Tammuz 5779 תמוז

Thursday, July 4, 2019. As you can tell from the photos, construction has begun.  It is a strange scene at the lake, which has been drained and is now a mudflat, the 150-year-old dam finally under restoration.  It is a time of transition – with hope of a fully restored dam, lake and landscape in a year or two.

Every year at this time we are reminded of the intense heat and light of summer in the Middle East, and desert regions around the world.  As our source Mindy Ribner notes, summer is not a time of carefree play and delight, in places where the Sun is oppressive:  it is heavy and serious, and we just want to run from it. On the 17^th of Tammuz, in ancient times, the walls of Jerusalem were breached, and the three weeks of mourning and catastrophe began, leading to the city’s fall on the 9^th of Av.

So the mood of the month:  its area of healing and energy are sight, and seeing the truth clearly.  The world is illuminated exactly as it is, under the bright light and heat of the sun. We are cautioned to be aware of the emotional, physical and spiritual weight of the month, anticipating our propensity for anger, and containing it so as not to do any lasting damage. This morning we noted that anger can grow out of indignation, or it can grow out of fear.  Both must be faced head-on and transformed into awareness of what reality is, and not what we wish it would be.

Given the illuminated truths of the last few weeks, where innocents are subjected to horrific conditions, even in our own supposedly enlightened country, we are seeing the world as it is.  Angry is exactly what we should be.  And our anger should be overflowing.  This is not a time to mourn a past catastrophe – we are right in the middle of a present one.  May each one of us be strengthened in harnessing our physical, emotional and spiritual anger, directing it in powerful ways to shine a bright light on the truth, to change the situation, now — and stop the world from falling. — Kirby

The next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will be Friday, August 2, 7:30 am.  Due to dam construction, we will meet in an alternate location.  Contact us for meeting place.