#SpreadingLove

We are now in the time of year that the Jewish people call “The Nine Days,” the days preceding Tisha Ba’av (the 9th day in Av). This is not considered to be an auspicious time for the Jewish people. It is the day both Temples were destroyed (hundreds of years apart), amongst many other historical tragedies. We refrain from certain joyous events now, no weddings, celebrations, live music… and except for Shabbat, we do not eat meat or drink wine. On Tisha Ba’av itself (which begins this Wednesday night and continues through Thursday), we fast and reflect on the fact that we are far, far away from achieving the unified closeness to G-d and one another.

We have discussed before the reason for the destruction of the last Temple: Sinat Chinam, the senseless hatred we had for one another. The Tikun, the rectification for this, is to dial-up the opposite:  Ahava b’Kavana, love with a purpose.

Momentum has created a tool for you to spread this love, and we ask you to go to https://9av.momentumunlimited.org/ to learn about it and get involved.

Choose someone to post a loving shout-out and ask them to be #SpreadingLove  #מפיצים_אהבה by doing the same. Perhaps choose someone you may have had some conflict with, and use this opportunity and these times to focus on their goodness and not their mistakes.

As we know, “G-d judges us the way we judge others.” Let’s dial up the love, even with those who may be hard to love, and hope that the Almighty looks down at us and does the same.

Rebuilding the Temple, brick by brick.