Before sunrise on the 17th of Tamuz, until after sunset, there is a Jewish custom for healthy adults to join together in a public fast. It’s a day of national sorrow where through prayer, fasting and repentance we remember and attempt to fix our calamitous past. Collectively, we disengage from frivolity and joyful activities to reflect on our ancestral misdeeds. While the Fast of Tamuz triggers the Three Weeks, a period of subdued mournful behavior, we must remember that embedded within this auspicious day is an incredible opportunity to beseech G-d for forgiveness and receive complete peace in return.
Before it was a day of national tragedy it was a day filled with a divine loving promise! (Moshe brought the first set of luchot) acknowledging the stains of our nation’s past, and our current poor choices we can literally transform the mazal of sorrow into that of laughter! By setting an intention to make principled choices going forward we can tap into the original potential and bring meaningful change to the entire world!
Through repentance and focused efforts to be better people and better Jews we can access the obscure divine portals from which forgiveness, mercy and peace flow! The 17th of Tamuz is an opportunity in which we can stand upon the ashes of our epic failures to see our prophesied triumph! Instead of reliving this continuous energetic loop, hurling us toward the destructive potency of the 9th of Av, we can stroll carefree along a path destined toward redemption, freedom and everlasting joy! We simply must exercise our free will and choose it. With G-d’s help may it be soon!
