Tisha B'Av (the ninth of
Av) is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It was supposedly a pre-ordained
day of tragedy for the Jewish people. Countless calamities are remembered: the
destruction of both Temples, the expulsions from England and Spain, the start
of World War I, the Warsaw ghetto uprising, to name a few.
Reading
the histories of many peoples, I find many celebrations of victories, but few
that recall defeats and calamities. In ancient times, kings would create grand
monuments of their victories in battle and their accomplishments, but not their
defeats or losses.
Judaism
has a practical approach to these matters. It recognizes both the wins and the
losses. This reflects our own humanity and the ebb and flow of our lives. We
suffer and celebrate, win and lose.
Both
provide valuable lessons for the choices we make. It is not the victories, but
the defeats and failures which have the most influence and enable us to be
resilient. It is wonderful to be able to celebrate a victory with joy, but only
a grown up adult man or woman can find and utilize the losses for personal and
spiritual growth by reframing what went wrong, adjusting to the situation and
walk away with a life changing approach and action.
The
TOV calendar advocates a day or days that confront our defeats, losses and
failures. Psychologically and emotionally this helps us to be healthier by
facing the darkness and the fears we encounter. It brings us together with
others who are not afraid to confront the darkness and do the activities that
will create light.
Those
who can face loss and learn, are the ones who progress as people and bring the
world closer to redemption by committing to do acts of TOV, acts that meet the
Creator’s Standard:
Acts that protect human life,
preserve human life, make human life more functional, and/or increase the
quality of human life.
We
do acts of TOV whether we win or we lose.
Tisha
B'Av begin today at sundown and last until tomorrow at sundown.
Choose Life By
Doing TOV!
Rabbi
Jeffrey Leynor
