Tammuz - the Month of Hidden
Light
Introduction: In kabalah, each month of the Hebrew calendar
is associated with not only a constellation and a planet
as in traditional astrology, but also a Hebrew letter, a
part of the body, an angel (male or female), a human attribute,
one of the four primordial elements (earth, wind, water,
and fire), one of the three forefathers (Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob), one of the twelve tribes, and a permutation of
God's name.
The word tammuz in Aramaic means to heat up. This is the
first hot month of the summer. Also, in spiritual terms,
things get a little hot this month. Some of the worst tragedies
in Jewish history have happened during Tammuz, such as the
sin of the golden calf and the subsequent breaking of the
first tablets, the mission of the spies who gave a bad report
about the land of Israel in Moses' time, the beginning of
the destruction of the Temple, etc. This time period is ripe
for negativity and challenges. An indication of this fact
is that the seventeenth day of Tammuz is singled out as a
fast day. That solemn day begins a three week period of mourning
for the destruction of the two Temples of Jerusalem and ends
with the ninth of Av (next month).
The Hebrew letter associated with this month is "Ches," the
eighth letter of the alef-bet. The word Ches is very similar
to the word "Chet" which means transgression. There's
an unusual danger of transgression at this time.
The kabalists have a rule: the manner in which any word
or letter appears for the first time in the Torah tells you
something important about that word of letter. Ches is first
seen in the word "choshech" which means darkness.
Ches also stands for the number eight which represents the
metaphysical. Seven is the natural world. For example, a
week has seven days. There are seven visible planets in our
solar system. Eight, however, symbolizes that which is unseen
and therefore has a strong connection with darkness.
Out of the twelve tribes and seven shepherds only one person
has the letter ches in his name: Isaac. He is the forefather
who is connected with Tammuz. Isaac's life and personality,
our sages tell us, were an expression of God's attribute
of justice in the world. The world cannot exist without it,
yet with only strict justice the world would not last very
long, either. That's why Jacob was chosen to represent God's
chosen nation and not Abraham or Isaac. Jacob tempered strict
justice (Isaac) with lovingkindness (Abraham) and became
an expression of "Tiferet," a mixture of these
two extremes.
The twenty two day mourning period, between the seventeenth
of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av actually has a positive counterpart
on the calendar - the twenty two days between Rosh Hashanah
and the end of Succot. Tammuz starts the days of mourning
and Succot is called "the time of our joy." This
parallel implies a Divine hand in our national tragedies.
The permutation of God's name for Tammuz is the exact opposite
of the usual spelling. This also symbolizes the attribute
of Justice in a very interesting way. God's standard four
letter name is His name of mercy. To spell it backwards is
to suggest the opposite of mercy, which is justice. The beauty
of the symbol is that if you think about it you'll notice
that it is God's attribute of mercy backwards. In other words,
within all events that seem to only be an expression of God's
strict justice you will find hidden His attribute of mercy.
These last two points illustrate the hidden light which
is in this period of time. Last month was Sivan, the giving
of the written law. Tammuz symbolizes the oral law. There's
a tradition that God taught Moses the written law by day,
and the oral law by night. Many people have the custom nowadays
not to study the written law at night; Maimonides says there's
special guidance to those who study the oral law at night.
Sight is the human attribute associated with Tammuz. It
is the oral law which allows the Jewish people to see clearly
even when enveloped in the darkness of exile. The special
holiness given to us in this time period is the struggle
to see the light.
Problems and difficulties are also from the Almighty. But
you have to look harder to find Him. You have to think more
deeply to see the blessing which is Hidden. An amazing insight
is revealed in the famous section in Genesis 1:3 that starts "God
said `Let there be light.'" The word "light" appears
five times in this section, symbolizing the five books of
Moses.
Through developing an emotional attachment to the words
of Torah we can rectify the damage done in previous generations.
In fact, all of the 613 commandments are considered advice
in how to develop an emotional attachment to the one main
mitzvah - "I am your God." You can choose any one
of them to use it to connect your heart to God.
In conclusion, the opportunity of this lunar cycle is to
look for the blessings hidden within the difficulties in
your life, and to strive to develop an emotional attachment
to the wisdom you learn.
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