No Holiday as Joyous

Tu b’Av (The Fifteenth of Av), which is today, is no longer the well-known holiday on the Jewish calendar that it was in ancient times. In fact, the Talmud states that: “There were no holidays so joyous for the Jewish people as the Fifteenth of Av …” (Ta’anit 26b).

On Tu b’Av, the unmarried maidens of Jerusalem would go out to the vineyards to dance together under the gaze of the unmarried men (sort of a Sadie Hawkins Day!). Each young lady would be dressed in white clothing borrowed from her neighbor so that those who came from wealthy families would not stand out and none would be embarrassed.

As they danced, the ladies would call out: “Young man, lift your eyes and choose wisely. Don’t look only at physical beauty – look rather at the family [values], ‘For charm is false, and beauty is deceitful. A God-fearing woman is the one to be praised…’” (Proverbs 31:30).

In ancient times, the same ceremony also took place on Yom Kippur. Why such joy? The rabbis offer many reasons for the celebration. Jewish Treats will present some of the reasons, in no particular order.

First, the Jews in the Wilderness realized that the generation that had wandered for 40 years for their sin of believing the slander of the 10 scouts, had died out, and that the punishment had ended. This brought a sense of closure to the nation of this dark period of their history, as they were about to enter the Land of Canaan.

Second, it was on the Fifteenth of Av when the decree was lifted from upon the rest of the Jewish tribes that had prohibited them from marrying into the tribe of Benjamin, due to the tragedy known as the Concubine in Giv’ah (Judges 19-21).

Third, and continuing the theme of schism, it was on the fifteenth of Av when Hoshea ben Elah, the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel, removed the roadblocks set by Jereboam to prevent his subjects from making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem (2 Kings 17:2).

Fourth, the masses of Jews who were massacred when the Romans conquered the city of Betar in 133 CE were finally buried on the Fifteenth of Av.

Finally, the Fifteenth of Av was the final calendar day when wood was permitted to be cut for the Temple altar. When Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple, they found that the enemies of Israel had cut down most of the local trees, a common act for an army at that time. In order to supply wood for the Temple sacrifices, individual Jews would donate the desperately needed wood, and offer a sacrifice at the same time, called the “wood offering.”

The fifteenth of Av is considered the end of the sunny season and marked the date by which the wood in the Temple needed to be cut, so it would be dry. It was a day of celebration for having amassed enough wood for the Temple’s needs.

Happy Tu b’Av.