The 15^th day of the month of Av (Tu b’Ab) is one of those special days on our Jewish calendar that can almost be missed if we don’t pay close attention because, unlike other holy days, it does not require us to leave our weekday activities and immerse ourselves in special mitzvoth. Yet it contains a treasure trove of spiritual wealth that is available for us to mine. We enter the treasury through a portal called “awareness.”

           Let us first take note that Tu B’Av falls out forty days before the 25^th of Elul which is the first day of Creation. Our Rabbis (Chazal) teach that forty days before conception, a Bas Kol announces whom each child-to-be will marry. So also forty days before the creation of the world, a Bas Kol announced the future covenant between the Creator and the Jewish nation (B’Nei Yissaschar, Ma’amer Chodesh Tamuz, dalet).

                It is written in our holy seforim that the month of Av is governed by the letter Tes and has within it a tremendous inner power for (Tov) good  as revealed through the numerous blessed  occurrences/proclamations that Chazal have associated with Tu b’Av.

            The tractate (Gemora) Taanis 30b-31 lists a number of favorable events that took place in Jewish history all on this very auspicious day of the 15^th of Av. Let us see if we can create a connecting correlation between the events listed in  Gemora Taanis with our seven shepherds and the sefortic attributes that they correspond to.

            During the fledgling Jewish nation’s forty year passage through the midbar, all the men died upon reaching sixty; this decree was rescinded at the end of their journey, which became apparent on Tu B’Av. Also, the slain of the city of Beitar were finally buried on the 15^th of Av. Both of these incidents reflect the attribute of chesed as exemplified by Avraham Aveinu as seen through altruistic kindness (chesed shel emes) he fulfilled sparing no effort or expense for the burial for his deceased wife – Sarah.

            Then there was the “removal of the roadblocks” that had prevented access to Jerusalem. This possibly correlates to the attribute of spiritual strength (gavurot) as epitomized through Yitzchak Aveinu whose life was one of directed holiness through discipline, reaching its crowning glory when he “removed all barriers” through selflessly offering himself at the story of the Akeda.

           Since after the 15^th of Av the nights become longer, the Gemora tells of the importance of increasing ones Torah learning in the “evening”. Torah corresponds to the attribute of the balance between chesed and gavurot known as(teferiot) – as epitomized Yaakov Aveinu who exemplifies misiras nefesh for Torah learning especially during the long “night of the galus”. The Midrash tells us that after fleeing from Esau, Yaakov studied continuously for fourteen years, day and night, before meeting his next worldly challenge – that of Lavan.

            On this day the ban against marriage between the tribe of  Binyamin and the rest of the tribes (Shafatim) was repealed.. This allowed for the Jewish nation to be “reunited”. Unity between Jews help us to “reunite” with the Creator (Ribbono shel Olam). This is the attribute of eternality (netzach), exemplified by Moshe Rabbeinu who dedicated his life to the lofty goal of unifying us with Hashem.

           Wood cut up to the 15^th of Av (but not later) was used as fuel for the alter (mizbe’ach) where we offered our sacrifices through the descendants of  Ahron HaKohen, who exemplifies the quality of submissive splendor (hod). Just as the wood was totally consumed on the alter of Hashem, so was the level of total selfless dedication of Ahron HaKohan in his avodas Hashem.

    Tu B’Av is the last day of planting before the New Year. Planting seeds at the proper time will, with the help of Hashem, begin a process that will later produce life- sustaining nourishment. Yoseph, who was placed in charge of the world’s food supply, corresponds to the attribute of yesod that channels Divine influences. This perhaps teaches us that as important as it is to plant seeds – meaning to have nice ideas – it is just as important to follow up by cultivating, harvesting and finally distributing the fruits of ones efforts.

          This list of events that took place on the 15^th of Av indicates to us that this extraordinary day is a repository for many blessings. Our Sages tell us that the 15^th of Av is compared to Yom Kippur in a number of important ways. First they are both days of forgiveness: Yom Kippur was the day the Jewish people were forgiven for the sin of the golden calf (eigel); whereas on the 15^th    of Av the Bnei Israel in the midbar were finally forgiven for the sin of the spies (cheit ha-meraglim). In the time of the holy Temple in Jerusalem (Beis HaMikdosh), both these days were also especially imbued with Heavenly assistance for shidduchim. (Gemors Ta’anis, 26b)

              So great is the power of  Tu B’Av, the Pri Tzadik tells us, that the third and final Bais Hamikdash will be “built” on the 15^th of Av.

      This final redemption will come about through our long awaited Mashiach  ben David who exemplifies the power of – malcus – royalty to orchestrate, combine and develop all the mentioned above Divine attributes. May we merit this revelation soon in our days.

Since our Cazal tells us that when Codesh Av enters we lessen our simcha and when Codesh Adar enters we increase our simcha, it behooves us to try to find some underlying thread of connectedness between these two antithetically appearing periods of time whose pinnacle of expression are manifest on Tisha b’Av and Purim:

On Tisha b’Av we replace our smiles and laughter of Purim with our tears and heartfelt sighs.  

 On Tisha b’Av we exchange our less than conventional Purim costumes with unadorned garments and no leather shoes.

 On Tisha b’Av we defer from the joyous festive eating and drinking of Purim with our fasting and abstaining from bathing.

  On Tisha b-Av we refrain from sharing ourselves and gifts with others as we do on Purim, while instead sitting lower down in contemplative introspection.

O’Tisha b-Av please reveal to us how through your five restrictions of the day can we bring ourselves five steps closer to the coming of the Mesiach?

(Tisha b’Av speaking to us)

1)    On this, my day of mourning, by taking off your leather shoes you begin to “refit” your souls.             

2)    On this, my day of mourning, by refraining from leisurely walks and other corporeal pleasures, you increase your “strides” towards holiness.  

          3) On this, my day of mourning, by not washing or anointing, you further “cleanse” and “purify” your souls.

           4) On this, my day of mourning, by withdrawing from food and drink, you increase your souls “nourishment”.

            5) On this, my day of mourning, by abstaining from learning, you rejuvenate your commitment to the Torah. 

               O’Tisha b’Av with the birth pangs of the Mesiach waiting at your “doorstep”, may we do our part to open the “doors” of our hearts thus meriting the full glory of your day becoming a joyous Yom Tov.

                                                     La-shana haba bi-Jerusalem

                
     Bein Hametzarim – “between the tragedies.” Caught in the vise between – the 17^th of Tamuz and the 9^th of Av – days in which our Temple (Bais Hamigdash) was destroyed as well as many other calamities befell us – it is difficult to perceive any redeeming aspect of this tragic period. However, we have long understood the spiritual value that lies within adversity.  For example our Rabbis (Cazal) inform us of the benefits we derived from our period of bondage in Egypt (Mitzraim), which prepared us for the next level in the service of Hashem. In Mitzrayim we were given the opportunity to extract precious sparks of holiness that only the most challenging of events and epochs could release.  

       Let us try to reveal a redemptive, positive view of this difficult period that we re-visit each year at this time. Perhaps one of the “keys” to releasing ourselves from personal and national bondage lies, ironically, in the name for the period – “Bein Hametzarim”.

               Why is this time called “between the tragedies” and not “the time of tragedies”? The nature of many people, when beset by difficult challenges, is that they tend to become overwhelmed and even imprisoned in their own personal “bars” of anguish and hopelessness. Yet, many of us know those exceptional people who, in seemingly overwhelming circumstances, are able to overcome restrictions focusing not on the bars – of limitation – but on the spaces “between” them – the inner messages that offer new vistas of growth and change which are encoded “within” the challenges.

            Cazal have foretold that one day the inner lights of these days called Bein Hametzarim will be unveiled revealing the crowning gem, our long awaited Moshiach, whose birth  date is the 9^th of Av (Yerushalmi, Brachos).

            Sfas Emes tells us that the ten sayings (maamoros) with which the world was created world were later channeled in Mitzraim through the ten plagues (makot) and finally revealed in the form of the Ten Commandments.[1] These ten sayings were the Divine D.N.A. that G-d used to formulate the world.  Had mankind cooperated and obeyed Hashem’s commandments, the world would have achieved perfection; however because of the various sins throughout the generations, a process of purification was deemed necessary including the ten plagues (macot) for the Mitzriyim (at  the same time that the Jewish people were the recipients of blessings) that led eventually to the exodus.        However, since freedom from physical bondage was not the final goal, the benevolent Creator led us to Har Sinai and gave us the Torah whose essence is coded within the ten commandments.  Perhaps we can draw a parallel from this to draw another connection among numbers: the twenty-two letters (oisios) of the Torah, twenty-two days of Bein Hametzarim and to twenty-two of our holiest days. As is well known the entire creation was and continues to exist through the twenty-two holy osios of the Torah. However, due to the ongoing failings of mankind, specifically the Jewish people have designated to be a holy nation charged with rectifying and elevating the whole Creation. We are assigned at times to descend into the darkest, most dangerous realms of time in the calendar year[2]  in order to reveal the inner radiance their intrinsic holiness. It is specifically during the depths of the frigid winter referred to as SHOVAVIM (TAT), during which the Torah reading retells of the bondage of our forefathers, that we can access the spiritual “genetics” necessary to rectify not only that period but all challenging times. This lofty goal is achievable through the dynamic vibrant power contained within the twenty-two readings (aliyot) of the Torah beginning with the story of Moshe our teacher (Rabbinu) and the burning bush (sneh) (the forth alia in Parshas Shemos), ( then seven alias each in Parshas Va’eira and Parshas Bo) and ending with the splitting of the Yam Suf (forth alia of Pashas Beshalach) for a total of twenty-two aliot.

         It is specifically through the Torah, our spiritual catalyst, that even during the most  twenty-two searing intense summer days of Bein Hametzarim will be transformed in the near future into days of joy. Adhering to the Torah’s prescriptions will enable us to make the transition from the grip of stifling bondage to new heights of freedom in days of Divine radiance. Each and every day of the Bein Hametzarim period contains within it the seeds – the inner essence – of twenty-two of our holiest days.  [3]

            May all of us merit to see, feel and experience the blessings encoded within each and every one of these days, thereby transcending the galus of limitation to arrive at the ultimate redemption (geulah).