A Sacred Time

Tammuz 2

The word Tammuz forms a simple two-word phrase in Hebrew that imparts one of the essential lessons of life: “Tam zu”—“This will end.”

Everything changes and ends as time goes on—that’s a natural part of life. The inner and outer challenges that I face today will not be my lot forever.  As my circumstances change, I am altered along with them. When I have a hard time making the simple attitude adjustment necessary to be positive, it is usually because I’m in tunnel-vision, where I can’t see more than a few feet in front of me. At such moments, I need to remember how many times G-d helped me to navigate through obstacles that seemed impossible. Those memories empower me to keep on going.

Rebbe Nachman said that the past and the future hold us back. We need to connect to G-d in the present by focusing on what we can do in the here and now. We need to internalize the lesson of Tamuz—tam zu. The past is over, and the future is not yet here…so why worry? Why fixate on frustrations of the past and fears for the future, when we can mitigate them by living in the here and now?

Dear G-d, help me internalize the lesson of Tammuz, that everything passes. Please show me that the only way to rectify my past and improve my future is by living in the present and doing whatever good I can right now. Because now is really all I have.