TISHA B’ AV- LIVING INTO AN ANSWER
Alice Frank
“ How are you?”
It is a minhag, a sacred custom, to respond: Baruch Hashem.“ Blessed be G-d.”
All-inclusively, whatever is happening, we say: Thank G-d.
What a radical consciousness this suggests- that behind every molecule and movement of life, every gust of breath and flicker of thought, is the Divine. There is faith in the perfection therein. The simple recognition that I am still fastened to the earth by gravity, that trees have converted sunlight into oxygen to nourish my lungs- what can I possibly say about the details of this day? We are still- miraculously- here. Baruch Hashem.
To say Baruch Hashem is to bind oneself to the intelligence inherent in the simple fact of existence.
To say Baruch Hashem no matter the circumstance, is a potential pathway into non-dual seeing. This phrase becomes a portal of emunah- the awareness that behind every molecule of life- apparent good or bad, joy or grief, right or wrong- lives Divine Presence.
And yet, how easily might this all-encompassing phrase become a cloak. A bypass. As this sacred practice becomes a habitual, automatic response- or, worse, an obligatory mask- there is the risk that Baruch Hashem becomes a blanket thrown over unexpressed pain, shame, resentment, grief.
But G-d lives in everything. G-d wants to be seen. Therefore, everything in existence wants to be known- including those
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