Shabbat Shalom! Today
is Tu B’Av, a Jewish day of love. We don’t know much about the history or
traditional observance minor holiday, except that the Mishna tells us that it
was celebrated as far back as the Temple era by young women going out dressed
in white to dance in the vineyards. In modern Israel it is celebrated similarly
to Valentine’s Day in the US, and many Jews in diaspora look to this day for
the much need uplift following the Three Weeks of mourning culminating in Tisha
B’Av, the day of fasting that occurred just last weekend. Tu B’Av always falls
within a week of Shabbat Nachamu, when we read Parashat Ve’etchanan and the
first of seven Haftorot of consolation of God’s love for the people of Israel,
even in times of sinful behavior and punishing exile.
Parashat Ve’etchanan
, this week’s Torah portion, starts off with Moses telling the people of Israel
about his conversation with God regarding his own exile, the prohibition
against him entering into the Promised Land with everyone else that made it
this far. The word “ve’etchanan” means, “And I pleaded,” as Moses recounts this
very humbling moment between himself and God to the people. Yalkut Shimoni, a
medieval series of Midrash whose exact author and dates are not certain,
imagines that when Moses has this final argument with God, he covers himself in
ashes and sackcloth, and sits shiva for his own future. And yet, when God tells
him he still has to make his final address to the people and stop throwing a
tantrum, he gets up and does so.
In the second half
of this parasha, we find the words, “And you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.” The Hasidic
masters ask, “How can we be commanded to love, when love is a feeling outside
of our control?” Of course, this is a rhetorical question because we are
commanded in feelings elsewhere in the Torah as well, but here in particular we
are reminded by the Hasidim, as well as by earlier scholars such as Ibn Ezra,
that “lev” or “heart” in ancient Jewish texts often as connotations of
consciousness rather than feelings. Rabbi Yosef
Yitzchak of Lubavitch connects “lev” meaning heart and mind to the
sentence before it, where “shema” means both hear and comprehend, suggesting
that if we study Torah, understand the commandments intimately, and use them as
guidelines toward a better life and more just future, than we cannot help but
show love for God with all our hearts/minds, souls, and might.
Just a little further down, close to
the end of this week’s reading, the Torah tells us that God chose the People of
Israel for the covenant, not because of their might, for indeed the Jews have
always been small in stature and percentage of the population. Instead, Rashi
fills in for us: God formed the covenant with the Chosen people because of the
modesty of our ancestors, exemplified in moments such as Moses’s vulnerability
in sharing the story of being forbidden from the Holy Land at the top of this
portion.
Sometimes, being in relationship
with those you love can get tough. There are arguments between couples,
environmental or circumstantial struggles weighing down families, miscommunications,
and difficulties understanding how to make things right after hurting someone
you love. The confluence of Tu B’av and the Torah and Haftarah of Shabbat
Nachamu teaches us that unconditional love takes work and commitment. It takes
comprehension and a desire to always be learning more about the life you share
with those you love. It will involve moments of anger and needing space from
one another, and will require comfort and condolence to stay close in times of
trouble. It compels
vulnerability and a willingness to see beyond the surface, a bond that is
deeper than what others see. May you love and be loved in this way, whether in
romance, friendship, or family, that you may embody Divine Love and fill the
world with ever greater joy. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.
x
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