When the month of Av starts, reduce joy... : Entering the Nine days

[muman613]

Shalom,

Today is Rosh Chodesh Av (the 1st day of the month of Av)... The Talmud contains the following axiom:

“When the month of Av enters, we reduce joy” (Taanis 26b).

This is the beginning of the Nine Day period which culminates with the ninth of Av, the ultimate day of our sadness for the losing of both of our Holy Temples... But it is not a time we should be depressed. It is this conundrum dealing with depression versus sadness or mourning which I am dealing with (and I suspect many others are at this time).

I received this bit of wisdom in my email today from Torah.org's 'Sfas Emes' column..

The Nine Day

Notes On The "Nine Days"

We will soon begin 'the " Nine Days' -- a period of national mourning. This somber period starts with the first day of the month of Av -- the day on which Aharon Hakohein was niftar ( took leave of this world ; i.e., passed away ). The mourning culminates on Tish'a Be'Av, the ninth day of the month. On that day, both the first and the second Beis HaMikdash were destroyed..

In trying to handle this period of national mourning, you may find the following ideas helpful. First, it is important to distinguish between Atzvus--depression --and Aveilus-- feeling bereft... The Seforim single out Atzvus -- a dark force of self-destruction which lurks deep within most of us--as a key weapn of the Sitra Achra. Aveilus, on the other hand, is a feeling of sadness because something dear to a person has been lost ..

What have we lost? The Beis HaMikdash, and the easier access to HaShem that the Mikdash afforded. More generally, we are mourning the fact that "the Shechina is in Golus". This phrase is shorthand for the many sources of grief from which we suffer because of the wide gap that has opened between HaShem and ourselves. . Sources of grief include:: the Hester Panim in which we live ; the ensuing Chilul HaShem; ; people who treat other people in ways incompatible with both being created Betzelem Elokim;; 'leaders' who do not lead ;; ' 'followers' who do not follow ;; Sin'as Chinam ( likewise, well-merited Sin'a). The list is long ...

Clearly, we have much for which to mourn. But -- the Seforim tell us -- even during the Nine Days, our Torah and our Tefila--i.e., our Learning and our Davening-- should beBesimcha ( with joy )...   

[muman613]

http://www.shemayisrael.com/publicat/hazon/tzedaka/joymidst.htm

Joy in the Midst of Mourning

“To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
 
“A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:4)
 
 Dear Friends,
 
We are in the midst of the “Nine Days” – the last and most intense stage of the three-week mourning period for the loss of our Holy Temple and for the ongoing exile – both physical and spiritual – which now prevents us from experiencing the true wholeness and complete joy which is our ultimate destiny. The Nine Days began at the beginning of the month of Av and this period concludes with the Fast of the Ninth of Av, known in Hebrew as “Tisha B’Av.” This year, Tisha B’Av begins on Monday evening, July 23rd.

The Talmud states, “When the month of Av enters, we reduce joy” (Taanis 26b). The Talmud does not call upon us to “eliminate” joy; it calls upon us to “reduce” joy. The wording of this statement serves as a reminder that even during this intense period of mourning over our physical and spiritual exile, we do not lose our connection to our inner wellsprings of joy. In fact, Jewish tradition calls this month “Menachem Av,” which literally means “the Comforting Av”; moreover, during the seven weeks following Tisha B’Av, we chant on each Shabbos comforting portions from the Book of Isaiah regarding the future redemption and renewal of Israel and the world.

Yes, we mourn our loss, but we do not despair during this period, for we have a Divine promise that the days of fasting and mourning will be transformed into days of joy, as it is written:
 
“Thus said Hashem, God of the hosts of creation: The fast of the fourth (month), the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth will be to the House of Judah for joy and for gladness and for happy festivals” (Zechariah 8:19).
 
Av is the fifth month in our calendar; thus, the above reference to “the fast of the fifth” is referring to the Fast of Tisha B’Av. It will become a day “for joy and for gladness.” And it will also become a festival.
 
Regarding the service of the Compassionate One, King David wrote, “Serve Hashem with joy, come before Him with joyous song” (Psalm 100:2). The most joyous service for Israel was the pilgrimage to the Temple on Passover, Shavuos, and Succos. The joy that each person experienced during these three pilgrimage festivals is expressed in the following statement in the Book of Psalms:
 
“I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the House of Hashem!’ ” (Psalm 122:1).
 
Within the House of the Compassionate One was the Holy of Holies, and within the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant with the Tablets of the Covenant, as well as the Torah scroll transcribed by Moshe Rebbeinu – Moses, our Teacher. The Holy Temple is therefore the “Sanctuary of the Torah”; thus, when all the diverse tribes of Israel made the joyous pilgrimage to Jerusalem, they were renewing their bond with the Torah – the Divine Teaching that unified all of them. The unity that the tribes experienced during the pilgrimage festivals greatly enhanced the joy of these festivals.

The climax of this joy was experienced during the concluding pilgrimage of the Festival of Succos, which also celebrates the final fall harvest. Regarding Succos, the Torah states:

”You shall rejoice on your Festival – you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your maidservant, the Levite, the stranger, the orphan and the widow who are in your gates. A seven-day period shall you celebrate to Hashem, your God, in the place that Hashem, your God, will choose; for Hashem will have blessed you in all your produce and in all your handiwork, and you shall remain only joyful.” (Deuteronomy 16:14,15).

At the beginning of the above passage, the Torah states, “You shall rejoice on your Festival,” and at the conclusion of the passage, it states that “you shall remain only joyful.” Why does the passage conclude with an extra emphasis on joy? Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that in the beginning of the passage, the Torah is referring to the joy that we are to experience during the seven days of the Festival. At the end of the passage, when the Torah states, “you shall remain only joyful, it is referring to a state of happiness that is to remain with us and become a permanent part of our nature. With these concluding words, explains Rabbi Hirsch, we are given a mandate to remain joyous “beyond” the Festival, even in conditions which would tend to disturb our joy. This joy is to accompany us throughout the whole of life, with all its troubles and challenges.

We acquire this permanent state of joy, adds Rabbi Hirsch, through the pilgrimage to the Temple – the Sanctuary of the Torah – a pilgrimage which enables us to renew the Covenant with the Torah. The spiritual strength and renewal that we gain from this joyous pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Torah enables us to maintain our sense of joy throughout the year.

One of the major reasons why we mourn the loss of our Temple is because we are no longer able to have the uplifting and unifying experience of the pilgrimage to the Temple which helped us to remain joyful throughout the entire year. Although we now lack that unique experience, we still have the Divine call to be joyous throughout the whole of life; thus, even during the mourning period of the Nine Days, we are to remain connected to our wellsprings of joy. After all, the Temple may be temporarily gone, but the Torah is still with us!
 
May we be blessed with Shabbat Shalom.
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen
 
Related Teachings:
 
1. Many of us have heard the following teaching of the great Chassidic sage, Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav: “It is a great mitzvah to always be joyous.” This teaching is also sung to a lively melody. Rabbi Yehudah Levi, also known to some of you as Dr. Leo Levi, suggested that a biblical source for the mitzvah to always be joyous can be found in the above teaching of Rabbi Hirsch where he states that the Divine statement, “you shall remain only joyful” is a mandate to remain joyous throughout the year.
 
2. In the heart of the Temple was the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Tablets of the Covenant and the Torah scroll which Moshe placed within the Ark. As the classical biblical commentator, Rashi, explains, the Talmud (Baba Basra 14a-b) cites two views regarding the exact location of the Torah scroll within the Sanctuary (commentary on Deuteronomy 31:26).   According to one view, there was a board protruding from the Ark, and it was there that the Torah scroll was placed. According to the other view, the Torah scroll was placed besides the tablets inside the Ark (next to the interior wall of the Ark.)
 
3. The idea that the Temple is the “Sanctuary of the Torah” is expressed in the writings and biblical commentary of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, including the commentary cited above.
 
4. There is another reason why the Temple was the center of Torah. The Supreme Court of Israel, composed of the leading Torah sages, was located in the courtyard of the Temple, in “The Chamber of Hewn Stone.” A reference to the role of these judges appears in the following biblical passage which describes the pilgrimage of the tribes to the Temple:
 
“For there the tribes ascended, the tribes of God, a testimony for Israel… For there sat thrones of judgement (Psalm 122:3-5)
 
“For there sat thrones of judgement” – Two noted biblical commentators, the Metzudas Dovid and the Malbim, explain that this is a reference to the seats of the judges on the Supreme Court, which later became known as the Sanhedrin.
 
5. Torah is a source of joy, as King David proclaimed to Hashem regarding his Torah study, “I rejoice over Your word!” (Psalm 119:162). This is why on Tisha B’Av – a day of serious mourning – we limit our Torah study to sober themes of the day, including the destruction of the First and Second Temples, as well as other tragic events which took place on Tisha B’Av. Other appropriate themes are the causes of our exile, the suffering of our exile, and the process of “teshuvah” – return and renewal – which can hasten the arrival of the messianic age of comfort and redemption.
 
We plan to send out an appropriate letter on Tisha B’Av. If by next week, the Messiah has not yet arrived, and it is still a fast day, then the message will be in the spirit of the fast day; however, if the Messiah will have arrived, this fast day will be transformed into a day of joy, and the message will be in the spirit of the new festival of Tisha B’Av. Either way, with the help of Hashem, Torah will go forth from Jerusalem to all our brethren and friends. As King David prayed regarding Jerusalem:
 
“For the sake of my brethren and my friends, I shall speak of shalom in your midst. For the sake of the House of Hashem, our God, I shall request good for you.” (Psalm 122:8,9)

[muman613]

http://www.torahweb.org/torah/2011/moadim/rwil_9days.html

Rosh Chodesh Av: Aharon's Yahrzeit

I

"Aharon died in the 40th year on the first day of the fifth month" (Bamidbar 33:38). Aharon's yahrzeit, Rosh Chodesh Av, is the only date of death in the entire Torah.

The Oznaim LaTorah asks why the date is found here rather than in the earlier, lengthier description of Aharon's death (20:22-29). His answer is based on the premise that the death of tzaddikim atones. (Rashi 20:11). As punishment for the sins of spies, 15,000 people died each year on Tisha B'Av, for a 40 year total of 600,000. However, the last 15,000 were spared, an event celebrated on Tu B'Av (Rashbam Bava Basra 121a).

The Oznaim LaTorah suggests that it was the recent atonement of Aharon's death which spared the 15,000 people. This could not have been known when Aharon died. Therefore, the date is only recorded later, when its significance was realized.

II

Alternatively, the yahrzeit of Aharon is recorded in the parsha which is read every year just before Rosh Chodesh Av. While a tzaddik's death atones, subsequent yahrzeits are days of judgment and misfortune for future generations. (See Shach Yorea Deah 402:10).

Indeed, when Av enters, we reduce joy, and some laws of mourning begin (Orach Chaim 551:1-16), in commemoration of the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash on Tisha B'av. Aharon's death represents the loss of his example, and the failure of Am Yisrael to emulate it, which led to the churban; his death on Rosh Chodesh Av presaged the reduction in joy years later, beginning on his yahrzeit. Chazal highlight a number of times the need to follow in Aharon's footsteps, and the implications of not doing so:

* "Be among the disciples of Aharon, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people (briyos) and bringing them closer to Torah" (Avos 1:12). Loving people (briyos) includes the weak-minded and the provocative, Jews and non-Jews. Only from one who loves them will they accept advice and be drawn closer to Torah (Tiferes Yisrael).

* "As Hashem admonishes one He loves" (Mishlei 3:12), a Jew who loves his fellow will offer rebuke out of love, which can be accepted. The churban occurred because they did not rebuke one another (Shabbos 119B).

* Baseless hatred, the cause of the churban (Yoma 9B), is the opposite of loving peace. Even peace-loving rabbonim, who were perceived as not doing enough to pursue and restore peace, may have contributed to the churban (see Gittin 56A, the story of Bar Kamtza and the host).
III

The only other yahrzeit which is found in the Torah requires combining two pesukim. "On the first day of the first month, you shall erect the Mishkan" (Shemos 40:2). On that very day (Vayikra 9:1, see Rashi), Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, perished (10:3).

In fact, these two Rosh Chodesh yahrzeits, of Aharon and of his sons, are the only days when fasting on Rosh Chodesh is encouraged (Orach Chaim 580:1-2). This is relevant even nowadays for a Chasan on his wedding day (Mishna Berurah 429:10).

Despite being Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu did not act as his disciples. They did not consult him, or one another (Sifra 10:1), implying a failure to love and pursue peace even with each other. They had no sons (Bamidbar 3:4). They spurned all offers of marriage because they considered themselves above other people (Tanchuma Acharei Mos 7). This attitude is a failure to love even lowly people and thereby draw them closer to Torah.

Since Nadav and Avihu viewed themselves as above and separate from the people, Hashem's Name was sanctified by them (Vayikra 10:3, See Rashi) as they died and were separated from the people. This is the opposite of Aharon, and Moshe, who did not feel that they were higher than others. Rather, they encountered Hashem without any intention for their own personal gain but as mere conduits to influence others (Meshech Chochma 10:3).

Aharon - and a Kohen who followed him - turned away many from sin, and closer to Torah, because he was like an angel (Malachi 2:6-7). An angel stands in one place (see Zecharia 3:6-7), willing to sacrifice his own spiritual advancement for the sake of his students. Only from such a rebbe should one seek Torah (Moed Kattan 17A and introduction to the Sefer Hafla'ahon Maseches Kesubos).

As we commemorate the yahrzeit of Aharon, we must become his disciples. The fast, and the month, of Av will be for joy and for gladness, if we love truth and peace (Zecharia 8:19), the legacies of Aharon.

[Sveta]

It is during these times that the yetzer hara creeps up and makes me think of music or putting up that picture frame I bought a few weeks ago...and making some decorations. Or looking at some dress. Things I never think about all come right at me when I am not supposed to be thinking about it.

Anyways, I LOVE what you posted here, Muman. "As Hashem admonishes one He loves" (Mishlei 3:12), a Jew who loves his fellow will offer rebuke out of love, which can be accepted. The churban occurred because they did not rebuke one another (Shabbos 119B)."