Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

Yesterday, on Tisha B'Av, we observed the saddest day of the Jewish calendar year. As already noted in previous articles, Tisha B'Av commemorates calamities from Biblical antiquity, to the Temple periods, to the Middle Ages, to modern and contemporary times.  The month, which we call Menachem Av, the comforting Av, takes us on a spiritual roller coaster ride from the grief of Tisha B'Av to seven weeks of comfort, leading right up to the High Holy Days.

What is often neglected, however, is one of the two happiest days of the Jewish calendar year. Tu-B'Av, the fifteenth of Av, just six days after the saddest day of the year, is considered one the two most joyous days of the year along with Yom Kippur afternoon. In ancient times, these two days were matchmaking festivals where young men and women were introduced to each other for the purpose of marriage. With its uplifting celebration of romance, enhanced friendships, and the forging of new relationships, Tu-B'Av, which falls out this coming Shabbat, counters the despair felt on Tisha B'Av and the three weeks which precede it. 

The comforting month of Av is found in the ability to move from strife and baseless hatred to rebuilding a metaphorical Temple, through tolerance, respect, and love.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison