In this month of Tammuz, we confront a great paradox.  The sun is passing through its highest point in the sky.  Flowers are blooming, tomatoes are just starting to burst from the vine, and berries – mmm, the berries – this is the time of greatest abundance.  Dipping into cool waters at this time is one of life’s greatest joys.

Yet in our tradition, we are moving through a time of deep reflection and mourning for loss.  On the 9th of Tammuz, the first exile of the Jews began as the Judean King abandoned the Temple and the Babylonians breached the outer walls of the Temple.  (Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 26a-b.)  Today, on the 17th of Tamuz, Jews traditionally fast from sun-up to sun-down, mourning the destruction of the Temple.  This is also recognized as the day when Moses dashed the first set of Tablets from Sinai in response to our worship of the Golden calf.  (Exodus 32:19.) 

As the sun passes through the zenith of the sky, we are reminded of the power of the sun to give life and to take life away.  In the desert of our origin, the heat can be unbearable.  Drought and oppressive heat have historically been our nemesis at this time.  Yet it is the sun that gives us the opportunities to gather for barbeques, music festivals, and to gather the bountiful produce from Eat Well Farms.

How do we hold this paradox?  If you observe the traditional 21 days of mourning that begin today and end on the 9th of Av, commemorating the destruction of the first Temple, then you may already have your answer.  For folks like me, however, this is prime summer time.  I bask in the sun; I reap the harvest of my dreams; I dip in cold alpine lakes and savor blooming wildflowers.  Yet, the tradition teaches us that even in our times of joy, we should hold our awareness of the shadow.

In agriculture, for example, our modern day golden calves are all around us.  While we enjoy our organic produce from Eat Well Farms (this stuff rocks Nigel!!!), the industrial food system chugs on, feeding Americans food laced with all sorts of harmful chemicals.  The FDA is approving cloned animals as a source of our children’s’ milk and removing the requirement that foods doused with hazardous irradiation be labeled to inform consumers.  Monsanto is drawing battle lines, trying to prevent small dairies from labeling their hormone free milk.  One way to face the paradox at this time is to enjoy the organic produce we’re blessed with, while taking some action to learn, teach and respond to these issues.  Check out the Center for Food Safety’s True Food Network for a start:

In Jewish mysticism, repair is our primary work in the world: to put back together the shattered pieces into a whole.  I believe we do this by first cultivating peace and joy in our own lives.  Enjoy the season, eat luscious strawberries, take long walks in the hills, sing with friends at the Shabbos table and around campfires.  Fill your cup until it overflows.  Then direct that extra juice to the shattered parts – activism, repairing relationships, repairing those hurt places inside of ourselves.  However you do it, be well fed (once you’ve finished your fast), by eating well!

Zelig Golden became a staff attorney with the Center for Food Safety (CFS) following a season farming, teaching and pickling at the Adamah program.  At CFS, Zelig works on legal and policy issues related to genetically engineered crops and food safety laws.  He recenlty scored a major federal court victory, stopping the sale and planting of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa.  Zelig is a farmer at heart, and while fighting for farmers, his backyard garden keeps him sane.

Painting of Summer Fruit by Laurie Longenecker.