This Shabbat, we begin anew the Book of Deuteronomy, D’varim, and listen to the farewell addresses given by Moses before the Israelites enter Canaan.

 

This Shabbat, we begin anew the Book of Deuteronomy, D’varim, and listen to the farewell addresses given by Moses before the Israelites enter Canaan. D’varim is a review of the journey of the Israelites and a review of the laws and teachings that have been the foundational teachings of the Jewish people since.

This Shabbat is also Erev Tisha B’Av. Saturday night begins the commemoration of the most tragic day in Jewish history.

Mirele Goldsmith, a friend of Am Kolel and the founder of Jewish Earth Alliance, offers us the following teaching sent to us today:

Today We Grieve, Tomorrow Let’s take Action

Dr. Mirele B. Goldsmith

What are you mourning this Tisha B’Av? I am mourning for the Willow River which is threatened by the construction of Line 3, the controversial tar sands pipeline. When the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed it was a cataclysm. It was both a physical and a spiritual destruction. It marked the end of a community and a way of life. That is what is happening today in Minnesota. Not to us, but certainly to our Anishinaabe brothers and sisters who live by and from the Willow River and many other lakes and streams threatened by Line 3.

Tisha B’Av packs a powerful emotional punch. As I read Lamentations, I am struck by a powerful identification with the tragedy experienced by our ancestors. The depth of the feelings I have for people who lived almost two thousand years ago is one of the incredible things about being Jewish. But wallowing in the past is not enough. Experiencing the pain and suffering of the ancients is not the reason we have maintained this day of mourning throughout the ages.

Every Jewish holy day has layers of meaning that we need to discover. We are used to thinking of the three pilgrimage festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot as having agricultural, historical and spiritual layers. Each generation has brought its own insights, rooted in its own experience, to the holidays. Tisha B’Av is about tragedy. Awful, cataclysmic, suffering brought on humanity by itself. As we look around us this Tisha B’Av, we recognize that accelerating climate change is causing countless such tragedies, including to the Anishinaabe.

Tisha B’Av reminds us that the appropriate response to tragedy is not only grief, but responsibility and hope. Today we grieve. Tomorrow let’s take action.

What You Can Do: Use this sample letter to write to your Members of Congress about the infrastructure legislation. President Biden can stop construction of Line 3. Contact the White House at https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ and 888-724-8946. Donate to support the water protectors at https://donorbox.org/honor-the-earth-donation. Speakers are available to talk to your community about Line 3. Contact jewsforcleanenergy@gmail.com

For Mirele’s complete article go HERE.

L’Shalom, into the Land of Promise!

Reb David