Av: At Night, Weeping...In the Morning, a Cry of Joy

Crying is an emotional expression I am not very good at any more. Rarely do I allow myself to feel something deep enough that I can cry. The month of Av is, to some extent, a month very much connected with crying. First and foremost, it holds the commemoration of the destruction of both Temples. The weight of these catastrophic events cannot be underestimated. I have had the privelege to begin a class on the midrashim of Eikha Rabbah (I will will be learning more inside for the first seven days of Av for an MJTI Rabbincal intensive in L.A.). The willingness the Rabbis have to portray God as a mourning Husband, Father, King, and even Mother is profoudly moving. It demonstrates to me the the Rabbis are trying to get Jews distant from the Destruction of the second Temple to understand the extent of its impact. This event changed Judaism and Jewish life forever. Even the rebuilding of the Temple cannot erase the long dark history of this exile. In my community, it is in this time that we take the opportunity to reflect on Messiah's execution. This is also an event that that changed the course of history forever. This year, I want to be able to cry over these events. I want Am Yisrael to be able to cry over the memory of tumbling walls, screaming children, watching our wives get raped, our children get trampled, our King get beaten, and His tired flesh bruised and bloody...

But then there is another kind of crying in Av...

The Talmud relates that the 15th of Av was, along with Yom Kippur, the most joyous day of the year. It was the day of young maidens going out into the city of Jerusalem to find their bridegrooms. There is often alot of crying at weddings and engagements! These are joyful times to celebrate the beggining of new life, the end of an old life. It is likely no coincidence that the 15th of Av is the full moon of that month. The evening of the 15th of Av is the brightest night in the darkly burdened night that is the month of Av. As a follower of Yeshua I want to go out into the world on the 15th of Av dressed in white, with all of Am Yisrael, seeking our Bridegroom with plenty of oil in stock. I want us to remember the coming Kingdom, and to cry for Joy together...