Torah to Go - Parashat Devarim It has been a particularly dark week. Among other strange things that have happened, lightning came crashing down from the sky and struck a man in Venice, UCLA and Westwood experienced unseasonable flooding, and Oklahoma saw more earthquakes than California. Not to mention the situation in Israel, which has only continued to deteriorate until the ceasefire today. Interestingly, some in the Jewish tradition would say that this collection of grim occurrences did not happen around the same time by chance. In fact, according to the Jewish calendar, we are now in the darkest, saddest part of the year. This time is called Bein Hametzarim, or between the narrow places, referring to the short time in between 17th of Tammuz (July 15th this year) and the 9th of Av (August 5th). These two dates are significant because they mark the breach of Jerusalems walls by the Romans and the destruction of the First and Second Temples respectively. Both are now observed as fast days on the Jewish calendar. But our rabbis say that the dates have a much longer history. They associate the 17th of Tammuz as the date when the Israelites engaged in chet haegel, the sin of the golden calf, and the 9th of Av as the date of chet hameraglim, the sin of the twelve spies. As Israel abandoned God to worship a golden idol, and then ripped the community apart by spreading lies about the Promised Land, they injected a sinister, sorrowful energy into the world that would reappear every year around that same time period, for eternity. Hence the Temples destruction on those dates. Hence the calamities that befell our people in the summertime throughout our history. And could, perhaps, this be the reason why all of these horrible things have been happening this week? We are in a narrow place. Our prophet Isaiah, centuries later, sensed this forbidding energy. In his famous vision that we read this week on Shabbat Chazon, Isaiah warned of Israels impending doom and Jerusalems destruction. But he also said something else. Even in the darkest of times, even as we are faced with more difficulties and more distress, we cannot lose hope. We cannot forsake our loved ones, forget our values. In fact, this is the exact time in which we are encouraged to reaffirm our core principles, recalibrate ourselves, and reengage in the work of repairing the world. With darkness comes the beginning of the teshuvah process. Through our introspection and renewed commitment to change our world for the better, may we muster the energy to neutralize the negative ph of this time and infuse it with love, compassion, and serenity. Questions: • Do you believe that particular time periods have an inherent energy or aura about them? • We tend to develop an inner sluggishness, restlessness, or apathy during these summer months. What steps can you take to fight that impulse and instead use this as a time to recalibrate your inner self? • With no end in sight to the situation in Israel, it is easy to lose hope. How can we turn our despair and indignation into action? Find out ways you can help our brothers and sisters in Israel. Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Jonathan Bubis
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 21:31:43 +0000
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