From Tisha B'Av to Tu B'Av: What Goes Down, Must Come Up

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The Talmud states in Tractate Taanis: "Never were there more joyous days for the Jewish People than the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur," listing five or six joyous events that occurred on 15 Av throughout history. What is it about the energy of the 15th of Av that attracts so much joy?

The Arizal explains that on the 15th of the month, the moon is at its fullest. The Sages teach that the Jewish People are compared to the moon -- so, just as the moon is at its fullest on the 15th of Av, so are the Jewish people. But Passover and Sukkos, too, begin on the 15th of the months of Nissan and Tishrei, respectively. What is so unique about the moon's full point during the month of Av?

The 15th of Av represents the Jewish people at their fullest -- after having fallen to their lowest on the 9th of Av, on Tisha B'av. The purpose of every spiritual descent is only for the sake of the subsequent ascent, and therefore, the greater the descent, the greater the ascent must be. That is why the joy of 15 Av -- following the sadness of Tisha B'av -- eclipses that of any other day of the year.

15 Menachem Av, 5743 · July 25, 1983

From Living Torah Disc 91 Program 362

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