Hodesh Tov! Shabbat Shalom! 

This Shabbat is both Shabbat and Rosh Hodesh. Rosh Hodesh Av. Rosh Hodesh Menachem Av. It’s formal name that is used when we bless the new month.. Av is the saddest month of the year in the Jewish calendar. And yet the formal name of this month means Comfort of the Father.  

Rosh Hodesh is a half holiday, the start of a new month. Typically, we add Hallel, joyous Psalms to our service which we just did, and there is an extra Torah reading, outlining the extra offerings for Shabbat and Rosh Hodesh that was to be offered in the Holy Temple. Sometimes I talk about how that extra offering is the basis for musaf, the additional service on Shabbat, festivals and Rosh Hodesh. 

The three weeks leading up to Tisha B’av, is a period of mourning in Judaism. In the heat of the summer, people stop doing fun things. For instance, at Jewish camp, there may be instructional swim but no free swim. People stop going to instrumental concerts, wearing leather, eating meat. In the synagogue, there are three weeks of dire warnings in the haftarot: don’t go after strange gods or engage in idol worship or Jerusalem will be destroyed.

Jerusalem was destroyed. Her people exiled. In 586 BCE and again in 70 CE. These are dates that are seared into the Jewish gestalt, into our very kishkes.  

Shabbat interrupts the mourning. And yet, I am intrigued by the formal name of this month: Menachem Av. Where do we find comfort in the midst of tragedy? The question is as current today as it was 2000 years ago.  

People said that they find comfort in their family, in their friends, in nature, in shul. 

I find comfort in community. In people coming together to mourn as we did Thursday night or to celebrate as we do with the Morgans today and the Friedmans in a couple of weeks.  

The explanation of why the Second Temple was destroyed was because of sinat chinam, baseless or senseless hatred. The Israelites just couldn’t get along. While we are familiar with the Pharisees and the Saducees, there were maybe as many as 70 sects warring amongst themselves.  

We have seen lots of baseless hatred in the last few years. Both here and in Israel. There is no question that rising anti-semitism is real—but not just anti-semitism alone. Rising anti-LGBTQ hatred. Rising anti-Asian hate crimes. Rising street violence. The very fabric of this country seems to be unraveling before our eyes. 

In Israel we have seen four elections in two years, continued issues with women who want to daven at the Wall and just last week the Israeli rabbinate refusing to recognize a Jewish congregation in Guatemala and Uganda. Who is a Jew is still debated. Fiercely. 

What is the solution? 

Rav Kook, the first Chief Rabbi in modern day Israel had this to say: 

“If we were destroyed, and the world with us, due to baseless hatred, then we shall rebuild ourselves, and the world with us, with baseless love — ahavat chinam. (Orot HaKodesh vol. III, p. 324) 

Let’s consider this seriously—as the V’ahavata says, in our homes and on our way. Our homes themselves, ever since the destruction of the Temple, are to be seen as mikdash me’at, a little sanctuary, filled with shalom bayit, peace of the house. Our synagogues too, and as much as I talk about how Jews kvetch and argue, those arguments are to be for the sake of heaven. 

Which argument is for the sake of heaven? That too was debated. According to Pirke Avot, the argument between Hillel and Shammai was for the sake of heaven and the argument of Korach, questioning Moses’ authority. (Pirke Avot 5:17) 

Rabbi Menaham Meiri (1249-1306 Catalonia) explains the Pirke Avot. Why were Hillel and Shammai’s arguments for the sake of heaven? Because in their debates, one of them would render a decision and the other would argue against it, out of a desire to discover the truth, not to be cantankerous or to prevail over his fellow.  

Tomorrow there will be a rally in Washington DC: “No Fear: A Rally in Solidarity With the Jewish People.”  According to the Forward, it may be the largest demonstration in the nation’s capital since 1987 when 250,000 people rallied for Soviet Jews. (Simon and I were there!) or 100,000 rallied for Israel in 2002 during the second Intifada. The charge for this rally has been led by Elisha Wiesel, son of Elie Wiesel who was responding the immediate crisis of the recent rocket attacks in Israel and the subsequent blame game. I find it inexplicable how you can fire rockets into Israel and Israel gets blamed. It was a hard month—for friends living in Israel and for frayed relationships here with long standing friends and social justice partners.  

The need for this rally is real—and it will be important to note who will stand with the Jewish people, as we have stood with so many.  

Yet, not all are happy with this event. Many have praised it as a “triumph or diplomacy and Jewish solidarity.”  But some progressive groups have been alienated by the way the event came together, particularly over disputes related to Israel, which was the original rallying cry. 

The debate of who could, and should have a seat at the table—or the right to march in a rally against anti-semitism and for Israel, is a fascinating topic. I am proud that my good friend, another Menachem, Rabbi Menachem Creditor was chosen as a speaker. So was Rabbi David Saperstein who used to lead the Reform Movement’s Religious Action Center until he was chosen by the Obama administration as an ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom. They will speak alongside conservative speakers such as alongside a conservative figures such as Meghan McCain and Hussein Aboubakr. Those at the rally will also hear from victims of antisemitism, including Rabbi Sholmo Noginski, who was stabbed in Boston last week. 

But this coalition is fragile. There has been much back and forth about the statement the ADL wanted added that the coalition “will not tolerate expressions of racism, Islamophobia, misogyny, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia or any other hate.” Seems pretty basic to me. Similar to every statement on job applications and such. 

But that very language rankled some of the original, more conservative sponsors. 

As quoted in the Forward, “This is a rally about Jew hatred,” said Mort Klein, the ZOA head,  “It’s not that we’re not appalled by every hatred — of course we are — but this really waters down the theme.” 

So the references to specific forms of bigotry were removed Thursday, “leaving a more generic line opposing “all hatred.” Rally spokesman Nathan Miller said the deletion was inadvertent and due to the challenge of managing a web page that was being constantly updated. The full statement was restored Friday morning.” 

How will you decry anti-semitism tomorrow morning? Me, I’ll be running a 5K for pancreatic cancer research to support a friend who works for JUF bringing young teens to Israel. And yes, I’ll be proudly wearing my kippah! 

At CKI we’ve been known to argue too. Which prayer book should we use? How much English or Hebrew? Whether to sit or stand for Kaddish. Which tune for Adon Olam. Even, dare I say it, what kind of toilet paper.  

Perhaps some of those arguments, even well intentioned, are not for the sake of heaven and we should just stop. Just say no. Perhaps we should remember that everyone—and yes I mean everyone—is created in the image of G-d. 

As we approach Tisha B’av, in this year, with these challenges, where do we find comfort and how do we continue to work for ahavat chinam…baseless love. Perhaps it is with Rabbi Menachem Creditor’s own song which we often sing here. 

Olam Chesed Yibaneh.  

We will build this world with love. 

Olam Chesed Yibaneh   

And maybe it is with another classic song sung at many a rally, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”  

Let us continue to build this place with love.