22.07.2012                      03.Aw. 5772

Rabbis Runder Tisch:

The spaces between: Living in the shadow of destruction

A reflection in the midst of ‘Bein Hametzarim’ on loss, renewal and the creation of a Torah of hesed.

In the Jewish calendar cycle we are in the midst of three weeks called “Bein Hametzarim,” “Between the Straits.” These three weeks are book ended by the fast day of the 17th of Tammuz, which marks the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem, and Tisha B'Av, the fast day where we mark the destruction of the First and Second Temples. It is, according to tradition, a time to focus our attention on the loss of a national, cultural, and spiritual home for the Jewish people….