Parashat Ekev A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... This is one of those weeks again. Full Moon is past (that means no more Kiddush L'vana this month) and we don't bench Rosh Chodesh until next week. So let's talk about the nature of the month of Av - especially its waning half. As Adar enters, we increase our joy. That's for the whole month and even Nissan which follows it. As Av enters we diminish our joy. That's pretty much the first third. After that, comfort in the promises of the Geula take over from mourning the Destruction. A person who decides not to eat meat or drink wine for the entire month is doing the wrong thing, and should stop with that misguided, non-constructive practice, even if he's been doing it for years and has established a NEDER-like minhag for himself. According to Rav Yoel Schwartz in AVEILUT HACHURBAN, such a person does not even need HATARAT NEDARIM to "break" that kind of minhag. AV = alef-bet = ELUL BA, Elul is coming. A major - the major - effort on our part to bring about the Geula, to hasten the Mashiach, is T'SHUVA. Let's do it.
[The Ekev Homepage]
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