Three Steps for Healing in Av

By Rabbi David Jaffe

Image Description: Blog image with a photo of large burnt tree with new branches growing out of it. Text reads, “Av 5786 by Rabbi David Jaffe”.

The spiritual practice of these three weeks from 17 Tammuz (July 1-2) to 9 Av (July 22-23) invites us to stand on the edge of a spiritual precipice, overlooking a valley of despair. The destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem 2000 years ago was the shattering of the key vessel used for repair—between people and between people and God. Without that vessel, we just have brokenness, and there is so much. The most in my face personally this week are:

• The Israeli government’s use of administrative law to demolish Palestinian homes in various areas around Jerusalem in efforts to get them to leave the land;

• The lighting up of well-worn neural networks of antisemitism around the world;

• The dehumanization and cruelty towards immigrants in the U.S;

• The recent unjust deaths of young Black folks like eighteen-year old Nolan Wells and one-year-old Kohen Wiley.

An important Breslov Chassidic teaching (Lekutei MoHaran 1:282; Lekutei Halachot Orech Cha’im 1) provides a key for being able to stand on this precipice but not fall into despair. According to this teaching, the Mishkan/Tabernacle was built out of good points of each person in the community. The Torah tells us in Exodus 25:3-4 that the people voluntarily gave gifts from their hearts towards the Tabernacle. Each of these gifts are symbolic of the unique good point in each person. Similarly, we have the ability to identify these good points in ourselves and others and build something powerful and new. A key to this good points teaching is that the good point is found amidst the muck, hurt, brokenness, and cruelty. It is not a spiritual bypass to avoid hard realities.

Another teacher of the same era, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin (Nefesh HaChaim 3:3), warns the spiritual seeker not to make the mistake of acting in the world as if everything is Divine, wholesome, and good. While this is indeed the deep reality, there is harm and brokenness which need to be faced. The power of the Breslov teaching about good points is that this good exists specifically in the midst of the mess and pain. It is from these three steps—seeking, requesting, and finding these good points amidst the muck—that change gets initiated. These good points testify to the good essence in each person and in reality itself. From this solid base of the good, teshuvah/repair can take place, opening the way for lasting change. Finding the good provides a much more solid base for this work of teshuva/repair and change than blame and rebuke. Rebuke may ultimately be necessary to stop harmful behavior, but it will most effectively create deeper repair if finding the good points comes first.

Moshe was the archetypical leader who was able to see these good points in each member of his community. We can do this for each other—each of us can seek, request and find the good in each other and we can do this for ourselves, creating a virtuous cycle of identifying both good actions and qualities and, at a deeper level, our essential goodness.

From these wildly diverse and unique good points, Moshe built the Mishkan—the vessel for repair between people and between the Israelites and God. Similarly, the Chazan/prayer leader finds the good points in the congregation and turns them into prayer and song. The word “Chazan” is from the root for “see” and implies moving forward (Chazeh/chest/front part of the body). With the diverse good points of the community in hand, the Chazan is ready to lead the community forward towards repair.

This Breslov teaching gives us our task for these coming days through Tisha B’av and beyond. See the harm, pain, and brokenness. Don’t turn away. Really feel what is missing since the Temple, the vessel for cosmic repair, was destroyed 2000 years ago. AND, seek, request and find the good in ourselves and each other amidst the pain—not to ignore the harm and brokenness, but to provide a solid base from which to invite and work for repair.

With blessings for Chodesh Tov of healing and repair amidst the shattering,

David