Dear Readers,
This week we usher in the Jewish month of Av, the saddest and darkest month on our calendar. On the ninth day of this month, we commemorate the destruction of both the First and Second Temples, as well as many other tragedies.
In our lives, we all have light-filled days when we feel at peace with our inner selves and aligned with our mission in this world. But more often than not, we have dark and sad days when we seem out of sync. These are the times in our lives that are painful and full of unused potential, when we feel disconnected from our spiritual selves and our Maker.
Yet, often it is precisely in the blackness and difficulties of our lives that our fortitude, faith and strength as human beings emerge. Those circumstances highlight the hidden potency of our inner souls and bring out their greatness.
Just as anxiety is meant to agitate us into action, darkness, too, must be used as a springboard for further growth and to acquire a deeper sensitivity. There is a Chassidic saying that nothing is as whole as a broken heart—as long as our grief is constructive, such turmoil brings us to action.
And that’s why the name of this dark month is so appropriate. Av means “father” in Hebrew. Other months seem to have more significant name associations: Nissan, the month of nissim (“miracles”); the High Holidays are in Tishrei, new beginnings. What relevance does fatherhood have to this sad month, when some of the most painful events in our history occurred?
Av is the month when we hit our lowest point as a nation, when we can easily feel deserted and alone. And perhaps that is precisely why this month needs to be called “Father.”
Only a father can you look you in the eye with a tenderness that says you are straying, and that it’s time to return. Only a parent can guide you to a better direction with an unquestionable firmness that still holds warmth and sensitivity. Only a parent can punish without alienating—his love hidden, but still apparent.
It is customary to add to this month the name “Menachem,” which means “comforter” or “consoler,” so that it becomes “Menachem Av”: the “comforting Father.”
As we begin this month of Menachem Av, may each of us finally feel our Creator’s loving, everlasting embrace.
Chana Weisberg
Editor, TJW
Changing Our Past
Based on the principles of quantum physics, quantum retrocausality may suggest that an individual's actions in the present could cause a change to an event in the past. This seems absurd at first, and it appears to be irrelevant to our religion, but is this not what repentance does? Does not repentance cause us to return to an original state of spiritual purity and thus erase our sin from ever having been committed? Likewise, when someone who is distressed by a prior action, toxic relationship, or something similar feels genuine regret or forgiveness towards or from another, they too can often erase these ill effects from ever having occurred. It's crucial to keep in mind that the spiritual worlds are timeless. Thus, whether the above changes are due to cause or effect will depend on the context—the spiritual versus physical worlds—and will determine how well they fit into the retrocausality theory. Whichever context is fine, so long as it happens!
Shabbat shalom Robert,
May G-d bless you for this message that nourished my neshama today. All Jewish people all over the world are going through different trying circumstances. And for myself I’m in a very trying time. I’ve been honored to live in the US and to have many disposable resources. However, my family life is not as crisp as I would like it to be. I’m so grateful HaShem allowed me to see your comment before the day of rest. I screenshotted it and it will be apart of my 30 day manifestation. I have the power now to change the past and future through the power of repentance and mitzvahs. Thank you Robert and May G-d bless you. Shabbat shalom
I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers, which I believe is a most important form of charity—it does have a positive effect!