Friday, July 29, 2022. Another beautiful Great Lakes summer day – just before the cicadas start their buzz, and the dryness of vegetation in August settles in. We are lucky in our region – with the lakes’ influence, it is never too hot for too long, or too humid for too long, alternating heavy heated days with days of fresh air and blue skies. This was one of the latter. We take a deep breath and feel both the heat and the cooling of this time of year.
In Jewish tradition, the first of Av is right in the middle of the Three Weeks, marking the beginning of Nine Days of destruction between the Romans’ breach of the walls of Jerusalem and the fall of the Temple and the City on Tisha B’Av, the 9th of Av. Since then, many other tragic events have been attributed to the 9th of Av — the expulsions of Jews from Spain, the emptying of the Warsaw ghetto to Treblinka among them. The Three Weeks bring a heat and intensity of catastrophe, sorrow and trauma. And then, a few days after Tisha B’Av, we celebrate Tu B’Av, supposed to be one of the happiest days of the year, associated with love and courtship, sort of a Jewish Valentine’s Day.
So Av is a month of extremes – the saddest and happiest days of the year, commemoration of destruction and celebration of love. We talked about finding peaceful places in places of busyness – and so may our hearts swing between extremes this month. May we all weather what the universe has for us this month, and find peace in the midst of it. – Kirby
(Many thanks to Linda and Stephen for leading this month, and for the beautiful photos!)
The next walking meditation will honor the month of Elul, Sunday, August 28, 7:30 am. Rain or shine! Contact us for location.
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 