Carrying Both Memory and Hope

A message from Rabbi Rachael Kornsgold

As we turn the calendar to August, many of us are beginning to feel that familiar shift, the rhythm of summer slowing down as we start thinking ahead. Back-to-school shopping, college drop-offs, class schedules, and the final ice cream outings and sunset swims of summer remind us that a new chapter is about to begin.

There’s an air of anticipation, of sharpened pencils and clean notebooks, new friendships, and the quiet hope that this year will bring something meaningful, something fresh.

It’s a season alive with possibility, a time that beckons us to reimagine, to realign, and to begin again.

In the Jewish calendar, August carries something deeper.

We are approaching Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, the day we collectively mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, along with other tragedies that have marked Jewish history. It is known as the saddest day of the year. A day of fasting, lament, and reflection. A day of endings.

So here we are, holding both at once: new beginnings and ancient grief. Joy and sorrow. Promise and pain.

It’s a strange mix, and yet it is deeply human.

Judaism, in its wisdom, doesn’t ask us to choose one or the other. It teaches us to hold both realities in the same sacred breath. To sit in the discomfort of contradiction and know that healing and brokenness often arrive together.

That from destruction can come the deepest growth.

Because here’s the beautiful truth: from the ashes of Tisha B’Av, we begin a slow and intentional journey toward Rosh Hashanah. Toward reflection, renewal, and return. The lowest point becomes the fertile ground from which hope begins to rise.

So as we step into this new season, whether you’re preparing your kids for school, starting a new project, or simply moving into the quieter rhythm of late summer. I invite you to carry both the ache of what has been lost and the light of what might still be born.

May we walk into this next chapter with open eyes, soft hearts, and a steady faith in the possibility of renewal.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and a week filled with meaning, presence, and peace.