We learn in the Mishnah, “When the month of Av enters, we diminish our joy” (Taanit 26a ). Today is the advent of Menachem Av. Av is the counterpart to Adar. When the month of Adar begins we increase our celebration, in anticipation of Purim, a holiday of salvation. When the month of Av enters, we decrease celebrations, on account of Tisha B’Av, the greatest day of calamity on the Jewish calendar.
There is an idea that a Rosh Chodesh contains all the elements of the month to come, it is an appropriate time to take on resolutions regarding our behavior in the coming days. This includes the yahrzeit of Aharon, the priest, the spies giving the bad report on the Land of Israel, the destruction of the Two Temples, losing the Battle of Beitar, Romans Plowed the Beit Hamikdash, expulsion from England, banishment from Spain, and the advent of World War I. But at the same time this Rosh Chodesh holds Tu B’Av – ‘fifteenth of Av‘) a holiday of love, akin to Valentine’s Day. There seems to be a bizarre contrast here. How can this Rosh Chodesh hold it all?
As strange as this might seem, it is also very human. I learned this lesson when reading Susan Cain’s “Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole“. In this brilliant book she argues that embracing the intertwined nature of joy and sorrow, and acknowledging a sense of longing or melancholy, is essential for a richer, more creative, and more deeply connected life. As she writes, “Everything that you love, you will eventually lose. But in the end, love will return in a different form.” It is not just that we can hold multitudes, we have to.
Merry Menachem Av
Said to Myself 
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