Tu B’Av
Tu b’Av (named for the date
in the Hebrew calendar,
the 15th (Tet = 9, Vav = 6; 9+6=15) of the Hebrew month
of Av) is one of the lesser known holidays in the Jewish
calendar, but since the establishment of the Stae
of Israel, it has begun to gain popularity.
Coming less than a week after the
sorrowful mourning of Tisha
b’Av (on the 9th of Av), Tu b’Av is a Jewish holiday
of love. Like Chanukah, Purim,
and Tisha
b’Av, it is also a rabbinic (post-biblical)
addition to the holiday calendar. Tu b’Av occurs on
a full moon, as the Hebrew calendar is lunar. Linking
the full moon with love, fertility, and romance is
common in ancient cultures.
The first mention of Tu b’Av is in
the Mishna (Taanit),
where it says (attributed to Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel), “There
were no better days for the people of Israel than the
Fifteenth of Av and Yom
Kippur, since on these days the daughters of Jerusalem go
out dressed in white and dance in the vineyards. What
they were saying: Young man, consider who you choose
(to be your wife).” (Taanit 4:8). According to
the Gemara, on this day the “tribes of Israel
were permitted to mingle with each other” (Taanit
30b).
The holiday was instituted in the Second
Temple period to mark the beginning of the grape
harvest, which ended on Yom
Kippur. Other commemorations recorded in the
Talmud related to Tu B’Av include:
- On either the 14th or 15th of Av, the Pharisees (rabbinic
Jews) were victories over the Sadducees.
- Members of the Tribe
of Benjamin were readmitted to the community
- The death of the generation that left Egypt ended.
- King Hosea, the king of the Northern Kingdom,
removed the restrictions of King Jereboam prohibiting
the northerners to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
- The Romans permitted
the Jews to bury their dead who fell at Beitar.
Soon-to-be brides danced in Shilo,
a community in Samaria, which was the first capital
of Israel. In modern times, since Jews have been able
to return to Samaria, Jews have returned to the vineyards
of the Jewish community of Shilo and dance in the vineyards
serenaded by song.
On Tu b’Av, as well as other holidays,
and when a bride and groom are at minyan (public
prayer), Jews do not say Tachanun in the prayer service.
In addition, no eulogies are pronounced at funerals that
take place on this day (in the Jewish tradition, it
is required that the dead be buried immediately).
Tu b’Av is a popular date for Jews
to hold weddings,
coming only a few days after the end of the three-week
period (from the Fast
of Tammuz, commemorating the breach of the walls
of Jerusalem,
until Tisha
b’Av, commemorating the destruction of the Temple)
in which weddings are prohibited.
In Israel,
Tu b’Av is a day of love. While it is a regular workday,
music and dance festivals are typically held to celebrate
the day. Israelis give cards and flowers to their loved
ones on Tu b’Av and the date is popular for weddings.
These customs are observed by all segments of Israeli
society, whether they consider themselves religious
or non-religious.
Sources: “Tu
BeAv,” Jewish Agency for Israel; “Tu
b’Av: Israel’s Holiday of Romance,” Flowers & Sympatya; “Overview:
Tu b’Av, A Day of Love,” MyJewishLearning.com |