As educated in Judaism as I thought I may have been, Tisha B’Av is a day of commemoration that I have to say, I don’t know enough about.  Perhaps it’s because it falls during our summer holidays and the preoccupation with vacation that I just didn’t ever make time for it.  With the handy dandy Internet, I was able to find  Tisha B’Av 101 on sites like wikipedia.

In observing this fast day, we are reminded of the destruction of the first and second  Temples in Jerusalem in addition to other feats in Jewish history.  There are prohibitions from work, sexual relations and Torah study, with the exception of  texts such as the Book of Lamentations, the Book of Job, portions of Jeremiah and chapters of the Talmud that discuss the laws of mourning.

Hope I filled in the gap on this day for you!

While driving yesterday, I heard a quick news report on an organization that supplies proxies to pray at Jerusalem’s Western Wall for individuals who have requests.   Upon further investigation, it appears that there are numerous ‘price plans’ and prayer options available.  Essentially, a mitzvah (commandment) observer is sent to the kotel (Western Wall) for 40 days to pray for one’s request. There are all sorts of testimonials, success stories and custom prayer options.    Prayer agents are sent in exchange for a donation to the Western Wall Prayers organization and apparently, there is one success story reported EACH day.  IF indeed there is success to all of these participants, perhaps I should send my $90 to the organization instead of paying my online dating site memberships…

This past weekend, I attended my cousin’s wedding in Ottawa.  Aside from reconnecting with a city that I hadn’t visited in 16 years since the last simcha, it was a chance to relax, celebrate, kibbitz and eat with family. Now, I’ve always known that central to any Jewish function is the food, but the events (read: meals) that accompanied this wedding weekend were absolutely incredible.  There were the Jewish classics: the chopped liver, the deli sandwiches, the shmaltz herring, the rugalech and the party sandwiches, but this caterer was absolutely exceptional. In addition to the classics, there was a sushi station, a meat carving station with fries and lamb chops as appetizers before the dinner. Apparently, David Smith has a monopoly over the kosher Ottawa market, and while he could have gone mediocre, he’s gone extraordinary!  One of the best features for the out-of-towners were the take out containers that followed each meal.

Mazel Tov to Nina and Jason and their families!  May we have many kosher simchas to celebrate in Ottawa!!!

There are few places that evoke such elevated spirituality in me as does a trip to the dentist.  My senses are heightened when I notice I can smell the dentist’s office in the parking lot.  As I begin to approach the door, my heart starts racing and my forehead feels cool once the beads of sweat that appear begin to evaporate.

Don’t get me wrong – my dentist is a wonderful person.  He’s always friendly, always smiling, shares stories of his family as I haltingly share stories of mine.  We play Jewish geography together and the world around us gets smaller and smaller when we realize how many people we know in common.  But never do I forget that while he is standing upright and having a conversation like a normal human being, I am lying in a chair almost upside down with a huge bright light glaring into my eyes, a bib chained round my neck and medieval instruments (worthy of achieving confessions from the infidels just by seeing them) lying in wait on my chest.  Cotton sits at the ready to absorb my blood and the sound of draining fluids is truly everywhere.

Friendly or not, I don’t enjoy those moments.

I kid you not when I tell you that the only thing that keeps me in that chair is reminding myself that I have been commanded by God to take care of my body.  Hillel the Elder used to teach his students that they must take time from their study and go to the bath house to tend to the body that God created since it is holy.

Going to the gym – easy peasy – but going to the dentist…that takes spirituality and a commitment to God!