Starting tomorrow night, we enter a difficult period in the Jewish calendar, known as the three weeks of admonition.
These are the three weeks that go from the 17th day of the month of Tammuz to the 9th day of the month of Av. In the 17th day of the month of Tammuz the Roman army was able to breach the walls of Jerusalem, which resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem on the 9th day of the month of Av in the year 70 C.E.
We mark the 17th day of Tammuz by having a fast from sunup to sundown. I find that refraining from drinking water on a long summer day is not advisable, so please use your best judgment. I prefer to think of this day as the beginning of a season of warning. And while there are many warnings that we must listen to during this COVID19 pandemic, I believe this is a time for us to search for the answers to the two fundamental questions posed by the Torah, from the beginning of the Book of Genesis.
The two questions are: “Where are you?” and “Where is your sibling?”
The first question, “Where are you?” is asked by God to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after they ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and hid themselves. Obviously, God knew exactly where Adam and Eve were. Adam tries to evade answering the question, saying he heard the sound of God in the garden, and because he was naked, he hid. God then punishes Adam and Eve. God gave them the opportunity of recognizing what they had done and of taking responsibility for their actions. They did not. The answer is unsatisfactory. Instead of answering clearly where they were, spiritually, morally, and ethically, Adam and Eve engage in a “blame fest.”
The second question, “Where is your sibling?” is asked of Cain right after he killed his brother Abel. Cain’s answer is also unsatisfactory. He answers with another question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God’s answer is clear: “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” In other words, “Yes, Cain, you are responsible. When your brother’s blood is spilled, you must examine what you have done.” Instead of taking responsibility for his actions, Cain tries, in vain, to evade the consequences of his behavior towards another human being. He doubly fails; not only he killed his brother, he also does not take responsibility for his action, with his soul marred by both things he did.
As we start the three weeks of admonition, these two questions become central to our daily actions. Where are you? Where are we physically, how are we living, what are the actions we are taking that have consequences to our souls, to our bodies, and to our future? And as we situate ourselves, we must ask the second question. Where is your sibling? How are our actions impacting the world in which we live, the lives of our fellow human beings, the wellness of relationships? The first breach of the wall represented by the 17th of Tammuz compels us to have better answers than Adam, Eve, and Cain. These can be difficult questions, and the answers can be surprising, and extremely rewarding. Let us use these three weeks to find good answers at every moment of our lives.