Dear
Friends,
In
the previous letter – “Renewal in the Midst of Mourning” – we
began to discuss prophecies which reveal that the process of renewal
which leads to a full return to the path of the Torah will also lead
to a full return to the Land of Zion. Another prophecy reveals that
those who witness our full return to the Land will then say:
"This
very Land, which had been desolate, has become like the Garden of
Eden!" (Ezekiel 36:35)
As
we discussed in an earlier stage of our series, the above prophecy of
Ezekiel is alluding to the idea that our complete return to the Land
in the spirit of the Torah will enable us to return to the ideal
state of the Garden of Eden. A return to the “Garden” is
therefore the ultimate goal of our “spiritual renewal” – our
rededication to the path of the Torah.
In
the previous letter, we discussed one meaning of the following
prayerful words which were written by the Prophet Jeremiah following
the destruction of the First Temple:
“Renew
our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21).
In
this letter, I will discuss another meaning to the above words. The
Hebrew term for the phrase “days of old” is kedem
– a term which also means “the east.” The term kedem
first appears in the Torah in the following verse regarding the
location of the Garden of Eden:
“Hashem
God planted a garden in Eden, in kedem,
and placed there the human being whom He had formed.” (Genesis 2:8)
“In
kedem”
– The Garden was planted in the east of Eden (Rashi).
With
this understanding of the term kedem,
we now have another meaning to the words, “Renew our days like
kedem.”
With these words, we are asking Hashem to fulfill the following
request:
Renew
our days like the days when the human being dwelled in the Garden in
the east of Eden.
The
words, “Renew our days like kedem,”
appear towards the end of the Book of Lamentations. We chant the Book
of Lamentations on the night of Tisha B’Av, the Fast Day which
concludes the period of our mourning for the Temple and for our
exile. It is also our custom to conclude the Book of Lamentations by
chanting all together, “Renew our days like kedem!”
In
order for Hashem to help us renew our days like kedem,
we first have to do our part. We first need to engage in the process
of renewal which will lead to our return to the path of the Torah. In
what way does a return to the path of the Torah enable us to return
to the ideal state of the Garden of Eden? The beginning of the answer
can be found in the two-part mission given to the human being in the
Garden:
“Hashem
God took the human being and placed him in the Garden of Eden
to
serve it and to guard it.” (Genesis 2:15)
“To
serve it and to guard it” – This two-part mission reveals the
altruistic purpose of the human being’s creation. And the following
ancient teaching reveals that this two-part mission expresses the
altruistic purpose of all the mitzvos in the Torah:
The
mission to “serve” the Garden represents mitzvos
aseh
– the mitzvos of the Torah which call upon us to engage in actions
which nurture and elevate the world, including ourselves. And the
mission to “guard” the Garden represents mitzvos
lo sa’asay
– the mitzvos of the Torah which prohibit actions which damage and
degrade the world, including ourselves. (See “Tikunei Zohar” 55)
The
Book of Genesis reveals that the first human couple forgot that the
human task is to be caretakers who serve and protect the Garden;
instead they began to view themselves as the owners of the Garden who
were free to exploit the Garden for their own selfish gratification.
They therefore ate from the forbidden fruit, and as a result, they
were exiled from the Garden (Genesis, Chapter 3). The above teaching
from “Tikunei Zohar” indicates that our return to the holistic
path of the Torah will enable us to fulfill the original two-part
mission that was given to the human being in the Garden. Through this
process of renewal, we will find the way to return to the ideal state
of the Garden of Eden.
Our
renewal and return is not just for our sake. In Part 2 of this
letter, we shall discuss, with the help of Hashem, a Tisha B’Av
teaching which reveals that our exile from the Land of Zion is
connected to the exile of humanity from the Garden of Eden and that
our return to the Land of Zion is connected to the return of humanity
to the ideal state of the Garden of Eden.
Have
a Good and Renewing Shabbos,
Yosef
Ben Shlomo Hakohen (See below)
Related
Teachings:
1.
The Prophet Isaiah proclaimed the following vision of the messianic
age – a vision which reminds us of the harmony and shalom within
the Garden of Eden:
“Then
a wolf shall live with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie with a kid;
and a calf, a lion cub, and a fatling will be together, and a small
child will lead them. A cow and a bear will graze and their young
will lie down together; and a lion, like cattle will eat hay. A
suckling infant will play by a viper’s hole; and a newly weaned
child will stretch his hand towards an adder’s lair. They will
neither injure nor destroy in all of My sacred mountain, for the
earth will be filled with knowledge of Hashem as water covering the
sea bed.” (Isaiah 11: 6-9)
2.
The approaching Shabbos is the Shabbos before Tisha B’Av. It is
known as “Shabbos Chazon” – the Shabbos of Vision. This is
because the haftorah
– portion from the prophets – that we chant on this Shabbos opens
with the following words: “The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which
he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem” (Isaiah 1:1).
The
haftorah
concludes
with the following verse which has a reference to “tzedakah” –
a term which refers to righteousness and to the sharing of our
resources with those in need:
“Zion
shall be redeemed through justice, and those who return to her
through tzedakah.” (Isaiah 1:27)
Tisha
B’Av begins Monday evening, July 19th;
however, the fast begins at sunset.
(published as: My Search for the Soul of Zion – 159)
