Divrei Tikvah

One of the great mystical teachers in Judaism, the Ari—who lived in the 16th century—taught that darkness is actually an intense form of light. Yes, that light is hidden from us. According to Kabbalah, as we purify our souls and elevate the hidden spark within us out of our own darkness, the light—always present—becomes more visible.

Although August, and our Hebrew month of Av, is typically the hottest time of the year, when the sun is at its zenith, in Jewish history the month of Av is marked by profound loss. It was during this month that both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed—nearly 500 years apart—on the ninth of Av. In both instances, that destruction led to the exile of the Jewish people from Judea. It is a time of lamentation, of confronting both personal and communal loss, and of peering into our inner darkness while the sun blazes outside.

For the Judeans, leaving the Holy Temple meant a drastic change in their identity. They believed they could worship God only at the Temple in Jerusalem, so they felt bereft not only of their homes, but of their entire way of life and belief system. Yet within that dark time, they also discovered something new: that the Creator was not confined to one place, but could be found everywhere—in everything and everyone. That was their discovery of the light within the darkness—that times of obscurity give rise to inventions, realizations, and new truths.

In our own time, both in this country and in Israel, destructive forces abound. But they are also catalyzing us into a time of new understanding—what that will be, we have yet to uncover. Still, as we observe the cycle of our tradition and the wisdom of our ancestors, we can trust that their insight applies to us: there is light within us as we navigate this uncertain time and prepare for the new year, whatever it may bring.

I will be offering a Getting Ready for the High Holy Days study series during the month of Elul, beginning on August 28th at 7:00 p.m. Please consider joining me on Zoom to deepen your understanding of the holiday, its meaning, and its message of redemption and growth.