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 "There were no holidays as joyous for the Jewish People as the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur …" (– Mishna Taanit)
"Tu B'Av" - The Fifteenth of Av
On the Fifteenth of Av, we observe the partial holiday of "Tu B'Av" - The Fifteenth of Av celebrating many happy events which occurred at various times over the history of the Jewish People. Some of these events were associated with the Temple; in the present temporary absence of the Temple, the degree of observance is (temporarily) somewhat diminished. A partial listing follows:

Why Tu B'Av?

The Talmud gives six possible reasons why Tu B'av was made a holiday:
•    Marriage between different tribes of Israel was permitted that day. In the desert, a ban on inter-tribal marriage insured that land would not pass out of the hands of the tribe it originally belonged to. [See Numbers 36]
•    Intermarriage with the tribe of Benjamin was once again permitted after the Pilegesh B'giva civil war. [See Judges 21] (R. Yosef in the name of R. Nachman)
•    The generation that left Egypt ceased to die in the wilderness. Consequently, Moses returned to his previous high level of prophecy. (Rabba bar bar Channa in the name of R. Yochanan)
•    King Hosea permitted residents of the Northern Kingdom to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, once again. (Ulla)
•    The dead of the great fallen city of Betar were granted burial by the Roman government.
•    Starting on the fifteenth of Av the sharp heat of the sun begins to wane. Wood cut after that date was thus unfit for use on the Altar -- it was feared to be wormy.

Last updated on: 03/28/2024
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