One of the Hebrew months is called “Av” which means “father” in Hebrew. It’s a Jewish tradition when talking about this month to add the name Menachem to it, because Menachem means "consoler" or "comforter".  Therefore, this month of Av can be thought of as Menachem Av – “Comforting Father.”  This is especially beautiful when you know the history of the human tragedies that are said to have taken place in the month. 

Here is a list compiled by Keisha Gallagher of Grace in Torah. 

• During the time of Moses, the people believed the evil report of the 10 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel. (1312 BCE) 

• The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. 100,000 Israelites were slaughtered and millions more exiled. (586 BCE)

• The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus. Some two million Jews died, and another one million were exiled. (70 CE)

• The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar – the Jews’ last stand against the Romans – was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered. (135 CE)

• The Temple area and its surroundings were plowed under by the Roman general Turnus Rufus. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city – renamed Aelia Capitolina – and access was forbidden to Jews.

• The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B’Av in 1492.

• World War One broke out on the eve of Tisha B’Av in 1914 when Germany declared war on Russia. German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust.

• On the eve of Tisha B’Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.

Too often, when I am in the midst of a struggle or hardship, I’m unable to feel the comfort, consolation, and compassion of God because I’m unwilling to face the big emotions of the hardship in the first place. And for me, it doesn’t really matter whether I am struggling as a natural consequence for something I did or didn’t do (missing the mark), or if I am struggling because of something someone did or didn’t do to me or a loved one.  Either way, I often feel alone in the struggle when I’m feelings-resistant. Or when I run into the arms of something to numb out those hard emotions. We’ve all got our favorite numbing agents, do we not?

I’m sure I am not the only one who experiences struggles this way and I’m pretty sure the universality of this human plight is at least one of the reasons the month of Av needed Menachem. I know it’s only when I align with this truth first (it is Our Father who offers the only true comfort) that I can let the emotions out of their vault. Otherwise, I numb the feelings so I don’t have to experience them. This is actually defiance to God, however.  Akin to idolatry. Idolatry is choosing something other than God for comfort, security and blessing, where only His care and oversight will sustain. But is there a way out of this resistance to turn to God?

It’s been encouraging to me to learn how our heavenly Menachem AV comforted others when they were stuck in their resistance to Him. And that His comfort especially during that resistance is what both strengthened us and also allowed them to see God’s goodness. Where do I get that example from?

Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.  Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

The background to this verse is this:  In order to rid the Israelites of their idolatry, (turning to something else for that which only He can provide) God brought them to exile and near destruction using the Babylonians. That’s a hard situation to be in! But now, Nehemiah has returned to rebuild Jerusalem, and the people are recognizing that they need to recover their lost heritage, which is using the Torah of God to bring them back to Him; that they are covenant people with responsibilities before their King. No more rebellion! No more choosing something other than God.

When the priest and teacher Ezra stands to read Torah after such a long time of the people turning faces away, there is great weeping among those present, as the words make malleable their stiff necks, and loosen stopped up ears. They weep from their newly opened eyes as the words of Torah do what they are intended to do:

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

And they finally understand the magnitude of the tragedy of the fall of their once great nation, their nation which is designed to be a blessing to other nations insomuch as they rely on God for their sustainment. They understand now how the fall of their nation underscores their true poverty – the loss of the sustaining presence of God. The reason for the Babylonian captivity becomes clear – their idolatry, that choosing of false providers, is behind it all.  They weep for what should have been, could have been...if only...They weep as they mourn their sin against the only One Who truly matters. 

But that’s not the only reason they weep, their tears are not only bitter. They weep because this One they turned from is the One who restores them. And they weep for the glory of God's goodness t them. God indeed brings comfort, consolation, compassion to those who were not even asking for that from Him. Our Menachem Av. God has not abandoned them, after all; He preserved a remnant. They can experience revival. But it took a large toll to get the message. 

Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Menachem Av brings joy (Hebrew word hedvah), which brings strength. Only two times in all of the scriptures is this word hedvah (translated into English as joy) found; here in Nehemiah 8:10 and in 1 Chronicles 16:27. This isn’t the word for the kind of joy associated with what we’d think of as rejoicing or joy in English. That word is simchah, which is found dozens of times.  The uniqueness of hedvah is that it is directly connected to God, joy-of-the-LORD. It is His joy. 

'Simchah’ (the more common joy) is that kind of rejoicing that involves human participation, usually in the form of expressing gladness and gratitude to God for what He has and is and will do for us. The biblical festivals are great examples of ways we can express this joy/simcha. 

But what the Israelites of Nehemiah’s day received (because they needed it) was different. What they  needed, as do you and I when we are struggling under the weight of our sins and the sins of others, is a kind of unique experience captured by the word hedvah, something we are not built to manufacture ourselves. This hedveh is totally dependent upon God. He bestows it, we receive it. It’s the feeling we get when we’ve been given something that we didn’t even perceive we needed until it was given, while also conceding that we wouldn’t have it without the benefactor’s giving. It's what we don't even know we need when we’ve moved so far away from experiencing God’s presence, when we’ve been courting other lovers so long, hoping they give us what we think we need. At this point, we may not even realize we need an opening back to the True One. We’re not even looking for a door to enter His chambers. And in His comfort, He illuminates the door for us.

I am fascinated by the ancient Hebrew language, and I am grateful to those who teach me the biblical meaning of words like hedvah. Biblical scholar Skip Moen, PhD. says that the word picture behind hedvah means behold, a door in the fence. He says, 

“What is the joy of the LORD?  It is the gladness of providing a door in the fence – a path for coming into His presence.  What cheers our Lord?  A way in.  God rejoices that there is a door for us to come into fellowship with Him.  We are not shut out for He has provided a way back.  The joy of the LORD is that He can fellowship with us! The hedvat of the LORD exists because He made a way!  “Enter into the joy of your Master” (Matthew 25:21) is connected to the joy of the LORD.”

Nehemiah tells us that there is a door in the fence, which is our strength. If that’s not a picture of the beauty of God's role in our repentance, I don’t know what is! The Israelites’ idolatry and subsequent  captivity caused them to forget the door back to the One they had shut out. The Israelites needed Nehemiah and Ezra to point this out. Nehemiah was tasked with building back the waste places, the ruins of lives that had forgotten God’s promised door. You and I are no different in that we, too stray and need the door back at times. And in our straying, perhaps one of the best ways we can attune to having walked away from God is how the weight of the world feels on us when we’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places. Weariness. Aloneness in a crowd. Hamster wheeled attempts to keep up with others.

As our Rabbi Yeshua says: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11)

We’ve got a way out and a way back. The joy of the Lord’s way back to Himself is your strength.

Be blessed,

Gail