From Mourning to Hope: We are Part of Gd’s Oneness

From Mourning to Hope: We are Part of Gd’s Oneness

Tisha B'Av is a day of profound mourning.

We sit on the floor. We cry. We remember the destruction of the Temples, the suffering of our people, and the many tragedies that have taken place throughout our history. We do not minimize pain. We do not rush away from grief.

We allow ourselves to mourn. The world is filled with war, suffering, loss, death, and so much that is broken.

But Tisha B'Av does not end with mourning.

At some point, we get up. And we choose to live and to live with hope. We choose to believe in a different future.

A future where the world will be perfected. A world where people will know Gd. A world without war, without hatred, without death and suffering. A world filled with peace, holiness, and Divine light.

That is the dream of the Jewish people and the promise we pray for. It is not merely a dream we wait for. We are partners with Gd in bringing that world into being.

In parshat Va'etchanan, Moshe tells the Jewish people:

Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad.

Hear, Israel: Hashem is our G-d. Hashem is One.

The Shema is not simply a statement of belief. It is a way of seeing the world. Gd is One. There is one ultimate reality.

Even when the world appears fragmented, chaotic, and frightening, there is a deeper Oneness beneath everything.

We are like a baby in the womb. The baby does not know who its mother is. It does not understand where its food comes from, who provides its warmth, or who creates the environment in which it grows. And yet, it is completely cared for.

The mother gives and gives, even though the baby does not understand the source of everything it receives. We are like the baby within the Oneness of Gd.

We live in a world where we do not always understand what is happening. We experience pain, loss, and suffering. We ask questions. We cannot always see the larger picture.

But the Shema reminds us that we are held within a reality greater than what we can see.

Hashem Echad.

G-d is One.

G-d is the Makom, the place of the world. We exist within that Oneness, even as we cannot perceive Gd. And our relationship with Gd is not passive.

We are in a covenantal relationship. G-d asks us to be His partner to bring more holiness into the world, more kindness, more justice, more compassion, and more light.

That is how we move from mourning to hope.

First, we cry for what is broken. We mourn now. But we do not despair. We get up and ask: What can I do to help repair it?

Tisha B'Av teaches us to be honest about the pain of the world. The Shema teaches us not to lose sight of the One who holds the world.

And together, they give us the strength to continue. We believe that the world can be  redeemed. We believe that Gd loves us.

We believe that the darkness is not the final chapter.

And we believe that one day, the dream and the divine promise will be fulfilled. We will experience a world in which all humanity will recognize the Oneness of G-d, and the world will be filled with peace, holiness, and Divine light.

May we merit to live to see that day.

May our mourning be transformed into joy, our tears into celebration, and our longing into redemption.

Hashem Echad.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Shabbat Shalom.