15 Av – the beginning of the 40-day countdown to the creation of the world

15 Av – the beginning of the 40-day countdown to the creation of the world

Rebbe Tzemach-Tzedek, in his notes on the book of Eichah, wrote that the central theme of 15 Av is the fullness of the moon. The 15th of Av stands on a higher level than the 15th days of the other months, for where there is a great descent, there is also a great ascent. Since 9 Av represents a great descent and the moon is not full, on 15 Av there is an ascent to a higher level. In other words, the significance of the 15th day of the month is that the moon is full on that day, hinting at the wholeness of the Jewish people, who are compared to the moon in the Talmud. This makes 15 Av an especially joyful day. The Mishnah says: “There were no festivals for Israel like 15 Av and Yom Kippur, when the daughters of Jerusalem (Israel) would go out and dance in circles among the vineyards. The girls would say: ‘Young man, lift your eyes and see whom you choose for yourself.’ And all of this was for the purpose of marriage and marital intimacy. The meaning of entering into Jewish marriages in the material world derives from the spiritual meaning of the marriage between the Almighty and the people of Israel. Jewish tradition teaches: “Forty days before conception, a Heavenly Voice goes forth and proclaims: ‘The daughter of so-and-so is destined for so-and-so.’ (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 2b) If we count 40 days from 15 Av, we arrive at 25 Elul—the first day of the creation of the world. Therefore, these are the most appropriate 40 days for praying for a shidduch. The Arizal, may his merit protect us, says in Pri Etz Chaim that on 15 Av, Jewish girls would dance in circles among the vineyards. The gematria of “kerem” – כרם (vineyard) is 260, which is the tenfold gematria of Hashem’s four-letter Name (26). The four groups of girls—the beautiful, those from distinguished families, the wealthy, and the poor—mentioned in the baraita, allude to the four letters of Hashem’s Name, with the Shechinah (Divine Presence) dwelling among them. 1. Some would say: “A wife is needed only for her beauty”—they symbolize the final letter hei (ה), (Song of Songs 1:5): “I am black, but beautiful”; 2. Others would say: “Look at the family background, for a wife is needed only for the sake of children”—they symbolize the letter vav (ו) in the Name; 3. The third group, who boasted of their wealth, symbolizes the first letter hei (ה), that is, the level of Binah; 4. And the poor would lift their eyes heavenward, toward the letter yud (י) in the Name, toward the highest wisdom—Chochmah—and say: “Take a wife for the sake of Heaven.” The words: “Young man, lift your eyes and see whom you choose for yourself” refer to the Almighty, who chose the people of Israel. The beautiful girls correspond to the final letter hei in the Holy Name, which symbolizes the lower Shechinah. (Sila Tehilim, based on material from a group on Odnoklassniki)