Photo: ShiratdevorahB"H
Today (Monday) and tomorrow, the Jewish world is celebrating a new month (Rosh Chodesh): the month of Tammuz.
I like the idea that the beginning of a new Jewish month also represents the beginning of something new in life. Not that we particularly have to wait for Rosh Chodesh to appear and then start something new. We can change our lives at any time but Rosh Chodesh may be a special time accompanied by special strength.
The Jewish month of Tammuz has never been a real positive time period for the Jews. Chabad (Lubavitch), however, considers this month as the forerunner of the Ge'ulah (Redemption). The group never leaves out an opportunity to remember or celebrate. For instance, was their sixth Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn released from Russian jail in Tammuz 1927. And Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak was the father - in - law of the last Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson who passed away on 3 Tammuz 1994 (Gimmel Be'Tammuz).
Basically, Tammuz stands for two tragedies throughout Jewish history: On 17 Tammuz, Moshe came down from Mount Sinai and when he saw the Israelites dancing around the Golden Calf, he smashed the Luchot (tablets). Many years later, on the same date, the Babylonians succeeded in destroying the outer wall of the First Temple and the final Temple destruction was only a matter of time.
"Sefer Yetzirah - the kabbalistic Book of Creation" tells us that each Jewish month stands for a special letter, tribe, sense, organ and horoscope.
The letter of Tammuz is the Chet ח, the horoscope is cancer, the organ is the right hand, the tribe is Reuven and the sense is seeing.
Already Adam (HaRishon) and Eve (Chava) used their eyesight for negative purposes. They looked at the apple, felt a desire and ate it. Thus, Tammuz is the month where we can rectify the negative use of one's eyesight by turning it into something positive.
Remark: I am not going into the Talmudic / Kabbalistic opinion of if the apple was an apple or rather something else !
Chodesh Tov – a great, healthy and successful Tammuz to all readers !!!
Thanks for the teaching--love the picture. I hope that this month is a break with tradition and turns out to be wonderful for us all!
ReplyDeleteB"H
ReplyDeleteAmen !
To be honest: I took the picture from a different blog and gave the link to it below !!! I found it by accident on the Internet and later realized that the blogger used the same picture for her Rosh Chodesh explanations. I hope she will forgive me.