One Love - Tu B’Av

This week, we commemorated Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av), the day of mourning for the Jewish People, when we remember the destruction of the First Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and the Second Holy Temple by the Romans in 70 CE, both of which occurred on the Ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av.  It’s no coincidence that these tragedies took place on the same day.  Other calamities have also befallen our people on Tisha Av (or within a day or two): 1) The Bar Kochba Rebellion in 135 CE was finally put down by the Romans on Tisha B’Av, 2) Expulsion from England in 1290, 3) Expulsion from France in 1306, 4) Expulsion from Spain in 1492, 5) Germany entered WWI in 1914 paving the way for the Shoah, 6) SS Commander Heinrich Himmler received approval to implement “The Final Solution” in 1941, 7) Mass deportation from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka began in 1942, 8) Bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina killed 85 and wounded 300 in 1994.  There are more, but I won’t list them all.

Suffice it to say, in these dark post-Oct. 7th days, when Israel is at war with Hamas in Gaza and faces enemies like Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis, who are committed to the destruction not only of Israel but of the entire Jewish People, coupled with unprecedented antisemitism around the globe, it would seem that the words from the Pesach Haggadah are ringing true: “For not only one (enemy) has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise up to destroy us, but God always delivers us from their hands.”  Whether it’s God or the brave soldiers of the IDF, I’m not prepared to say.  Let’s just leave it at Whoever or Whatever is responsible…. Am Yisrael Chai.  

But we Jews can’t mourn for too long.  It is impossible to survive and thrive as long as we have without hope.  So, just six days after Tisha B’Av comes the lesser-known holiday of Tu B’Av (the 15th of Av).  This is one of the loveliest of days.  Basically, it’s the Jewish holiday of Love.  The earliest mention of the holiday is in Ta’anit Ch.4. “Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: 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 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 holiday sat dormant for centuries, but in the 20th century has seen a resurgence.  

At Repair the Sea, we see in the minor holiday of Tu B’Av as the key to peace.

There is something unique about the Hebrew language.  In Hebrew, every letter has a numerical equivalent.  This is why, on Hebrew calendars, dates are written with letters instead of numbers, or why, in the Hebrew Bible, chapters and verses are written with letters and not numbers. Gematria is the part of our tradition that says if two words share the same numerical value (by adding the numbers of the letters of the word), then there is a deeper meaning to be found. If you add up the letters to the word אהבה (Love) you get 13.  If you add up the letters to the word אחד (One) you get 13.  A simple understanding of this teaches that when two people are in love, they become One.  A deeper understanding is to look at what “One” actually means.  One is about unity.  One is about similarities.   One is about the Unity of God.

I have said it many times; Water is the most unifying force on our planet.  If you drop a single drop of water into the Ocean, that one drop becomes the entire Ocean. It can’t be separated.  One of the unique qualities of water is that it is the only substance on our planet that exists naturally in all three states: liquid, gas, and solid.  But there is another state of water, and that’s biological water.  The human body is 60-70% water.  Indeed, every living being is made up mostly of water.  Water is what unites not only all of humanity but all of creation.  What separates us are the outer garments of race, gender, religion, and nationality. Just as a family shares the same DNA but has different bodies and physical characteristics, humanity shares the same biological water. Still, it is separated by external characteristics, which say we are different from each other.  In fact, we are not separate from each other; just on the surface.  We are all water. Water unites us, and this… is love.

I’m not naïve enough to think that these words will change the fact that there are those who hate Jews and Israel.  I’m not naïve enough to think that these words will convince Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran to stop doing everything in their power to seek our destruction.  However, I am still naïve enough to hope and pray that one day, the surface differences promoting hate and division will evaporate away.  I hope and pray that love will overcome hate, that unity will overcome division, and that peace will spread throughout the world.  As the Prophet Isaiah said (11:9): “On that day… they shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Divine, as the waters cover the sea.”

I wish you all a happy Tu B’Av.