Rabbi Joshua Kullock
Comunidad Hebrea de Guadalajara, México
Comunidad Hebrea de Guadalajara, México
I’m writing these lines in Buenos Aires, where we arrived just a few days ago to visit our families and enjoy our vacation. However, our holiday started with certain ups and downs, mainly because the bag with all our daughter’s winter clothes is still missing, and the airline has no idea where it is. As you can imagine, this is one of those events that make you angry and frustrated, especially because in issues regarding lost luggage, you can do nothing but wait.
If this is how we feel for small and, at least when you see them in perspective, trivial things, let’s just imagine what those who witnessed the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians 2600 years ago felt, or those who experienced the destruction of the second Temple at the hands of the Romans 2000 years ago. Let us remember the suffering of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, of those who experienced Treblinka or who died in the AMIA terrorist attack, the Jewish benefit society in Buenos Aires. Almost incredibly, all these tragic incidents occurred around the same date, the saddest date of the entire Jewish calendar: Tishah B’Av.
Independent of the coincidence of so many sad things happening around the same time of year, the Jewish tradition has prescribed the weeks prior to Tishah b’Av as a time to reflect upon the tragedies that accompany us and mark our lives. Indeed, our tradition does not deny the existence of difficult times, but rather insists on the need to accept that each one of us will have to pass through “valleys of darkness”, and that it is important both to be aware of that and to prepare ourselves to face those times with the greatest possible strength of mind. To such purpose, we must learn to distinguish, among other things, between what really is a tragedy from what is no more than a rough experience of no real consequence.
It is in this sense that our sages put so much emphasis on blessing and giving thanks for the possibilities we are granted – but which we should develop, nourish and promote – of separating. Every morning we hallow the rooster’s capacity to distinguish between day and night, capacity also manifested in our hearts, daily learning how to distinguish between right and wrong. Likewise, at the end of every Shabbat, we are invited to acknowledge the blessing of separating light from darkness, happy times from disappointing moments. And just as we cannot expect our entire lives to be joyful and fully intense (nor would it be healthy to do so), neither can we see in every situation that does not go according to our wishes, a reason for frustration and getting angry with the world at large.
In this context, perhaps one of the keys offered by our tradition to live more full and less disappointing lives lies in one verse of this week’s Haftarah, chosen by our sages to be read on the Shabbat prior to Tishah B’Av, and which consists of actually tough and heart-rending texts and admonitions. In the midst of that entire prophetic rebuke, Isaiah tells us the key to overcome the saddest moments of our history: “Learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Is. 1:17). When we are undergoing difficult times, one of our ways out is to offer ourselves to others, preventing our own withdrawal. Realizing the deficiencies and problems of others can also help us acknowledge our frustrations as vain and petty. And devoting our life to the pursuit of good and justice can be the formula to give meaning to our existence, finding out that it is never too late to embrace others and help out those who need it most. The transcendental message of our tradition is grounded in these values and pillars. It is not by chance that the seven weeks following Tishah B’Av are woven around these cores, which turn upon the refoundation that emerges from the comfort of knowing that life goes on, and that its weight depends on the way we decide to face each and every day of our time on Earth. It is in this spirit that we face the last seven weeks of the year, gradually preparing ourselves for the beginning of a new year, with the arrival of Rosh Hashanah.
Shabbat Shalom u’Meborah!
PS: The bag finally arrived safe and sound.
Independent of the coincidence of so many sad things happening around the same time of year, the Jewish tradition has prescribed the weeks prior to Tishah b’Av as a time to reflect upon the tragedies that accompany us and mark our lives. Indeed, our tradition does not deny the existence of difficult times, but rather insists on the need to accept that each one of us will have to pass through “valleys of darkness”, and that it is important both to be aware of that and to prepare ourselves to face those times with the greatest possible strength of mind. To such purpose, we must learn to distinguish, among other things, between what really is a tragedy from what is no more than a rough experience of no real consequence.
It is in this sense that our sages put so much emphasis on blessing and giving thanks for the possibilities we are granted – but which we should develop, nourish and promote – of separating. Every morning we hallow the rooster’s capacity to distinguish between day and night, capacity also manifested in our hearts, daily learning how to distinguish between right and wrong. Likewise, at the end of every Shabbat, we are invited to acknowledge the blessing of separating light from darkness, happy times from disappointing moments. And just as we cannot expect our entire lives to be joyful and fully intense (nor would it be healthy to do so), neither can we see in every situation that does not go according to our wishes, a reason for frustration and getting angry with the world at large.
In this context, perhaps one of the keys offered by our tradition to live more full and less disappointing lives lies in one verse of this week’s Haftarah, chosen by our sages to be read on the Shabbat prior to Tishah B’Av, and which consists of actually tough and heart-rending texts and admonitions. In the midst of that entire prophetic rebuke, Isaiah tells us the key to overcome the saddest moments of our history: “Learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Is. 1:17). When we are undergoing difficult times, one of our ways out is to offer ourselves to others, preventing our own withdrawal. Realizing the deficiencies and problems of others can also help us acknowledge our frustrations as vain and petty. And devoting our life to the pursuit of good and justice can be the formula to give meaning to our existence, finding out that it is never too late to embrace others and help out those who need it most. The transcendental message of our tradition is grounded in these values and pillars. It is not by chance that the seven weeks following Tishah B’Av are woven around these cores, which turn upon the refoundation that emerges from the comfort of knowing that life goes on, and that its weight depends on the way we decide to face each and every day of our time on Earth. It is in this spirit that we face the last seven weeks of the year, gradually preparing ourselves for the beginning of a new year, with the arrival of Rosh Hashanah.
Shabbat Shalom u’Meborah!
PS: The bag finally arrived safe and sound.
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