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July 2004

Robin Sternberg, LMSW

Tisha B’Av

It is the 17th of Tammuz. There is a siege around Jerusalem. A harbinger of doom for certain. The siege will culminate, 3 weeks from today, in the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the House of God.

Rabbi Elazar said: what does Isaiah mean when he says: "And many peoples will go and say: ‘come, let us go up to the Mountain of God, to the House of the God of Jacob"? Why the God of Jacob and not the God of Abraham and Isaac? The answer is: Not like Abraham, who saw it as a mountain (Genesis 22:14). And not like Isaac for whom it was a field (Genesis 24:63). But like Jacob, who called it a House: "and he called the named of that place the House of God" (Genesis 28:19) (Pesachim 88a).

The Holy Temple. The House of God. What is a house and what does it mean to lose a house? The physical structure that lay in ruins, the Holy Temple, was a physical manifestation, a graphic image of the inner devastation and ruin within the people that had already occurred prior to the physical destruction.

"and let them make Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst" (Exodus 25:1). The biblical commentator Rashi explains: God tells the people ‘I will dwell in the inner Temple, within the heart of each of you.’ The physical destruction makes apparent the fracture in our relationship with God. It is also difficult to feel at peace without security in your physical or psychological environment. "Home," on a basic level is living quarters. In it’s ideal, it conjures images of security, and connection, while also being a place that tolerates differences. It is also a place you can be vulnerable and take risks.

Repair occurs on a dual level. As we strive to make peace within our selves, and within our relationships, on a macro level we are mindful of restoring harmony within all interpersonal relationships, as well as environmental. In this way our hearts are fertile fields to nurture holiness and a universal Home is built on a reliable foundation.

"Be it ever so humble there’s no place like home" (American Folk Song). May we each merit to work dutifully on our terrain, and our efforts yield true and enduring peace.

These "Spirituality Notes" are excerpts from our monthly E-newsletter. Articles are © JBFCS Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs and may be reprinted free of charge as long as this credit line is included.

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