haloch yeilech u'bacho -- but ultimately, bo yavo b'rinah

The Shem m’Shmuel quotes a Zohar that explains that Moshe Rabeinu died at the time of mincha on Shabbos, the “ra’ava d’ra’avain,” the greatest eis ratzon, to show that his death was not a result of midas hadin.  Similarly, Miriam died in Chodesh Nisan because Nisan too is a time of chessed, a time of geulah.  So what are we to make of Aharon haKohen passing away on Rosh Chodesh Av?  We see from here, says the Shem m’Shmuel that b’pnimiyus Chodesh Av is also a time of great closeness with Hashem, just that closeness has been enveloped with great hester. 

R’ Leibele Eiger (Imrei Emes, end of Pinchas) brings down that he heard from a holy tzadik (who he doesn’t name) that the 22 days of beis hametzarim correspond to the 22 days from Rosh haShana to Sukkos.  What do these sad days of mourning have to do with the holiest period of the year, the span from the Yamim Noraim to Chag haSukkos?  R’ Leibele Eiger explains that the hesber is hinted at in the pasuk we say in shir hama’alos before bentching, “Haloch yeilech u’bacho nosei meshech hazarah…”  The first letters of haloch yelech u’bacho, describing our walking and crying, are hey-yud-vav, which are numerically equal to 21.  These are the three weeks from 17 Tamuz until 9 Av when we are crying, but that crying is because we don’t understand what is happening.  “Nosei meshech ha’zara,” we are like a farmer dropping seeds in the ground.  When you plant a seed, it first disintegrates and rots, but that disintegration is just a preparation for the new growth.  Similarly, the suffering we mourn over during this time will ultimately prove to be a source of renewal and rebirth.  “Bo yavo b’rinah nosei alumosav” – the numerical value of “bo yavo” (spelled with a vav) is 22.  When we harvest the amazing fruit that will come from these seeds, it will be the greatest simcha in the world.  Counting 22 days from Rosh haShana, our simcha culminates in Sukkos, also known as “Chag ha’Asif,” the holiday of the harvest.