Inner Connections Burst-Chodesh Tammus

In Sefer Yitzira, compiled by Avraham Avinu, it is written that the months of the year correspond to the twelve powers of man- ie.speech, sight, thought, etc.

According to the Ari z'l the "power (כח) of the month of Tamuz, the month we now enter, is the power of sight.

Let's go back in history to the times when we were in the desert. Today was the day when Moshe sent the twelve spies to check out Eretz Yisrael before entering it. He sent them on a mission to see the land. What exactly did he want them to see? What he saw. The most important thing to see, the holiness of Eretz Yisrael.

So starting today for 40 days until 9 b'Av the spies looked around and two of them did see through the eyes of Moshe Rebbeinu. They saw the land like that was promised by Hashem-a fertile, rich land "flowing with milk and honey".

They saw the holiness. Neither hard work nor challenges nor obstacles deterred them from seeing it this way nor from wanting to conquer it. But the remaining ten spies, they didn't use their sight correctly. Everything was too overwhelming, too hard, too much, too heavy.

This kind of sight sent them sliding downhill and like quick sand pulled everyone with them. What happened? The two men who saw the holiness of the land merited to enter and the rest died in the desert. For forty years Yisrael had to wander until a generation came to be that was ready to see what there really was to see-the blessing and holiness that comes along with hard work and difficulty.

So what is our work for today and for the coming days ahead? What is our tikkun (fix/reparation)?

To work on this power we have, the power to see.

To see the holiness in every person and the holiness within.

To see the beauty and the potential for greatness amongst the challenges.

To see that you have tools to use and you are not helpless.

To see that Hashem will help you and never forgets you.

To see that things take time and they take patience.

To see with faith and acceptance even when you can't see.

To see yourself for who you really are and to see him/her for who they really are, which is a special, pure soul inside of a body that has a lot of strengths and a lot of weaknesses.

To choose to see in a way that will positively influence others.

To see a goal and go after it even if you can't get to it.

To see that nothing is unconquerable or unsolvable with the help of Hashem., but without Him, without connecting to Him, we go nowhere. We are just wanderers.

To see Hashem in everything you see. That's the tikkun for this month of Tamuz. May it bring us closer to the geula (redemption).

Chodesh TOV!