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Q: Thank you. I had never heard of this holiday before, and am very interested in your inturrpretation of it's purpose.
I must confess that I am a little confused... The rebuilding of the temple will happen when the messiah comes, right? So, for all our planting, the harvest will come when the whole world is reunited and celebrates together. What is it that we will gain by mourning right now?
According to your explanation we mourn the loss to more deeply appreciate and help bring about the celebration. The celebration will be felt by all, not just us, right? It seems to me that to say we mourn for something in order to help bring about the future something dosen't make any sense. Our mourning is a solitary moment, when others do not see us doing good in the world; when, if anything, people are less likely to see the Jewish ideas and way as the chosen one. How will we help to bring about a celebration by spending the day in solitary, inward mouring? That seed of redemption and awareness will only be spread amongst ourselves, and even then it dosen't seem to be spreading very much.
It also seems to me to throw in the face of Passover. Was the joy of that Exile the celebration of Redemption? It seems that the way we remember that holiday, through stories and questions, to mandate the reliving of that tale; we have stated that the exile in Egypt is by far the more important one. It has never seemed to me that the purpose of the exile, the tears and the hardship was to enjoy and celebrate in the redemption.
If you could elaborate more upon this idea, I would be very thankful. May your fast be easy and your day be filled with contemplation.
A: Hi,
Sorry for the delayed response. I started this email last week, got distracted, and things have been hectic since.
Really great questions – thanks for asking.
As I understood it, you had two basic questions:
a) How can we be changing anything by what we do alone in a synagogue or room? Shouldn’t we be out in the streets doing something/sharing a message?
b) Isn’t Passover a focus on the tale of exile in Egypt?
I’ll try to address each of those:
a) The old cliché’ tells us that “there are two sides to every coin.” On a deeper level, though, there are actually two elements to the reality of the coin – the direct and tangible body, and the inner core—i.e. it’s makeup, it’s essence, etc.
When we talk about impacting the world, there are two ways to go about it. Think of the two major types of medical treatment that exist. Let’s look at cancer treatment for example. The traditional mode focuses on the problem directly. There’s something there that doesn’t belong. Burn it, poison it, cut it out.
A more holistic view, though, tells a patient to look beyond just the specific part that is currently troubled. Strengthen the body with vitamins, with exercises; reinforce the body’s ability to fight off the invader, and you may be able to deal with the problem without any – or with minimal – direct interaction.
On a more basic level, think about taking a medication. A person with limited exposure to science may not understand: I don’t need something to drink, I have an infected wound. But of course we understand the extended impact of one part of the body on another.
Just last week, my daughter suddenly complained about a painful lump behind her ear. When we took her to the doctor, he explained that it was an inflamed lymph node. Interestingly, the problem probably resulted from a scratch elsewhere on her head that had gotten infected. And the cure suggested wasn’t anything to do with the lymph node itself, but rather a prescription for antibiotics that would fight off the infection. So the problem neither stemmed from where it was visible, nor was it helped by addressing directly the visible symptom. Because in one body, all of the elements affect every other part.
Applying that to our impact on the world: We see a particular problem. Say it is the need for redemption and celebration. Or say it is a war going on in Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, or anywhere else. Say it is the general problem of human suffering.
There are two elements of the problem, and so there are also two elements to the response.
One is the very real, tangible, physical problem. The real suffering. The actual hunger, or hatred, or injustice, or disease, or anything else. Or the real and actual ignorance or apathy towards the meaning of life, the message of redemption, etc.
It’s a real practical problem. And the way to solve it is through real practical solutions. Finding ways to help. Getting involved in advocacy, in information drives, in fundraising, in volunteering; in whatever it real practical assistance we can offer.
But there’s another element to the problem. The infection hidden beneath the surface, if you will. The belief that when something is wrong in the physical world it is because of an imbalance in the spiritual core. Something that we’re all tied into, something that we all have an impact on. On that level, treating the symptom alone is—though temporarily helpful—missing the long-term point.
Which is why we believe that, in addition to doing everything we can in the physical realm to treat the symptoms of our suffering world, we need to look within as well. Spending a day in mourning over the Destruction of the Temple – in other words, spending a day looking at the root causes of the ills of our society, and concentrating on the promise of redemption and the path towards it – is not being myopic or withdrawing from reality, but is actually the key to ensuring that the underlying issues are truly being addressed, and that the spiritual balance is being corrected.
To make a long story short my answer is: Yes. We do believe that what each of us does locked in a room or synagogue has an impact on the world. Because we believe that reality comprises more than just the tangible world we see and touch.
That being said, however, it’s important to note that Tisha B’av is only one day a year. We each have to tap into the spiritual message that lies underneath, but we also have to find a way to translate that message into real-world behavior, into living a life that is infused by the spiritual messages we believe in.
(It’s a similar dynamic that we experience on a weekly basis. One day a week is Shabbat. One day a week is for withdrawing from the workday mundane world to recharge our spiritual batteries. But during the six days that follow, we’ve got to translate that energy into reality by engaging with the world around us. And the ratio is not an even one – most of the year, most of the week, most of each and every day is spent in the implementation model.)
b) With regard to Passover, I think a careful reading of the holiday’s observances will show that the focus is in fact on celebrating the Redemption from the exile in Egypt. There, too, the emphasis on the hardship of the exile is primarily to provide the context for the joy of Redemption that follows.
Please let me know if I misunderstood the questions, or if you have any further comments or questions. And again, thank you for asking. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate questions and discussion.
Dov
I must confess that I am a little confused... The rebuilding of the temple will happen when the messiah comes, right? So, for all our planting, the harvest will come when the whole world is reunited and celebrates together. What is it that we will gain by mourning right now?
According to your explanation we mourn the loss to more deeply appreciate and help bring about the celebration. The celebration will be felt by all, not just us, right? It seems to me that to say we mourn for something in order to help bring about the future something dosen't make any sense. Our mourning is a solitary moment, when others do not see us doing good in the world; when, if anything, people are less likely to see the Jewish ideas and way as the chosen one. How will we help to bring about a celebration by spending the day in solitary, inward mouring? That seed of redemption and awareness will only be spread amongst ourselves, and even then it dosen't seem to be spreading very much.
It also seems to me to throw in the face of Passover. Was the joy of that Exile the celebration of Redemption? It seems that the way we remember that holiday, through stories and questions, to mandate the reliving of that tale; we have stated that the exile in Egypt is by far the more important one. It has never seemed to me that the purpose of the exile, the tears and the hardship was to enjoy and celebrate in the redemption.
If you could elaborate more upon this idea, I would be very thankful. May your fast be easy and your day be filled with contemplation.
A: Hi,
Sorry for the delayed response. I started this email last week, got distracted, and things have been hectic since.
Really great questions – thanks for asking.
As I understood it, you had two basic questions:
a) How can we be changing anything by what we do alone in a synagogue or room? Shouldn’t we be out in the streets doing something/sharing a message?
b) Isn’t Passover a focus on the tale of exile in Egypt?
I’ll try to address each of those:
a) The old cliché’ tells us that “there are two sides to every coin.” On a deeper level, though, there are actually two elements to the reality of the coin – the direct and tangible body, and the inner core—i.e. it’s makeup, it’s essence, etc.
When we talk about impacting the world, there are two ways to go about it. Think of the two major types of medical treatment that exist. Let’s look at cancer treatment for example. The traditional mode focuses on the problem directly. There’s something there that doesn’t belong. Burn it, poison it, cut it out.
A more holistic view, though, tells a patient to look beyond just the specific part that is currently troubled. Strengthen the body with vitamins, with exercises; reinforce the body’s ability to fight off the invader, and you may be able to deal with the problem without any – or with minimal – direct interaction.
On a more basic level, think about taking a medication. A person with limited exposure to science may not understand: I don’t need something to drink, I have an infected wound. But of course we understand the extended impact of one part of the body on another.
Just last week, my daughter suddenly complained about a painful lump behind her ear. When we took her to the doctor, he explained that it was an inflamed lymph node. Interestingly, the problem probably resulted from a scratch elsewhere on her head that had gotten infected. And the cure suggested wasn’t anything to do with the lymph node itself, but rather a prescription for antibiotics that would fight off the infection. So the problem neither stemmed from where it was visible, nor was it helped by addressing directly the visible symptom. Because in one body, all of the elements affect every other part.
Applying that to our impact on the world: We see a particular problem. Say it is the need for redemption and celebration. Or say it is a war going on in Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, or anywhere else. Say it is the general problem of human suffering.
There are two elements of the problem, and so there are also two elements to the response.
One is the very real, tangible, physical problem. The real suffering. The actual hunger, or hatred, or injustice, or disease, or anything else. Or the real and actual ignorance or apathy towards the meaning of life, the message of redemption, etc.
It’s a real practical problem. And the way to solve it is through real practical solutions. Finding ways to help. Getting involved in advocacy, in information drives, in fundraising, in volunteering; in whatever it real practical assistance we can offer.
But there’s another element to the problem. The infection hidden beneath the surface, if you will. The belief that when something is wrong in the physical world it is because of an imbalance in the spiritual core. Something that we’re all tied into, something that we all have an impact on. On that level, treating the symptom alone is—though temporarily helpful—missing the long-term point.
Which is why we believe that, in addition to doing everything we can in the physical realm to treat the symptoms of our suffering world, we need to look within as well. Spending a day in mourning over the Destruction of the Temple – in other words, spending a day looking at the root causes of the ills of our society, and concentrating on the promise of redemption and the path towards it – is not being myopic or withdrawing from reality, but is actually the key to ensuring that the underlying issues are truly being addressed, and that the spiritual balance is being corrected.
To make a long story short my answer is: Yes. We do believe that what each of us does locked in a room or synagogue has an impact on the world. Because we believe that reality comprises more than just the tangible world we see and touch.
That being said, however, it’s important to note that Tisha B’av is only one day a year. We each have to tap into the spiritual message that lies underneath, but we also have to find a way to translate that message into real-world behavior, into living a life that is infused by the spiritual messages we believe in.
(It’s a similar dynamic that we experience on a weekly basis. One day a week is Shabbat. One day a week is for withdrawing from the workday mundane world to recharge our spiritual batteries. But during the six days that follow, we’ve got to translate that energy into reality by engaging with the world around us. And the ratio is not an even one – most of the year, most of the week, most of each and every day is spent in the implementation model.)
b) With regard to Passover, I think a careful reading of the holiday’s observances will show that the focus is in fact on celebrating the Redemption from the exile in Egypt. There, too, the emphasis on the hardship of the exile is primarily to provide the context for the joy of Redemption that follows.
Please let me know if I misunderstood the questions, or if you have any further comments or questions. And again, thank you for asking. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate questions and discussion.
Dov
posted by Rabbi Dov | 8:52 AM
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