Today we move on to a new Mishnah. The Mishnah discusses two of the saddest days on the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av and 17 of Av , and teaches us that our joy decreases in the month of Av . . . except for one day, our gem:
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days as joyous for the Jewish people as the fifteenth of Av and as Yom Kippur, as on them the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in white clothes, which each woman borrowed from another. Why were they borrowed? They did this so as not to embarrass one who did not have her own white garments. All the garments that the women borrowed require immersion, as those who previously wore them might have been ritually impure.
And the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards. And what would they say? Young man, please lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself for a wife. Do not set your eyes toward beauty, but set your eyes toward a good family, as the verse states: “Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30), and it further says: “Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates” (Proverbs 31:31).
The 15th of Av, or Tu B’Av, is celebrated today in Israel much like a Valentines Day. It’s a day of love, of dancing, or romance. I love seeing the women be the initiators of the relationships on this day. Nowadays, it’s just as likely a woman will make the first move as a man. But in this patriarchal world, this holiday was pretty radical. While a “Sadie Hawkins dance” became an annual tradition in many places inspired by a 1937 comic strip encouraged women to flip the gender norms and ask men to the dance – this tradition truly goes back MUCH further.
So, ladies, don’t wait.
2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day. 