be born. What a radical juxtaposition!! On the same day that we commemorate destruction, grief, and calamity, we believe redemption is born.
Tragedy, birth of redemption, comfort, and love are infused throughout these six days. We could think of this period as a trajectory from one extreme to the other, or we could recognize that suffering and hope, pain and love, go hand in hand in this life.
I have just returned from spending five weeks in Israel. My time in Israel was meaningful, intense, and profound, filled with learning, walking, listening, observing, seeing dear family and friends, and making new friends. The ability to witness and experience the pain of Israelis from close rather than from afar; being with dear ones in deep conversation, tears, song, and protest; traveling around (from Haifa, to Ashkelon, to Sderot, South Hebron Hills, Tel-Aviv, Kibbutz Hanaton, and some more…); being there with my girls – all of these experiences helped me connect and be present. I was able to embrace the brokenness of this difficult world and perceive its continued beauty and potential in ways I haven’t since October 7th.
There is a midrash in Shir Hashirim Rabbah that tells a story of Rabbi Hiyya and Rabbi Shimon son of Halfata walking at dawn. As they walked in the darkness, they saw the morning star (Ayelet Hashachar אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר), whose light broke through the dawn. Rabbi Hiyya then said to Rabbi Shimon son of Halfata: “In this manner will the redemption of Israel break forth” and quoted the verse from the Book of Micah “Though I sit in darkness, Adonai is my light”. (Micah 7:8). The midrash continues:
בַּתְּחִלָּה הִיא בָּאָה קִימְעָא קִימְעָא, וְאַחַר כָּךְ הִיא מְנַצְנֶצֶת וּבָאָה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ פָּרָה וְרָבָה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ מַרְטֶבֶת וְהוֹלֶכֶת.
At first it comes bit by bit; then it begins to sparkle and unfold; then increases and grows; and finally it blossoms and becomes full.
Light and possibility of redemption – this teaching invites us to understand- can be found within the darkness itself. When its first light is found, it comes bit by bit, it unfolds and blossoms. This image is perhaps an image of what hope looks like.
On Monday night, as we chanted the book of Eicha (Lamentations), I was struck by a simple verse, three words, that we read in Chapter 3:29:
אוּלַי יֵשׁ תִּקְוָה
Perhaps there is hope.
Can we, in the midst of despair, see hope?
In Israel I had the privilege of meeting Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of Hersh Goldberg Polin who was wounded and abducted by Hamas from the Re’im music festival massacre on October 7th. I can’t describe the experience of being in the presence of Rachel; her resilience and determination is beyond words. When asked how it is that she keeps going, she responded clearly: Hope is mandatory. Her words demonstrated for me that amidst darkness, we must seek out the morning star: hope and the potential for redemption. Amidst the destruction of Tisha B’Av, we commit to love and to the birth of possibility.
For me, personally, this week has held the full spectrum of emotions, too. The 10th of Av (Tuesday night to Wednesday) was my mother’s 30th yahrzeit (Hebrew date of her death). As many of you know, my mother was killed in a terrorist attack in Buenos Aires. (If you haven’t yet, I invite you to read an article I wrote in honor of the 30th year anniversary on July 18th in the Times of Israel.) I celebrated my 50th birthday this past Monday; this shabbat I celebrate the 38th anniversary of my Bat Mitzvah; and on Tu B’Av (Sunday night to Monday), Ebn and I celebrate 18 years of marriage. A roller coaster of celebrations and commemoration. Death and life. Destruction and possibility. Loss and love. Perhaps the message of these six days, for all of us, is that our journeys continue even – and maybe especially – when the world feels dark and scary.
כִּי־אֵשֵׁב בַּחֹשֶׁךְ יְהֹוָה אוֹר לִי
Though I sit in darkness, Adonai is my light
Light is to be found in the midst of darkness. And hope is mandatory.
I pray that we may have the audacity to build, to believe, to love, to forgive, to create, and to imagine a better world for all human beings and to live in ways that bring blessings to each of us.
May this Shabbat of consolation, of Nechama, bring blessings and comfort to all of us and our loved ones. May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity. May all those who are ill find healing.
May the hostages soon be returned to their families and friends; may peace prevail and may the leaders of the world know to prioritize life; May those who are working for peace be granted strength and courage to continue their sacred work, and may we soon see peace and dignity for all.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia