The 15th day of Av, is both an ancient and modern holiday. Originally a post-biblical day of joy, it served as a matchmaking day for unmarried women in the Second Temple period (before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.). Tu B’Av was almost unnoticed in the Jewish calendar for many centuries, but it has been rejuvenated in recent decades, especially in the modern state of Israel. In its modern incarnation it is gradually becoming a Hebrew-Jewish Day of Love.
There is no way to know exactly how early Tu B’Av began. The first mention of this date is in the Mishnah (compiled and edited in the end of the second century), where Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is quoted saying:
There were no better (i.e. happier) days for the people of Israel than the Fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur, since on these days the daughters of Israel/Jerusalem go out dressed in white and dance in the vineyards. What were they saying? Young man, consider whom you choose (to be your wife) (Ta’anit, Chapter 4)
The Gemara attempts to find the origin of this date as a special joyous day, and offers several explanations. One of them is that on this day the Biblical “tribes of Israel were permitted to mingle with each other,” namely: to marry women from other tribes (Talmud, Ta’anit 30b). This explanation is somewhat surprising, since nowhere in the Bible is there a prohibition on “intermarriage” among the 12 tribes of Israel. This Talmudic source probably is alluding to a story in the book of Judges (chapter 21): After a civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and other Israelite tribes, the tribes vowed not to intermarry with men of the tribe of Benjamin.
For almost 19 centuries – between the destruction of Jerusalem and the re-establishment of Jewish independence in the State of Israel in 1948 – the only commemoration of Tu B’Av was that the morning prayer service did not include the penitence prayer (Tahanun).
Then there’s the theory that Tu B’Av marks the day on which the generation sentenced to die in the desert for the sin of the Golden Calf stopped dying. This view was propounded by Rabbi Dimi bar Yossef, based on Rabbi Nachman.
Another theory was propounded by a Talmudist called Ulla, who said that Tu B’Av was an anniversary of a decision by King Hoshea, the last Israelite king, voiding the decree of King Jeroboam 50 years earlier that banned pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Another idea is from Rabbi Matana, who said that Tu B’Av marks the day the Romans allowed the Jews to bury the thousands of people slaughtered in Beitar at the end of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. According to Bar Acha, Rabbi Yissa said that Tu B’Av was the last day to chop down firewood for the Temple. This tradition – of celebrating the end of the wood-cutting season with song and dance – was still being observed by Syrian peasants in some towns in Syria in the 20th century. In recent decades Israeli culture promotes festivals of singing and dancing on the night of Tu B’Av.
I think it is of great value to share this information about Tu B’ Av. I find that in our days where we are so well integrated into modern society, we often don’t even realize special dates on the Jewish calendar, since we use the secular calendar daily.
The range of observance of Jewish laws among Jews varies tremendously. However Jews are still Jews whether they are observant or not, whether they even know that they are Jewish. Reminding people of who they are and of the events on the Jewish calendar is a very worthy deed. Its an act of reaching out to all of our family.
The Chassidic movements, such as Chabad and other kiruv programs work very hard to preserve Judaism throughout the world. They try to reach as many Jews as possible and perhaps rekindle their Jewish spark. By explaining what happened on different Jewish dates, this brings awareness and closeness in the hearts of Jewish people who might not remember or even know about this Jewish event. This brings us all closer since we are all one family. If there was a very large family with lots of offspring and a special date came about in this family, they would want the entire family to know about it. Wherever they happened to be in the world they should still remember and rejoice with the whole family. That’s how it is with the Jewish nation. We are all one family and it’s very important to reach out and celebrate with our whole family
On these happy times of Tu B’Av, let us pray that just as in biblical times when the young men went out to choose their wives and were successful, may all those seeking their other half find their match this Tu B’Av as well. And may all of Israel reunite as one family and may we be able to go and pray once again in the house of Hashem in Jerusalem.