B"H
Friday, Menachem Av 15, 5778 / July 27, 2018
This Shabbat, which is the first Shabbat after the fast of the 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av), we read the second Parsha of the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), Parshat Va'etchanan. As mentioned, this Shabbat is called, "Shabbat Nachmu" - "Shabbat of comfort".
Today is the 15th day in the month of Menachem Av. Today is a very happy day in the Hebrew calendar. During the time of the Temple it was one of the happiest days of the year.
The Talmud says, “There were no greater festive days for Israel than the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur.” On these days the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards and the young men would choose their brides. It was a day of matchmaking which led to marriages in Israel. The Talmud lists several other historical events which occurred on the 15th day of Av:
1) The dying of the generation of the Exodus ceased. Because they refused to go into the Promised Land, G-d decreed that all men between 20 and 60, who came out of Egypt, would die in the desert. After 40 years in the desert, on the 15th of Av, the dying ended.
2) In order to ensure the orderly division of the Holy Land among the twelve tribes of Israel, marriages were restricted between members of two different tribes. This restriction was binding only on the generation that conquered and settled the Holy Land. The restriction was lifted on the 15th of Av. The event was considered a cause for celebration. Thus, the 15th of Av became a festive day.
3) The 15th of Av was the day on which the tribe of Benjamin, which was excommunicated for a particular behavior (as related in Judges 19-21), was re-admitted into the community of Israel.
4) Upon the division of the Holy Land into two kingdoms following the death of King Solomon, Jeroboam ben Nebat, ruler of the breakaway Northern Kingdom of Israel, set up roadblocks to prevent his citizens from making the three yearly pilgrimages to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The roadblocks were finally removed, more than 200 years later, on the 15th of Av.
5) The fortress of Betar was the last holdout of the Bar Kochba rebellion. When Betar fell on the 9th of Av, Bar Kochba and many thousands of Jews were killed. The Romans massacred the survivors of the battle with great cruelty and would not allow the Jews to bury their dead. The dead of Betar were finally brought to burial on the 15th of Av.
SHABBAT SHALOM
Montreal candle lighting time: 8:10 / Shabbat ends: 9:20
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In Loving memory of Menashe ben Efrahim. Yartzeit is on Shabbat.
May his Neshama have an Aliya.