We Welcome the Month of Av...

the month begins
Av*
aleph then bet

sadness and joy
destruction and pain
remembered
held onto
felt

but there is hope.
yes, hope.

will Change
begin in Av?

we begin with aleph-bet
it is the start of it all.

so too does hope and joy
come out of the ashes
out of the desire for
repair
of
the
world

The Hebrew month of Av begins Wednesday, Rosh Chodesh Av. It is a month of mixed feelings - Tisha B'Av (the 9th) commemorates the destruction of the Temple. But the tradition also teaches that the Messiah will be born in this month as well. While I don't believe in the idea of a physical, individual Messiah, it does seem that out of the mourning and destruction comes our desire for a Messianic Era, an opportunity and requirement for each of us to work for the repair and renewal of the world. Just as children begin their learning with the aleph-bet, starting with the basics, so too do we take small steps that grow to larger ones on our quest to improve the world for all.

It's also a month known as Menachem Av, the month of consolation; the weeks that follow Tisha b'Av have special Haftarah portions that are meant to provide comfort. I always feel that rabbis (and their families) in particular need all the consoling because those seven weeks lead us straight into the High Holy Days. Can we really believe that they're here already!?

May this month bring comfort and hope to us all.
*spelled in Hebrew "aleph-bet"