We are going to take a short break from the Hovot HaLevavot to discuss a timely topic: Tomorrow is the 15th of Av. It may not be a well-known day to all, but the Gemara tells us in Masechet Baba Batra:
לא היו ימים טובים לישראל כחמשה עשר באב וכיום הכפורים
There were no happier days for Jewish people than the 15th of Av and Yom Kippurim.
The rabbis ask: We understand why Yom Kippur is such a happy day. It’s a day of forgiveness. But what’s so great about the 15th of Av? There are multiple reasons given in the Gemara. The one we will explore today is the following:
יום שכלו בא מתי המדבר
It was the day that the people stopped dying in the desert.
A little background:
We know that the 9th of Av was the day that Bnei Yisrael cried from the report of the spies. It was then that G-d decreed that 600,000 people would die over the next 40 years in the desert, which averaged to about 15,000 per year. So every year in the desert, on the 9th of Av, they dug their own graves. The 600,000 people would lie down in graves, and in the morning 600,000 less 15,000 (those that were 60 years old) would get up. The 15,000 people that didn’t get up were then buried. One of the reasons they did it this way was that it was slightly more positive, because at least they could see how many more people had gotten up, vs the ones that hadn’t.
In the 40th year in the desert, they did the same. What they didn’t realize though, was that in Hashem’s mercy, He had started counting the 40 years from the sin of golden calf. They had been 38 years in the desert, so they didn’t realize the decree was over. That final year, when they got into the graves, all the people got up. Initially, they assumed this was a mistake in their calculations of the date. In those days, and up until the times of the Bet HaMikdash, there were no calendars. They based the dates on the lunar cycle; on witnesses reporting the new moon. So when everyone got up the next morning, they assumed they had the dates wrong. The next few nights, they repeated this act of getting into the graves. On the 15th of Av, though, when it was obviously a full moon, it became clear to them that G-d had rescinded the decree, and in His mercy and compassion, worked it out that they had a shorter term of punishment. When they realized this, in Rambam’s words,
הרגישו בה רצון הבורא
They felt G-d’s closeness, and realized He was no longer angry.
Therefore they turned the 15th of Av into a day of משתה וששון, a day of celebration. In reality, nothing new had happened that day, on G-d’s part- the decree had been made 38 years earlier. They just stopped dying before the time was up. But they realized G-d’s love for them and felt the rekindling of their relationship with Hashem, and that was cause for celebration.
The Ritva tells us something less known, but very interesting, in Masechet Taanit. We know that the Shabbat following Tisha B’Av is celebrated. One reason for that is because we read Nachamu- which means comfort.
However, the Ritva says that we celebrate and have an extra special Shabbat meal in celebration of the fact that they stopped dying.
This is an important concept.
As we have mentioned in the past, the Three-Week season prepares us, as we approach the high holidays, to get closer to G-d.
The rabbis tell us that just like Tu B’Shevat comes 6 weeks before Pesach, and the sap starts running up the trees in preparation for Pesach and the fruits of Nissan, the 15th of Av comes six weeks before the high holidays. From the 15 of Av and on, we start to feel G-d’s closeness, and we get ready for the High Holiday season.
The month of Av, in Hebrew, is spelled אב
The א is for ארור - curse, and the ב is for ברכה -blessing.
These are opposites. The month of Av has a spilt personality. The first 15 days aren’t the most positive, but the next 15 days are the opposite.
The Ben Ish Hai says the turning point is the 15th. We aren’t supposed to set court dates for the month of Av, but the 15th is the turn around. That’s what we’ll celebrate tomorrow and on Shabbat. We should understand and have the right attitude towards the fifteenth of Av.