GueSt CoLumN
LARGE
SELECTION 41
AVAILABLE •
Teshuvah In God's
Spiritual Rhythms
A
Change Marches On
s Jews, we embrace each new
In the spiritual rhythms, summertime
season. Spring and the . month
continues
and the Hebrew month of
of Nisan is the season of our renew-
Sivan leads into Tamuz, when we are
al as a people. With Pesach, we
ill-stricken in the middle of our joyous
celebrate our redemption by the
summer with 2,000 years of our peo-
hand of God and our birth as a
ple's pain. Yod Zayan b'Tamuz, the
nation. We begin our summer with
17th day of the month of Tammuz,
the month of Sivan and the holiday
arrives, and we are
of Shavuot, the commemo-
reminded of the terror
1 ration of the revelation of
that
our people endured
God's Law at Sinai.
during
the siege of
Spiritually, Shavuot
Jerusalem, as the
1 returns to active memory
Romans in 70 C.E.
the eternal validity of
breached the walls.
God's teachings and the
This period of mourn-
:way of life for Israel,
ing
comes to an end
guarding and fulfilling
three weeks later with
:God's will in this magnifi-
Tisha b'Av, the ninth of
I cent world. Pesach and •
Ra bbi
Av, the day when
Shavuot help us under-
Jay A. Strear
Jerusalem
was destroyed
! stand our spirituality as
Special to the
in both 586 B.C.E. by
transcendence_ — the
Jewish News
the
hands of the Baby-
engagement of the world
lonian, and again by the
for the sake of Heaven —
Romans
in
the
year 70 of the Com-
and our deed: to ever improve our
mon Era. In our mourning, we reflect
I ability to fill each space in this
upon
the forces that brought about this
:world and each moment of our lives
destruction: hatred between brothers
with God's sanctity.
and sisters. And in the movement of
Summer brings the world into bloom
summer, we begin to look towards a
and we open our eyes. In the world's
New Year, evaluating our lives, our
harmony, we are reminded of God's
actions, and asking ourselves; what
I presence, and we understand anew
destruction does my own behavior
that we are needed in God's chorus,
cause, and what world do I build
calling us to turn into God's spiritual
with
my loving kindness?
rhythms by fulfilling mitzvot and grow-
Time progresses. Suddenly the
: ing through each spiritual season as
trees
begin to change colors. Reds
!marked by each Shabbat, Rosh
and yellows dot the branches of the
1 Chodesh and Yom Tov. Within these
trees and the month of Elul has
spiritual rhythms, we face our personal
arrived. It is the time of year when
;enslavement, experience our ultimate
children go back to school with
redemption, admit our transgressions
clean
notebooks, and when we, too,
against God and human kind alike
should pull out clean paper, pie-
and make teshuvah — repent for our
pared for the arduous and fulfilling
misdeeds — and God willing, bring
work of teshuvah that shall continue
forth the merit of being written and
at least through Yom Kippur.
sealed into the Book of Life for one
Think back to Shavuot. Remind
more year.
yourself of the freshness of a new sum-
mer and a renewed sense of Torah.
Go even farther back into the year
I Rabbi Jay A. Strear is the
numbered 5760. Write down what
newest member of the clergy at
you did for Passover? Who is new in
Adat Shalom Synagogue.
1
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