Chevre,
The IDF has identified that two more hostages are actually dead: Yogev Shokhev, 35, and Alex Danzig, 75. Both were murdered by Hamas while in captivity in December in Khan Yunis, may their memories be for a blessing.
Today is the Jewish holiday of the 17th of Tammuz, and begins the three week period of mourning that culminates on Tisha b'Av (the 9th of Av). But what is this holiday about, and why is it important, especially now?
Imagine...
You are of the generation that came out of Egypt with Moses. You have seen more overt miracles than could be dreamed: the 10 plagues, the parting of the Sea of Reeds, the giving of Torah at Mt. Sinai, and most importantly you have been released from slavery and are on your way to the Promised Land.
But Moses is with God at the top of Sinai already for a day longer than you expected. Do you suddenly believe that God has abandoned you? Or do you have faith, based in what you have already experienced, that you are protected, Moses will return, and you will be on your way to Eretz Yisrael?
For too many of our ancestors, the answer was the latter choice. They pressured Aaron to build a golden calf, they worshipped around it, and they betrayed God and themselves with their lack of faith. When Moses did come down, the Tablets were broken.
The Sages of the Talmud taught that on the 17th of Tammuz we broke God's heart with the sin of the golden calf; and that on that same day of the 17th of Tammuz centuries later, God broke our hearts by letting the walls of Jerusalem be breached, leading to the destruction of the Temple (according to the Yerushalmi Talmud, the walls of both the 1st and 2nd Temples were breached on this day).
But what does it even mean "to break God's heart"?
On Passover, God "betrothed" Himself to the Jewish people, making it clear that there was a special relationship that transcended the physical world. On Shavuot, God gave us the Torah at Mt. Sinai, which in actuality is the ketubah, the marriage contract between God and Israel. But only 40 days after accepting the ketubah from God, we broke the relationship (we committed adultery so to speak with a foreign god as represented by the golden calf). Our ancestors let go of their deeper values, and took in the values of another culture (the calf had symbolism in many of the surrounding tribes as a "god"). In betraying that ketubah of the Ten Commandments, we "broke God's heart". And so, centuries later, he broke our hearts and let Jerusalem be breached.
Traditionally, we do not have haircuts, parties, weddings, or celebrations during this time; similar to when someone is mourning a loved one. While we traditionally fast on this day from dawn to dusk, it is customary in some communities to have no meat during these three weeks, some have no meat for the first nine days of Av, and some only fast on both holidays. On the 17th of Tammuz, we fast and contemplate how we betray ourselves, our values, our religion, and God.
Today, our hearts are also broken. Our brothers and sisters in Israel are in jeopardy; some are still held captive; others are dead or wounded; and Israel is facing a 7 front existential war. Jew hatred fills the world from Europe to the Conejo Valley, and we need to be honest, especially on this day, how our hearts are broken.
But the 17th of Tammuz is not the end of the story for our ancestors, nor is it the end of the story for us.
After the breaking of the Tablets, symbolic of our breaking the relationship with God, Moses goes back up Mt. Sinai to get the second Set of Tablets. This second set is a renewal of the special relationship between God and Israel. The giving of those second set of Tablets to the people of Israel is another wedding: a recapitulation of our commitment to God and God's vows to us.
And when are those second Tablets given to the people? On the 10th day of the month of Tishrei... Yom Kippur! This is one of the many reasons that Yom Kippur is unanimously considered a joyous day by our Sages, and why we observe it so passionately in our community. I hope you will join us in our High Holiday services at the Canyon Club, especially on Yom Kippur (you can register at https://www.nersimcha.org/high-holy-days-2024 ... and if you live out of town and would like to stream the services, that option will be made available if you notate your registration)
After a wedding, there must be a honeymoon; and this is the holiday of Sukkot... an intimate time where we dwell in "God's summer house" and deepen our relationship with God.
Right now, we are all feeling alone, lonely, sad, angry, scared, and/or betrayed by the events of the world which have caused such pain to Israel and the Jewish people. But in the same way that the 17th of Tammuz actually is a predecessor for the joy of the wedding and honeymoon with God; we need to choose to have faith that this pain will also pass, and we will soon see a time of peace and prosperity in Israel and for Jews worldwide.
There is a story in the Talmud (Makkot 24b) that reminds us of the future joy and peace we will experience. Rabbis Gamaliel, Elazar, Yehoshua, and Akiva came upon the ruins of the Holy Temple Mount, and saw a fox emerging from the site of what had been the Holy of Holies. The first three began to sob, but Akiva laughed. They sobbed in sorrow, for the prophecies of the destruction of the Temple had come true. But Akiva laughed as he pointed out that it was a two-part prophecy. The first part (by Uriah) was that the Temple Mount would be plowed as a field, and have foxes that would walk in the rubble. But he second prophecy (by Zecharia) was that the Temple would be rebuilt only after the first prophecy of Uriah's was fulfilled. Akiva shared with his colleagues that since they saw foxes, the first prophecy had been fulfilled, and that they could now all count on the second one coming true as well; and the other Rabbis were comforted.
The pain of the 17th of Tammuz is also a promise that the joy of a renewed relationship with God will also come true. The pain we feel right now as Israel is attacked on all fronts is a preface to the future reality of a strong and safe Israel in the future.
Be honest...does that comfort you or make you think it is the silly ramblings of a Rabbi not "based in reality"? (It's ok..I've been called worse.)
I would like to add one other piece to your experience of the pain we all feel, and the choice to have faith it will get better...
In 2019, between the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha b'Av, a fox was spotted for the first known time walking near the Western Wall (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/foxes-seen-walking-near-the-western-wall-fulfilling-biblical-promise-598053). Last July, on the eve of Tisha b'Av last year, another fox was spotted on the Temple Mount (https://m.jpost.com/israel-news/article-752819). On the darkest day in our calendar last year, a fox gave the Jewish world hope that although there is great pain, there will be great joy coming.
I choose to have faith that pain will change to joy. I choose to believe that this war will end, Israel will have a lasting peace, and that Jew hatred will dissipate in our time. Ani M'Ameen... I believe....
To help all of us choose faith, here is a short video from a week and a half ago of IDF soldiers singing "Ani Ma'ameen...I believe in perfect faith". If in their situation they choose to believe, maybe we should try it too...to choose to have faith that our pain will turn to joy, that war will change to peace.
I invite you to join me in that hope and faith... and in choosing to have faith that the darkness will give way to a light of peace.
Chazak u'Baruch
Rabbi Michael Barclay
July 23, 2024
17th of Tammuz, 5784
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