Tu-gether again- Why is Tu B'Av considered one of the two happiest days of the year? (audio shiur)

In this week’s shiur, we discuss the enigmatic holiday of Tu B’Av.

The gemara describes tu B'Av as one of the two happiest days of the year. What is Tu B'Av, and why is it so special? We will examine the various reasons given by the gemara, as well Tu B'Av's proximity to Tisha B'Av and try to explain what the day is about.

Running time 43 minutes

Another Side of Your Talmid- A letter to menahalim and rabbeim

Dear Menahalim and Rabbeim,

I’d like to better introduce you to your talmid ________. What’s that you say? You already know him? I am not so sure. At most, you know a very small side of him. As the head counselor at Sdei Chemed, I saw a side of your precious talmid that he doesn’t get to show you in yeshiva. You know what kind of learner he is, or at least how he is at learning gemara, in the way that it is taught at your yeshiva. Do you know how much he likes singing at kumzitzes and during Shabbos zemiros? Did you ever see him close his eyes and put all of his neshoma into a song? What about chessed? Are you aware how much your talmid excels at chessed? How he packed care packages for Israeli soldiers and Israelis living under the threat of terror?

He’s probably not going to tell you about the carnival he helped put on along with his camp-mates in Bet Shemesh for children whose summer was disrupted due to rocket attacks from Gaza, so allow me to do so. With complete selflessness, he stood for hours manning a game booth, so that little kids could have fun for a few hours, and forget about the sound of the “tzeva adom” alerts. When, in fact, a siren went off at the end of the carnival, your wonderful talmid helped lead panicked parents and children to the shelters and sang with them to provide comfort. At the end, when everyone was exhausted, he cleaned up until the room where the carnival was held was spotless. Do you know what kind of a mess shaving cream, popcorn and chocolate spread can make?

I could go on and on. I could tell you about how your talmid bought pizza for an Israeli soldier, with his own money, how he visited and cheered up sick people and soldiers in the hospital, how he loves learning Torah on hikes, and about the time he helped start a moving experience of slow singing and tefillah for hundreds of Israelis at the Kotel on Tisha B’Av, but I think you get my point.

I guess my point is this. Now that you know this about him, what are you going to do differently? Will you provide more opportunities for him to continue to grow into the gadol of chessed that he might become? Will your yeshiva give him ways to connect with his neshoma that don’t involve a blatt gemara? At the very least, will you stop evaluating him purely based on how he reads a Tosafos? Please?

Respectfully,

Pesach Sommer

Camp Sdei Chemed Boys Head Counselor 2014

Tears of Hope and Faith- Learning the lessons from Tisha B'Avs past

Although there have been years where I shed tears on Tisha B’Av, they were few and far between. I struggle to fully connect with the loss of the Beis Hamikdash, and even when I do, I feel it more in my head than in my heart. This Tisha B’Av is different in this regard and in many other ways as well.

It has been a summer of tears. Tears shed upon hearing sad and tragic news, tears shed at funerals, tears of pain and loss. Paradoxically it has also been a summer of hope, faith and achdut. In mourning “our” boys, we have joined together and connected over what unites us. Through Rachely Fraenkel’s powerful words, we have learned to have emunah, even as it is mixed with pain. Soldiers have been embraced, literally, and with words and gifts of love. Although there is still work to be done, Ahavat chinam, and not sinat chinam seems, for the first time in a while, to be winning. Those who are old enough to remember, say that they have not seen such unity since the Six-Day War.

Last night, after Maariv and Eichah, Sdei Chemed, the camp for which I am head counselor, went to the kotel. We sat down to sing slow songs in the plaza by the Kotel. Within moments, we were joined by others and the circle continued to grow. We sang songs (singing begins at 34 seconds and Meir and I can be seen later on) about Yerushalayim, song about Achdus, and songs asking HaShem to return to us and allow us to return to Him. Hundreds of Jews of every type sang with us, some in our circle, some in the circle that surrounded us, as if in embrace. I sat next to my son watching chassidim sing with soldiers, mothers embracing their daughters, and young and old singing in beautiful harmony.

I cried last night, but for the first time ever, there were tears of hope and faith, mixed in with tears of sadness. Perhaps we are beginning to learn the lesson of Tisha B'Avs past.