The Jewish Day of Love

This past Tuesday, Jews all around the world marked Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av and the major day of communal mourning in the Jewish calendar. It is on this day throughout history that a number of disasters have been said to have befallen the Jewish people, the prime example being the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem in 586 BCE and 70 CE, respectively.

This coming Monday is a holiday of a different sort - Tu B'Av, the fifteenth of Av, an ancient and modern holiday. Originally a post-biblical day of joy, it served as a day of matchmaking for unmarried women in the Second Temple period (before the destruction of 70 CE). After this period, it was largely uncelebrated in the Jewish calendar for many years and has been rejuvenated in recent decades, especially in Israel. In modern times, it has become a Hebrew day of love, very similar to Valentine’s Day.

While it is often difficult to commemorate Tisha B'Av with young children (frankly, even some adults have difficulty with how to appropriately mark this solemn time), Tu B'Av contains themes that are very family friendly. Some thoughts on how to add a little Jewish to your coming Monday:

Activities
Largely a modern Israeli holiday, there is much room for creating fun celebrations of love around Tu B’Av. Especially coming so soon after the solemnity of Tisha B’Av, take this time to emphasize the people and things we love in this world. Some possible activities could be:

• Make "Happy Tu B'Av!" cards to send to friends and family, making sure to include short messages of love and appreciation.
• Identify activities you love to do together as a family and make a special point to schedule some around this time.
• Make posters or collages emphasizing those people, activities, and items that your children love. Post them in your home or children's rooms as a reminder of all that is good and loved in our lives.