Av is the month of turmoil, contradictions, passions and potential for the greatest destruction and the greatest building. Jerusalem continues to burn, the uncontrollable flames are blazing their way to the Temple and the most inner sanctuaries are being defiled. The eerie cosmic sounds of cacophonous chaos are becoming victorious and the untouched center, the peaceful places inside, never before disturbed by the battle, seem lost and unattainable. There is nowhere left to run - the only hope is to listen to the pure whisper, the eternal tune of the Garden of Eden, the last hint of direction resonating form the Tree of Life. It is the steady melody under the cacophony of a broken world.

Our meditation this month is the rectification of the sense of hearing. The ability to rectify our hearing primarily requires a deep passion for truth. We find this incredible fiery passion in Shimon (form the root "to hear"), the progenitor of the tribe of this month. When his sister Dina was raped and taken captive by Hamor ben Shechem, he and his brother Levi executed a complete revenge. The cry of injustice was heard so clearly in his heart, because he had the ability to hear the suffering of another, his sister. Not only was his action a heroic action of brotherly love, but an eternal cry for all daughters of Israel. "Should he have been allowed to treat our sister as a prostitute?" was Shimon and Levi's reply to Yaakov's rebuke.

The background of this painting depicts scattered cities of Shimon throughout the territory of Yehuda. This was Shimon's only land inheritance. Although Shimon's flames are inspirational, they must be tempered by the qualities of the other tribes in order not to be destructive. Therefore Shimon needs to be dispersed and scattered throughout Yehuda. When G-d commanded Yehuda to be the first to go up and inherit the land, he brought with him his brother Shimon. This is significant in the fact that although the Moshiach will come from the tribe of Yehuda, the quality of Shimon's fiery passion for truth is necessary for the final redemption.

The burning harp in the middle of the painting is an instrument that guides one towards his or her deepest inner voice. it si also a symbol of my own personal creativity. These two processes, represented by the harp, were being threatened in the month of Av.

Along with the destruction of the Temples that occurred in this month, came the exile of the music of the Leviim. Just as we, at times, must take the risk and follow the deepest voice that we can hear, in order to really be alive, although we may later discover that it was just another layer that we had to peel away, so too our present music, although necessary, is merely a fragmentation of that pure melody which connects our souls to the Divine.

Inside the burning harp is the Holy of Holies under a chupa (bridal canopy), the symbol of eternal union and creativity which is reached through tapping the deepest recesses of the soul (hinted at by the doors - within - doors through which the music is uncovered). Peaking through the flames is the lion, (Leo) the zodiacal sign of this month and the symbol of Yehuda the tribe of the Moshiach who is born in Av. The letter Tes, through which this month was formed, first appears in the Torah in the word Tov (good), in reference to the light that G-d created. The contrasts and paradoxes of creation, the birth of the Moshiach in the midst of the most destructive times, can together be viewed as being formed through the energy of the letter Tes which is ultimately for the good.