The Months of Tamuz and Av 27

Menachem Av: Two Halves of the Month

• The month is called Menachem Av. Some communities announce “Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av”; Sephardim similarly refer to Elul as Elul Rachamim, the month of mercy.
• The Chatam Sofer explains that the name reflects two distinct halves: the first half, Av, is associated with hardship and judgment, while the second half, Menachem, begins on Tu B'Av, the 15th, and marks the start of comfort (nechama).
• The word AV can represent Arur (cursed) and Baruch (blessed). Although the familiar prayer that the year’s curses should end and its blessings begin is associated with Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi David Sutton says this spiritual transition begins on Tu B'Av.
• Just as sap rises in a tree over 45 days, beginning on Tu B'Shevat and producing new buds by Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the spiritual energy for the High Holidays begins rising on Tu B'Av.

The End of the Desert Deaths

• Tu B'Av is celebrated because it was the day the generation of the desert stopped dying. For 39 years after the decree of the Meraglim, on every Tisha B'Av those who had reached age 60 would dig their own graves and lie in them, and people would die.
• In the final year, the people entered their graves on the 9th of Av as usual, but woke the next morning alive. Thinking they had miscalculated the Hebrew calendar, they returned to their graves each night.
• On the 15th of Av, when they saw the full moon, they realized the calendar was correct and the decree had ended.
• According to Tosafot, as noted by Rav Wolbe, the people thought the 40-year decree began after the sin of the Spies. But Hashem mercifully counted “time served”: He included the year they had already spent in the desert before the Spies, and linked the sin of the Golden Calf (Chet HaEigel) with the sin of the Spies, connecting the beginning and end of the Three Weeks. Since the Golden Calf occurred a year before the Spies, the sentence had begun a year earlier.
• The people did not know that Hashem had shortened their sentence; they entered their graves expecting the final wave of death. Waking alive on Tu B'Av, they understood that Hashem was protecting and loving them, not seeking to punish them.
• Though the miracle occurred on the 9th of Av, it became a true holiday only on the 15th, when they recognized Hashem’s mercy.

Misunderstanding Hashem’s Love

• Rabbi David Sutton describes a recurring pattern in Jewish history: people interpret Hashem’s actions as hostility when they are expressions of care.
• Adam and Chava believed the serpent’s claim that Hashem withheld the fruit out of jealousy; the inner reality was that Hashem’s instruction was for their benefit and protection.
• The Spies believed Hashem had brought the people into the desert out of hatred—“Because of Hashem’s hatred for us…”—when Hashem had brought them out of Egypt to give them the Holy Land.
• During the destruction of the Temple, the Jews saw the enemies observe the Cherubim embracing and feared that Hashem was exposing them to mockery. According to the Parshat Derachim and the Chida in Nachal Kedumim, the embrace was Hashem’s final parting hug before a long exile.
• The key to ending the “curses” of the year is to change this perspective and recognize that what seemed like harsh judgment was an expression of Hashem’s divine care.

The Significance of the 15th

• Rebbe Yerucham Levovitz explains that when blessing the new moon, the focus is not on astronomical mechanics but on what the moon symbolizes: the Jewish nation waxing and waning.
• The lecture lists Pesach, Sukkot, Tu BiShvat, and Tu B'Av as holidays occurring on the 15th of the month. The full moon represents the point at which the month’s spiritual influence (Mazal) reaches peak maturity and strength.

Preparing for the High Holidays

• Beginning on Tu B'Av, it is time to prepare the heart for the High Holidays.
• The central takeaway is to recognize Hashem as a loving Father who seeks our best interest. Correcting the ancient misconception that Hashem’s intentions are negative puts us back on the right spiritual course: from Rosh Hashanah to Sukkot (Zman Simchatenu), and ultimately to Shemini Atzeret, where we stand in joyful closeness with God.