Someich Hashem l'kol ha'noflim -- T"U b'Av

Brachos 4b

אמר רבי יוחנן מפני מה לא נאמר נו"ן באשרי מפני שיש בה מפלתן של שונאי ישראל דכתיב נפלה לא תוסיף קום בתולת ישראל במערבא מתרצי לה הכי נפלה ולא תוסיף לנפול עוד קום בתולת ישראל אמר רב נחמן בר יצחק אפילו הכי חזר דוד וסמכן ברוח הקדש שנא' סומך ה' לכל הנופלים

There is a famous vort of the Apter Rav on T"U b'Av which I thought I had posted once but can't find it. The very last gemara in Taanis, after the sugya that discusses what happened on T'U b'Av, tells us:

אמר רבי אלעזר עתיד הקדוש ברוך הוא לעשות מחול לצדיקים והוא יושב ביניהם בגן עדן וכל אחד ואחד מראה באצבעו שנאמ' ואמר ביום ההוא הנה אלקינו זה קוינו לו ויושיענו זה ה' קוינו לו נגילה ונשמחה בישועתו

We will one day dance in a big circle, with Hashem in the middle, and everyone will point to the middle and say הנה אלקינו זה קוינו לו etc. In a circle every single point is equidistant from the center. In the future, every single person, from the biggest gadol to the average Joe, will see that they made a contribution, that they have a connection to Hashem, that their portion and their avodah is as valuable to Hashem as anyone else's. The Apter Rav explained that this celebration is what T'U b'Av represents. T"U = the 15th letter of the aleph beis, the letter samech, which is round like a circle. On T"U b'Av all the girls would go out and dance in the vineyard, and each would declare a reason why an eligible bachur should marry  them. Everyone has something that makes him/her special. We are each points on a circle.

R' Teichtel in his Mishnas Sachir writes that on 9 Av we mourn the churban caused by machlokes and infighting and strife. This is the greatest nefila of Klal Yisrael. Comes T"U b'Av, the culmination of the shiva for the churban, as R' Tzadok writes, and we want to do away with all that enmity and make a tikun for our sins. The gemara describes how on T"U b'Av the girls  would all borrow clothes from each other כל ישראל שואלין זה מזה כדי שלא יתבייש את מי שאין לו.   No one should feel that they are less valuable than anyone else; no one should feel pain because someone else made them feel less than special.  T"U b'Av is that letter samech, with no start and no end, no one point closer or more distant than any other from the center.  Everyone's cheilek is equally important, so there is no reason to fight.  This is what the gemaa means חזר דוד וסמכן ברוח הקדש שנא' סומך ה' לכל הנופלים  Hshem took the nefilah and connected it with the letter samech, the holiday of T"U b'Av, giving us the means to make things whole, giving us the greatest simcha in the world.

seudas mitzvah for a siyum by a woman or katan

Is a siyum made by a katan enough of a reason to allow eating meat during the 9 days? What about a siyum by a woman? Why am I bringing this up when the 9 days ended last week and we are now approaching T"u b'Av?

I think the answer to this question may hinge on what the source is for the idea of making a siyum. One of the sources is the celebration of T"u b'Av. The gemara (B"B 121b) tells us that 15 Av was the day when the season of cutting of wood for use on the maaracha came to a close because after that day the wood was not dry enough to be usable. Rashbam comments:

ואותו יום שפסקו היו שמחים לפי שבאותו יום היו משלימין מצוה גדולה כזאת:

The completion of a mitzvah, says Rashbam, is a cause for celebration.  This is exactly what a siyum is.

Rabeinu Gershom reads the gemara differently. He comments:

ולפי שעה שהיו עסוקים לכרות עצי המערכה היו מתבטלין בתלמוד תורה אבל אותו יום פסקו ועשאוהו יום טוב שמיכן ואילך היו עוסקין בתורה:

The celebration was not because of the siyum of a mitzvah, but rather because not having to chop wood allowed more time for learning. The motivation behind R' Gershom's reading becomes clear from the next line in the gemara:

מִכָּאן וְאֵילָךְ, דְּמוֹסִיף – יוֹסִיף, שֶׁאֵינוֹ מוֹסִיף – יְסִיף. מַאי ״יְסִיף״? תָּנֵי רַב יוֹסֵף: תִּקְבְּרֵיהּ אִמֵּיהּ.

Since the nights grow longer after 15 Av, a person is required to spend more time at night learning.

According to Rashbam, this is a stand alone statement.  It has nothing to do with wood chopping except in the sense that it's the change in season that is the root cause of both events, i.e. a shortened day means both less sun to dry the wood and a longer night to learn. According to R' Gershom, there is a direct connection between the two statements.  The whole celebration of the cessation of wood chopping was because it allowed for more time to learn.

A second source for the idea of making a siyum quoted in Rishonim has to do with a feast made by Shlomo haMelech. In Sefer Melachim ch 3, Shlomo haMelech is told by Hashem to ask for what he pleases, and he responds by requesting chochma. Hashem was so pleased by that choice that in addition to chochma, Hashem gave Shlomo riches and all the other good things he could have asked for instead. Shlomo responded by celebrating.

וַיִּקַץ שְׁלֹמֹה וְהִנֵּה חֲלוֹם, וַיָּבוֹא יְרוּשָׁלִַם וַיַּעֲמֹד לִפְנֵי אֲרוֹן בְּרִית ה', וַיַּעַל עֹלוֹת וַיַּעַשׂ שְׁלָמִים וַיַּעַשׂ מִשְׁתֶּה לְכָל עֲבָדָיו.

The Midrash (Koheles Rabbah) learns from here אמר רבי יצחק: מכאן שעושין סעודה לגומרה של תורה.

The Ohr Zarua (vol 2 hil sukkah) writes that this is the source for our celebration of Simchas Torah:

בתשיעי ספק שמיני אנו עושין שמחת תורה, ומסיימין התורה ומתחילין בראשית, וחתני תורה עושין סעודה לכבוד גמר תורה. ובמלכותנו בשושני"א עושים חתני תורה סעודה גמורה, ומזמנין מבני הקהל ונותנים להם מאכלים טובים אווזות ותרנגולין. ומצאתי עיקרו של מנהג אני המחבר יצחק ב"ר משה נב"ה בתחילת מדרש שה"ש, ויבוא ירושלים ויעמוד לפני ארון ברית ה', אמר רבי יצחק מיכן שעושין סעודה לגומרה של תורה... הנה כשנתן לו הקדוש ברוך הוא חכמה, לכבוד החכמה עשה משתה, ומיכן למד רבי יצחק שהגומר תורה שכולה חכמה שצריך לעשות סעודה ומשתה

You cannot characterize Shlomo haMelech's celebration as one of משלימין מצוה גדולה, like the Rashbam's sevara. Aderaba, he hadn't done anything yet; there was no mitzvah which he had completed or fulfilled. Shlomo was simply the beneficiary of a gift from Hashem. The reason for his celebration was because he now had achieved a higher level of ruchniyus and could potentially accomplish more. The idea of a siyum, of Simchas Torah, is that the completion of a masechta, or of a cycle of Torah reading, means a person has grown and is a better, more elevated person than they were beforehand. Maybe this is why at a siyum we say "hadran alach," that we will return to our learning. The siyum is not celebrating the past, but rather is celebrating the potential for the future.  The next time around is not just a repeat, but is a deeper, richer experience than before, as we are a different person now encountering the text.

I would be remiss if I did not mention in the list of sources the gemara (Shabbos 118b) that says Abayei would make a siyum when a student finished a masechta.  I think this is the source people are most familiar with:

וְאָמַר אַבָּיֵי: תֵּיתֵי לִי, דְּכִי חָזֵינָא צוּרְבָּא מֵרַבָּנַן דִּשְׁלִים מַסֶּכְתֵּיהּ עָבֵידְנָא יוֹמָא טָבָא לְרַבָּנַן

The problem with using this gemara as a source for a siyum is that the sugya there is discussing various hidurim of amoraim for which they were rewarded. The implication is that Abayei's practice was not the norm, but was something exceptional done on his part. Secondly, Rashi comments: עבידנא יומא טבא לרבנן - לתלמידים ראש ישיבה היה. The point of telling us Abayei's job - rosh yeshiva - is that it seems that making the siyum was part and parcel of his job function. How do you encourage the students? By celebrating their achievements. It is hard to generalize from there to someone making a seudah to celebrate their own completion of a masechta.

Since a woman or a katan have no mitzvah to learn, I would think that we can't really call their accomplishment being משלימין מצוה גדולה. How can you be mashlim a mitzvah when there is no mitzvah incumbent upon you to do? I do hear the counterargument that even an "aino metzuveh" deserves credit for accomplishment, but I am not entirely convinced.  The source from Shlomo haMelech, however, would include even a woman and even a katan, as it has nothing to do with the mitzvah per se so much as the effect it has on the individual.

T"u b'Av -- a feminist holiday

The gemara at the end of Ta'anis tells us that the two biggest yamim tovim for Klal Yisrael were 15 Av and Yom Kippur.  On those days the girls would go out into the fields and dance and the boys would come and find their shidduch (simple solution to the shidduch crisis).  The girls who had money would say, "Marry us for our money," the girls who had yichus would say, "Marry for yichus!" and the girls who had nothing would say, "Marry l'shem shamayim and then afterwards give us gold jewelry."

We all know why Yom Kippur is a special day, and the gemara gives a hosts of reasons why 15 Av was a special day, among them that on that day the dor ha'midbar stopped dying for the sin of cheit ha'meraglim.  But why were these days in particular the days set aside to make shidduchim?  What does finding a girl to marry have to do with the nature of these days?

Secondly, what does the gemara mean when it tells us that the girls who said to get married added, "And buy us gold jewelry!"  It seems incongruous with the call to act "l'shem shamayim."  Were the girls who said that being disingenuous and just needed a way to snatch a boy when they had nothing else going for them?  Do we really have to be that cynical?   It's strange that the gemara even bothers add this line about gold when it has nothing to do with the shidduch itself.   Maharasha writes that it's just a "milsa b'alma," but maybe there is more to it.

There were two major sins that Klal Yisrael committed en route to Eretz Yisrael: 1) the sin of the cheit ha'eigel = abandoning G-d; 2) the sin of the meraglim = abandoning Eretz Yisrael.  There was one group of people, however, who did not involve themselves in either sin -- the women of Klal Yisrael.  By the cheit ha'eigel the women did not willingly turn over their gold jewelry to their husbands to make the golden calf.  When it came time to apportion Eretz Yisrael, it was the Bnos Tzelafchad who demonstrated their love of the land and demanded a portion. 

Yom Kippur is the tikun of the cheit ha'eigel.  On that day Hashem gave us the second luchos, a second chance after the first were broken by Moshe in response to the eigel. 

T"u b'Av is the day the dying of the generation of the midbar stopped.  It brought closure to the cheit ha'meraglim.

For the women who needed no tikun, these days are "feminist" holidays -- days when they could boast of their superiority.  Not holidays of modern feminism, where women want to be men, but Torah feminism, when women can be proud of their own stellar achievements.  On these days the women reach out to their male counterparts and call, "bachur, sa na einecha," lift up your eyes and look at the madreiga we reached!   These are days of shidduchim because on these days the bachurim reach out to find partners to help bring up their level of ruchniyus. 

The conclusion, "Adorn us in gold jewelry," is not just an aside, but is part of the whole message, explains the Sefas Emes in Likutim.  The women could boast that they deserved to be adorned with the gold that they did not turn over to the eigel, the gold that we men so eagerly surrendered for avodah zarah.

When we lost Eretz Yisrael and the Mikdash and went into galus, we lost T"u b'Av.  We lost the tikun for the cheit ha'meraglim.  All that is left is Yom Kippur, the tikun for the cheit of avodah zarah.

Maybe a reinvigoration of T"u b'Av is something to look forward to as we get closer to geulah.

Tu B'Av

Earlier this month we discussed how the character of Av is defined by the personality of Aharon haKohen, whose yahrzeit and birthday (see Kid. 38) are on Rosh Chodesh Av. Maharal (in Ohr Chadash) explains that the 15th of any month is the point at which the character of the month is expressed most fully (actually the Maharal focuses on the 14th and uses his yesod to explain the date of Purim; be that as it may, the 15th is still significant as the point immediately after the character of the month has attained fullest expression). Aharon was a paragon of chessed; he was oheiv shalom v'rodef shalom. For this reason, the 15th of Av, the holiday of Tu b'Av, is a date replete with shalom and chessed. On this day the ban instituted because of the pilegesh b'Givah incident prohibiting sheivet Binyamin from intermarrying with other tribes was lifted and peace between the tribes was restored. On this day the ban against women of the dor hamidbar who were yorshos intermarrying with other tribes was lifted. This day was the day (as described in the Mishna in Ta'anis, see my wife's posts on the topic here) that women would go out to the vineyards to dance and choose their husbands. The gemara writes that there is an obligation to increase Torah study at night from the 15th of Av onward, as the nights grow longer. The Koshiglover explains the reason is because Torah brings peace and harmony into the world -- "talmidei chachamim marbim shalom ba'olam." Tu b'Av marks the completion of our "shiva week" for churban habayis that began on 9Av (see R' Tzadok haKohen). What better way to end the mourning caused by sinas chinam than to rededicate and celebrate shalom v'rei'us.

a R' Tzadok thought for Tu B'Av

My wife did a series of posts (here, here, and here) on two variant readings of the Mishna/gemara which lists the groups of girls who would go husband seeking on Tu b'Av and what they would say. The text of the Bavli at the end of Ta'anis lists three groups of girls: those who were beautiful, those with yichus, and those who were ugly but asked their chassanim to marry for the sake of Heaven. The Ein Ya'akov divides the last group into rich girls who said to marry for money, and poor girls who had nothing.

R' Tzadok cites a Pri Eitz Chaim that sees this marriage dance as a hint to the relationship between the Jewish people, the kallah, and G-d, our prospective bridegroom and the 4 groups of girls as corresponding to the 4 letters of the Shem Havaya. While it is beyond our ability to fully understand these matters, there is one R' Tzadok-ish point worth taking note of. Had you asked me I would have said that the ugly, poor girls correspond to the last letter hey in the Shem Havaya. That last letter hey is a hint to this world, the lowest sefira of malchus, the furthest point from G-d's direct grace. Not so, says R' Tzadok. The ugly and poor girls are actually a hint to the letter yud, the most spiritual letter, hinting to the highest point of keser, the greatest experience of G-dliness.

The problem with religion is we get all caught up in the trappings, whether is a geshmak chiddush of R' Chaim or a tasty kugel and cholent, or even the beauty of certain mitzvos. When you strip away all of that, for many of us there is not much left. But the truth is that when you strip away all of that stuff, that's not the end of religion, but the beginning -- at that point all that is left is you and G-d, one on one. Pretty scary thought. But that's why when you are done talking about yichus, money, even who is a bigger talmid Chacham, when you don't even want to talk about that stuff or can't talk about that stuff because it just doesn't apply, then you are left with the first yud, the keser, the start of it all, the real ikar and real l'shem Shamayim of it all.

Maybe that's why Tu B'Av comes right after we complete our week of shiva which began on 9 Av (see R' Tzadok). When there is no more Beis haMikdash, when everything we had is taken away, only then can we begin to rediscover what is real and meaningful. And with that discovery will will hopefully be led to the dedication of a new mikdash, which as the Pesikta writes, will occur on Tu B'Av, b'meheira b'yameinu.