In anticipation of Birkat HaChodesh on Saturday, this Blessing-of-the-New-Month-inspired tune fell into my consciousness. I was humming it all day as Av’s waning crescent hung in the sky. Its verses are very loosely based on the formal prayer, but really are just for fun! Hum along to the tune of the infamous Abbey Road Beatles’ track, [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Archive for the 'Av' Category
Here Comes the Moon …
I’ve never much liked surprises. I don’t mind the rush of adrenaline that courses through my bloodstream after a sudden burst of surprise. But more, I enjoy the building of anticipation knowing something is going to soon happen. This week, excitement is eagerly building for the arrival of the “Sabbath of Blessing” (Shabbat Mevorchim). On [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Joy Ebbs for the First Nine Days of Av
The new moon of Av should crest in the sky tonight. I’ve anticipated its arrival since last month’s full moon. I always do. Part of my inners start to rumble with the pending intensity of Av, which is split almost equally into two halves. The month of Av first focuses on consciously walking through the [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The Same Av Moon Everywhere
The Av moon rose in orange glory over the East Bay Hills moments after we landed at San Francisco international airport. It greeted my family of four as we drove onto the ten-lane freeway abuzz with traffic and city-light stimulation helpful in preventing the cascade into serious erectile cialis without doctor’s prescriptiion functionality normal organ. [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The Shifting Focus of Av
Love and forgiveness are the promise of the full moon of Av. Typically, as a moon grows in luminosity, its associated areas of healing intensify day by day. The focus peaks on the eve of a full moon and then withdraws little by little as the moon wanes to darkness. It’s striking that the moon [...]
Read the rest of this entry »Praying the Hours of Tisha B’Av
The curve of the bay Catches my tears. Chair low. Feet deep in the sand. Crying The Divine name Aloud Hour after hour For generations. Rolling waves break Protection Love Privilege; into Vulnerability Devastation Pain Loss. The Divine Spark Burning within me Harbingers the radiance Coming today Everyday Soon Now and their [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The Destruction of Divine Love
I’ve known this day was coming. I’ve avoided it for years. I’ve averted my eyes and tucked my heart deeply away in protection from an onslaught of unwanted emotion. Every year, just a few days before the full moon of Av, an entire 24-hour period of time is set aside to viscerally recall the deepest [...]
Read the rest of this entry »The Dark Days of Av
The Av moon already is nearly a quarter illuminated (23 percent) and I have yet to site it in the sky. I’ve always avoided the moon cycle of Av, but now I’m actually longing to see it. The exact energy that historically has caused me to be afraid of Av—destruction, loss, betrayal—lasts only for nine [...]
Read the rest of this entry »I’m Afraid of the Av Moon
With only 4 percent of the Tammuz moon still reflecting in the sky, my annual concern and secret fear about the approaching moon of Av is beginning to boil. I’ve always been afraid to embrace the moon cycle of Av. It asks that we look at and embrace epic levels of pain and destruction, sadness [...]
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