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by Rabbi E. Tauger
Av
A Month When Even G-d
Asks Why?
Throughout the latter half of the
19th century and the first half of the previous century, our culture was
governed by a Newtonian conception of existence. Readily discernible causes
were seen to produce predictable effects, "a clockwork universe."
This vision spurred the industrial revolution and enabled Western ideas
and methods to attain a position of dominance in world thinking.
Einstein's Theory of Relativity hinted at the existence of a higher degree
of interrelation. People began thinking of non-linear systems, sets whose
organization is not predictable in terms of the information within our
grasp at any given moment.
This line of thinking has spawned a new theoretical approach referred
to as the mathematics of chaos. Generally, we think of chaos as confusion
or disorder. This new approach understands that what may appear as chaos
to us is nonetheless the reflection of a hidden order motivated by a deeper
and more abstract reality. Complex behavior may appear random, yet ultimately
it conforms to a pattern. For large, dynamic systems are coordinated by
different structures than those perceptible by our ordinary conceptual
paradigms.
Nice abstractions, but how are they related to Judaism? And in particular,
how do they relate to the month of Av?
When we look deeper, however, we see that the above motif expresses the
spiritual thrust of the month of Av.
When G-d is Stymied
One of the significant dates of the month of Av
centers on the fast of Tisha B'Av which commemorates the destruction of
both the First and the Second Temple. One of the observances of the fast
is to sit on the ground and listen to the reading of the Book of Eichah.
The name Eichah is usually rendered as Lamentations. Its literal meaning
is "How is this possible?" As its opening verse asks: "How
is it possible that she ( Jerusalem) sits in solitude?"
G-d asks: "How is it possible that the destruction of the Temple
and the exile of the Jewish people took place?" In other words, even
G-d "does not understand" what has happened. There are certain
motifs associated with descent that we can understand. When a person -
or for that matter, a nation - errs, he or they are punished. There is
a concept of descent for the sake of ascent. Just as a person who wants
to leap forward takes a few steps backwards first so that he will have
a running start; so, too, there are spiritual patterns which cause a person
- or a people - to stumble and fall before rising to higher peaks. But
these patterns are understandable. We see parallels to them in the world
around us.
Tishah B'Av is different. It makes not only man, but also G-d ask: Why?
How is this possible? For the destruction of the Temple and the exile
of our people cannot be understood. Not only by man, but also not by G-d.
A Dwelling for Him
Yes, G-d has His clockwork universe. There are
elements of our existence that make sense and that are predictable. But
that represents only a small part of our world. The world as a whole is
larger and more complex.
Why did G-d create the world? Our Sages explain that He desired a dwelling
among mortals, that He would have a home on our material plane. What is
a home? A place where a person reveals himself without any inhibitions
or restrictions. So in G-d's home, He is going to make Himself known without
any inhibitions and restrictions.
Now G-d is unlimited and unbounded. There is no way we - or even the highest
and most refined forms of intellect possible - can define or categorize
Who He is. He is G-d. He cannot be defined or known.
As such, a dwelling for His essence must also be unlimited and unbounded.
A clockwork universe is good for a G-d who can be known, but a G-d who
can be known cannot really be G-d. And since G-d Himself cannot be confined
within the limits of understanding and logic, the world He seeks as His
dwelling must also have a dimension that transcends our understanding.
This type of dwelling appears chaotic. It defies logic, not only our logic,
but G-d's logic, as it were. It makes G-d ask: Eichah? How is this possible?
Mashiach's Birthday
The above gives us some insight into our Sages'
statement that on the day the Temple was destroyed, Mashiach was born.
Whatever the literal meaning of that statement, its implication is that
the destruction of the Temple was not an endpoint. Instead, it is an intermediate
phase in a sequence that will culminate with Mashiach's coming.
Why was the Temple destroyed and our people exiled? There is no reason.
The difficulty and awesomeness of the horrors our people have suffered
defies all logical explanation., and the awesomeness of the revelations
of the era of the Redemption will also defy all logical explanation. And
our Sages are telling us that the two go hand and hand. Tishah B'Av, the
day the Temple was destroyed, is Mashiach's birthday, the day when the
sequence leading to the Redemption that he will bring about began.
In Our Times
There is a venerable chassidic adage: "Until
the Baal Shem Tov's birth, the Jewish people looked backwards to the time
of the Temple. From the Baal Shem Tov's birth onward, we began looking
forward, toward Mashiach."
If that was true over 200 years ago, it is certainly true today. As the
Rebbe frequently emphasizes, the prophecies of Mashiach's coming are not
dreams of a far off future, but rather part of a dynamic that is unfolding
before us. "We are on the threshold of the Redemption and indeed,
in the process of crossing that threshold."
Without question, until Mashiach's actual coming, Av is a month of sadness.
On the other hand, at the present time, we can already sense glimmers
of the era when: "All of the fasts will be transformed into days
of rejoicing and celebration." And then we will celebrate Tishah
B'Av together with Mashiach in the Temple in Jerusalem.
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Telling
Tales
The 20th day of the month of Av is
the yahrzeit of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, the Rebbe's father. The
Rebbe's father was a great luminary in his own right, an awesome reservoir
of Talmudic and Kabbalistic knowledge. But perhaps the most unique dimension
of his character was his unflinching commitment to Jewish practice and
the total lack of fear with which he expressed that commitment.
One night in 1935, in the midst of the fiercest Stalinist oppression,
a woman knocked on his door. "I've come from a distant city whose
name I cannot mention. In approximately an hour, my daughter and her fianc?e
will also arrive. They both hold high government positions and so their
coming here is fraught with danger. They have agreed to be married according
to Jewish law, provided you would perform the wedding in your home."
Rav Levi Yitzchak consented and set about gathering together a minyan
for the wedding. Within a half hour, he had brought eight other men into
his home. But the tenth man was lacking. At the bottom floor of the apartment
house where Rav Levi Yitzchak lived, there was a young Jewish man who
had been hired by the Communist authorities to spy on the goings on in
Rav Levi Yitzchak's home. Rav Levi Yitzchak was well aware of who this
person was and how he was employed. Yet when the tenth man was lacking,
Reb Levi Yitzchak sent for him.
"We need a tenth man for a minyan so that a Jewish couple can marry,"
he told his neighbor.
"And so, you sent for me!" the neighbor responded in utter amazement.
And yet he consented to participate and did not inform about the ceremony.
Years later, the Rebbe would say: "From my father, I learned never
to be afraid."
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Torah
readings of the month
Parshas Devarim
This week, the Shabbos is given a
special name, Shabbos Chazon, which means "the Shabbos of vision."
It refers to the Haftorah read on this Shabbos which begins: "The
vision of Isaiah."
Isaiah's vision speaks of the retribution G-d will visit upon the Jewish
people for their sins. Conversely, however, the name of the Shabbos has
a positive connotation. As Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev would say:
On the "Shabbos of vision", every Jew receives a vision of the
Third Temple.
Both of these interpretations relate to the fact that this Haftorah was
instituted to be read on the Shabbos preceding Tishah B'Av, the fast commemorating
the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jewish people. The
traditional meaning points to a severe descent; for as the prophet warns,
Israel will be harshly punished for her grave sins. The chassidic interpretation,
by contrast, focuses on the redemption from that exile, alluding to a
foretaste of the most exalted spiritual levels, a peek at the ultimate
and most inclusive revelation of G-dliness that there will ever be.
Parshas VaEschanan
This week's Torah reading contains the Shema,
the fundamental Jewish prayer. When a person recites the Shema, he is
not merely declaring that there is only one G-d. The intent of the Shema
is that all existence is one with Him.
Judaism does not believe that the spiritual and the physical can be separated
from each other. We do not believe in a G-d who sits in the heavens and
allows the world to function however it desires. Instead, the spiritual
and the physical are both manifestations of a single unity.
This is what we mean when we say: "G-d is one" - that G-d's
oneness embraces everything that we see, hear, or become aware of. Wherever
we go, there is nothing apart from Him.
Parshas Eikev
This week's Torah reading contains the second passage
of the Shema, the passage beginning Vihayah Im Shamoa. On the surface,
the passage seems unnecessary. It repeats many of the concepts stated
in the first passage of the Shema. Moreover, it appears to point to a
lesser degree of commitment. The first passage states: "And you shall
love G-d your L-rd with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all
your might," while the second passage speaks of loving Him only "with
all your heart and with all your soul." Noticing the difference,
our Sages explain that the first passage refers to a situation when the
Jews fulfill G-d's will, while the second passage refers to a situation
when they do not fulfill G-d's will.
Why is the second passage referred to in such a manner? After all, it
speaks of the Jews loving G-d "with all their hearts and with all
their souls."
Chassidic thought answers by explaining what "with all your might"
means Me-od, the Hebrew word translated as "might" also means
"very." The dictionary defines "very" as "in
a high degree; extremely; exceedingly." In other words, the love
of G-d spoken about in the first passage is "of a high degree, extreme,
and exceeding," representing a commitment beyond a person's intellectual
and emotional capacities. What we can give is "all our heart"
and "all our soul." This we can control; what is beyond our
hearts and our souls - "all our might" - is not within man's
conscious power.
And yet we can love G-d "with all our might" because there is
an aspect within our being that is beyond our conscious power. Every one
of us possesses a soul that is an actual part of G-d. That's who we really
are. When this inner potential surfaces, the love it inspires is extreme
and exceeding.
Parshas Re'eh
This week's Torah reading speaks of a false prophet
performing miraculous acts. Why is he given the power? The verse explains:
"G-d, your L-rd, is testing you to know whether you love G-d."
The wording in the verse sheds light on an important question. Frequently,
we speak of "tests of faith," challenges which our beliefs must
face.
What lies at the core of these tests?
"MENASEH", the term that translates as "is testing,"
can also be rendered as "is raising you up." Each test and challenge
is intended by G-d to bring a person to a higher state of knowing and
loving G-d.
Nothing happens by accident. Everything is controlled and directed by
Divine providence. Moreover, that providence is individual in nature,
involving every facet of our existence.
And G-d has a goal in mind. He is directing our pro-gress with a motive:
that each one of us should realize our individual G-dly nature and spark
its expression and the expression of the G-dly core that lies at the heart
of every person and every object which we encounter.
It may not appear easy to do this. These are the tests and challenges
we spoke of previously. But we must appreciate that these are also from
G-d.
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