The
Jewish calendar is uniquely marked with contrasting periods of celebration and
mourning. As a people who follow the lunar months, our history reflects the
pattern of growth that can be observed in the Moon. At the beginning of each
month, the Moon first emerges from nothingness and gradually proceeds to grow
to its fullest state, only to fade towards the end into oblivion and once again
rebound to prominence the following month.
In a
similar way, we celebrate the joyous moments of the year and observe those that
are decidedly somber and inspire personal introspection. Both bear important messages
that are relevant to the Jewish people as a whole, as well as to each of us individually.
They convey lessons for all of us as we forge ahead with our lives as Jews.
During
the month of Menachem Av, our sadness is most acute. On Tisha B’Av the
holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed; the lives of untold numbers of Jews
were taken, and the Jewish people were driven from their homeland into exile.
But these
events require perspective. When a Jew is faced with tragedy, it behooves them
to benefit from the Torah’s approach to pain and suffering and how to ultimately
find solace and heal one’s wounds.
Chapter
seventy nine of Psalms describes the destruction of the Holy Temple and its
aftermath. But ironically, it opens with the following statement: “A song
of Asaph. O God! Nations have come into Your heritage, they have defiled
Your Holy Temple, they have made Jerusalem into heaps.”
The
Midrash[i] asks: “A song of
Asaph”? It should have said “a lamentation,” “a cry,” and the like. How can
Asaph sing while describing the defilement of the Holy Temple and
the heaps that Jerusalem had been turned into?
Asaph answers:
“I sing because G-d has chosen to discharge His wrath on the stones and wood of
the Temple rather than on the Jewish people themselves.”
This
response can be viewed in two ways[ii]: First, that a greater
tragedy was averted by G-d diverting His anger towards the corporeal
edifice of the Temple, rather than the Jewish people themselves. The Second:
that the destruction of the Temple was intended for the purpose of rebuilding
a new one in its place, that would incomparably surpass the previous
Temples in both physical and spiritual prominence.
When
seen in this light, the Temple’s ruins actually represent the beginnings of a
positive development. As the quintessential tragedy of the Jewish nation, this perspective
has bearing on how we view our own tragedies and personal setbacks.
From
the Torah perspective, we must endeavor to view darkness as a stepping stone to
greater opportunity, and increased light.
* * *
It is
certainly by Divine Providence that during this month, Jews worldwide will
celebrate the 12th cycle of the daily study of Talmud (all 2,711
pages!), known as the Daf Yomi Siyum HaShas. Rabbi Meir Shapiro, the
eminent Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivah Chachmei Lublin pioneered the
daily study of one page of Talmud, concluding its study every seven years.
Studying Torah is important for each and every Jew, because Torah gives us “our life and length of days”. The Siyum HaShas underscores the potential every Jew has to take part in the study of Torah, regardless of background or denomination.
But
perhaps there is another message here as well.
It is
well known that the Daf Yomi study project has been augmented by the
unprecedented accessibility to the Talmud that this generation has enjoyed.
Whether one uses an Artscroll, Steinzaltz or Soncino edition, the Talmud’s
teachings can be grasped by everyone, thanks to these recently translated
editions. What’s more, Artscroll has recently announced that it has embarked on
an extraordinary project, whereby their Talmud edition will be available for
use on the ipad, and embellished with state-of-the-art tools to navigate the
Talmud with incredible ease.
This
revolution of Torah study only reinforces the idea that as Jews, we must
harness every tool at our disposal to further spread the teachings of the Torah
and make them accessible to each and every Jew.
Despite
the fact that others may use technology as agents to proliferate everything
that is antithetical to G-d and His Torah, technology remains a neutral force
that can be used for good.
The
Talmud[iii] tells us that the 15th
of Av marks the day when the night begins to get longer. As such, it encourages
us to take advantage of the additional time at night to devote to Torah study,
saying: “One who adds nighttime hours to his Torah study schedule will
thereby add days to his life.”
May we take advantage of this blessing and advance our Torah studies with new vigor, and in this merit may the sorrowful days of this
month be transformed “for the house of Yehudah for joy and happiness and for
happy holidays”[iv] with the coming of Moshiach, when we will experience the ultimate "addition" to our days, the resurrection of all those that have passed on - techiyas hameisim, speedily in our time.
Rabbi Bergstein
