Tuesday, June 16. This morning was quite a contrast with typical weather for Tammuz in the middle east: while in that part of the world, the summer is blazing hot and the light searing, here in the Great Lakes it’s cool and clear. However the sun’s brightness is still intense, and worth a conversation about light and darkness.
Tamuz is one of the “negative” months of the year, focused on intensity of negative emotions, a “going down into the pit” and seeing our negative traits. We commemorate the siege and fall of Jerusalem during the “Three Weeks”, a lowpoint of the Jewish year that starts on the 17th of Tammuz. Rabbi Alan Lew writes of Tammuz as the start of the 3-month cycle that will lead us to the reckoning of the High Holy Days[1]. At the beginning of the cycle, we must face the truths in our lives that may be hidden, that will need attention in the days to come. What must we see this month that we may prefer to hide? What walls can we identify that must be torn down before we can enter the High Holidays with a pure spirit?
Tamuz is a month of contrasts – the searing brightness of the summer sun, illuminating what is hidden – and the darkness of going down into the pit, the evil of that hidden underworld. As one of us noted, the underworld is also a place of dreams and visions. This month, we pay attention to what is illuminated under the sun – sit with our dreams and visions, aware in this clarity of what is evil as well as good – and learn to see in the darkness that otherwise may surround us. May it be a fruitful month for us all. – Chodesh tov! — K. Miriam
Our next Rosh Chodesh Walking Meditation will honor the month of Av, Wednesday, July 15, 8:30 am. Contact us for location.
[1] See our resources page, Rabbi Alan Lew, This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared.
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 