BEYOND TEARS
Transforming Sadness To Joy
What is happiness? Is it the result of getting something you desire -- say, a new gadget, a toy, a good meal, money, a new friend? And then is sadness the converse -- the result of being deprived from these items? Paraphrasing a popular song, is joy getting what you want or what you need? Is happiness/sadness a verb or a noun -- an action or a state of being?
We are now in the time of year -- the saddest period in the Jewish calendar -- when we explore the sadder dimensions of life. During these Nine Days, leading to Tisha B'Av, we remember and grieve over the destruction of the Holy Temple and all other tragic events and forms of destruction in our lives -- all the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual breaks we have experienced. This is a time to cry -- to shed some tears for all our losses, injustices and hurt we have endured. For all our broken dreams, unfulfilled promises, pains and disappointments. But we don't weep just to weep. Crying is catharisis. Remembering is healing.
Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he presents a fascinating new take on the meaning of happinness and sadness. Discover the deeper light and joy that can be found at the bottom of the pit of darkness and despair, and how we can be happy even as we... weep.
