Tisha B'Av

Erica here. I want to celebrate that 10 years ago—this coming Shabbat—Dimitry tried something for the first time.

Tonight begins Tisha B'Av, a day of collective grief that we will mark with sitting low to the ground, fasting, and reciting dirges and songs of lament. And then, in the blink of an eye, and with a desperately-needed turnaround , this Shabbat brings Shabbat Nachamu (Shabbat of Comfort).

10 years ago, long before he was "rabbi," and the week before our wedding, Dimitry chanted Haftorah publicly for the first time on Shabbat Nachamu. The excerpt famously begins Nachamu, Nachamu Ami - the words of the Prophet Isaiah saying "Comfort, Comfort, my people!" These words are here to offer us consolation after the distress we remember and embody on Tisha B'Av.

Haftorot—which are excerpts from the Prophets chanted aloud following the Torah reading in synagogues on Shabbat, holidays, and fast days—have a different set of melodies, a different trope, than Torah.

In other words, this was a completely new skill — and he tried it out in front of the community.

We often think that we need to perfect something before we share it with others. If we're going to do something publicly, we have to present a flawless take. But sometimes (often), community asks us to bring our imperfect try instead.

This isn't so much a story about how Dimitry flubbed — quite the opposite! He worked hard, challenged himself, and felt proud of trying on something new. But it is a story about how being part of a community sometimes asks us to skill up. To try something new! And to do it in front of...everyone.

Some of us are skilling-up in our Hebrew, in Ravid's Ulpan Circle. Some of us are skilling-up our literacy with the Shabbat liturgy, in our weekly "User's Guide to Shabbat Prayer" class. Some of us are skilling up by writing and sharing a d'var Torah for the first time on Friday nights (you know who you are!).

And I'd argue that all of us are skilling-up, constantly, in our skills of being in community, which include listening, compromise, generosity, forgiveness, presence, and care — among a million others.

Go us. Let's keep growing in public.

So happy 10th Haftorah-versary to Dimitry! Come join us tonight for Tisha B'Av and this Friday for Shabbat Nachamu, and let's experience together the striking speed of our calendar from despair to comfort.

P.S. — tomorrow is also Maayan's birthday and marks 7 years of parenthood for us...what a wild ride. 🎢 You can reply to this email with birthday wishes, and we'll happily share them with her.