Saturday, June 21, 2014

Tammuz: Forgiveness (In the merit of the kidnapped teens)

Dear Friends,

This is a post about the Jewish month of Tammuz, as it relates to The Chazak Plan: A 12 Month Journey to Spiritual Strength.

Rosh Chodesh Tammuz begins Friday night, June 27th and lasts for two days, Shabbat and Sunday.

On the 17th of Tammuz we fast to commemorate the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the First Temple. This is the beginning of the period known as The Three Weeks which ends next month on Tisha B’Av, the day we mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples. The Sages teach that a key reason the Messiah has not yet come to rebuild the Temple is because of the sin of hating one’s fellow Jew.

Especially now, when three of our own are being held hostage by terrorists, we must come together as a people and let go of hatred and infighting.

As a merit for their safe and speedy release, pick one person from whom you are estranged or feel bitterness toward, and take the first step to peace or to removing some of the bitterness from your heart.

The first article below discusses how to forgive others and the second, how to forgive ourselves. If you find one form of forgiveness particularly challenging, start with the other one. The third article is an updated and retitled version of a previous post about how to respond to a crisis.

The Freedom of Forgiveness: 3 Strategies to Letting Go

Discover Your Inner Peace

4 Steps to an Effective Response to Someone Else’s Crisis

Take care, may we hear good news soon and may God grant us success in the coming month,

Yaakov

Please forward this post to family and friends who may be interested in it.

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