Tuesday, June 23, 2020. The morning was cool and wet – a contrast with weather in the Israel, this time of year! – however our social and civilized world can seem like it’s on fire – so the lessons of Tammuz are just as relevant.
Summer sun, summer heat — summer parched soil, wilted leaves, dried-up streams. Our source Jill Hammer reminds us that in the summer in the middle east, there is even more of a sense of threat and death, as it is the time when crops can fail due to insects, drought, excessive heat, or storms. Every year at this time we acknowledge the intensity of heat and bright light of this month, illuminating the truth of our lives, and intensifying the negative emotions of anger, grief, and jealousy, and our sense of menacing threat, and overwhelming sadness.
And yet: both Rabbi Hammer, and our source Alan Lew, emphasize the importance of releasing and transforming negative energy during the summer, in order to prepare ourselves for the redemption and rebirth, in the New Year in the fall. The 17th of Tammuz begins a 3-week period of mourning, which lasts through the 9th of Av in the coming month. On the 17th of Tammuz, we commemorate multiple tragic and catastrophic events in our history – when Moses descended from Mount Sinai with the tablets, only to break them upon seeing the Golden Calf; three times when the walls of Jerusalem were breached, before the city fell three weeks later. The deaths of Miriam and Aaron reportedly happened in Tammuz; the Biblical rebellion of Korach led to death of thousands of our people in the desert. The legends of our people include many more such calamities, laid on top of each other until it seems that we can’t begin to process them all.
We do process them, however, with fasting, prayer, and public mourning. In traditional Jewish communities, this is a time of intense weeping and irritability. But these negative emotions do not sink us into despair: instead, we pray, we fast, we weep and tear our clothes together, and in so doing, transform the negative into clarity of vision, and commitment to do better.
I can’t help but think of the waves of catastrophe after catastrophe in our world this year – from the deaths and suffering of our brothers and sisters in shocking racist violence, to a global pandemic bringing down the most vulnerable, to fires in the West – to economic hardship, political strife, rampant blind ignorance. We are angry, we are in mourning. We could so easily descend into despair and hopelessness. But instead: we pray together, we fast together if it helps, we mourn together – and we transform our negative energy into action – and in so doing, we make a difference. Whatever action we take, may it come from a heart that is broken in response to catastrophe – and transformed as we share with others the hope and promise of working together to right the many wrongs in our lives, and in our world. — Kirby
We will honor the Full Moon of Tammuz on Tuesday morning, July 7. Our next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will be Wednesday morning, July 22. Both meetups are are at 7:30 am. Social distancing will be observed. Contact us for location.
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 