But those of us who do use it, believe that the calendar isn't just a habit of cavemen become literate, an observed pattern of stars migrating across the sky every year, with historical and mythological events tacked on to certain dates. That would be the American calendar. I grew up in a world that felt especially lovey-dovey around mid-February, grateful for nationalistic war achievements in the early summer, contemplative and gift-giving during the dark days at the end of the calendar year, and all white and springy and new-birthy around March or April. But those are all pretty arbitrarily chosen times, aren't they?
The Judaic view is that the calendar can truly indicate some real-life patterns in human existence that happen every year. And we believe that the lunar-solar calendar, with its self-correcting mechanisms, is the most accurate way to pinpoint these times, since the calendars solely based on the solar cycle or the lunar cycle are constantly getting off track. On the night of the full moon in the month of Nissan, for example, we don't just reenact, but actually experience freedom from slavery. And at the beginning of Tishri, the details of the year to come are planned out.
Well, according to this calendar, this is the worst week in the year. The culminating day for outstanding rottenness is tomorrow; and the three weeks leading up to it have been increasingly harsh.
I won't go into the details here (those articles say it better than I can), just emphasise the point that I'm not talking about "commemoration" or "observance" of a historical event, but a concentrated period of what would be called on the street bad luck. A cursory glance at the past month's news should demonstrate this. I personally am sure that I am experiencing a lot of negativity. And I've learned that in most cases, if you don't have something good to say, don't say anything. So I hope that my lack of postings this week can be excused. I just can't wait until this is over.
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