Tu B'Av, literally the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av, falls on August 19 this year. It’s the Jewish “Holiday of Love.” Our own Valentine’s Day, if you will.
In biblical times, the unmarried women of Jerusalem would wear white on Tu B'Av, and go out to dance in the vineyards (which coincided with the grape harvest). There, they might be chosen as brides by the unmarried men. I guess, nowadays, we would call it a rave.
For years, Tu B'Av was not a major holiday in Israel. While it is mentioned in the Talmud and had some importance in ancient Israel, it hasn’t been widely observed in Jewish communities for many centuries. In all the years that I've been part of the romantic scene (shall we say, age 12 onwards), I've never celebrated it.
But for the past couple of decades, it's been growing in importance and promoted as the "holiday of love". Florists, jewelry stores, and other retailers promote special sales and products leading up to the holiday, just like on Valentine's Day. My generation likes to look down on it, thinking that its ascendance in modern Israel has to do with commercial reasons.
But being a cynic is not very romantic, and I am a romance author. After all, I wrote three books that celebrate love and romance in my city of Tel Aviv. There's got to be more to the holiday of love than just selling overpriced flowers.
Back in Passover, I told you of what kibbutzim did to adapt the Haggadah (the text that guides the Passover Seder, recounting the story of the Exodus from Egypt), in order to renovate the ancient text and infuse it with new traditions. A similar argument can be made for the revival of Tu B'av. There is a tie here to a broader cultural and national movement in Israel: the wish to reconnect with ancient traditions and create new ones that resonate with modern times.
I wanted to see if the buzz around the holiday was just hot air or if young people in Tel Aviv and Israel had truly embraced it. So, I did some "research" - I asked my 29-year-old daughter if she and her friends were celebrating. She said yes, every year. This year, with everything that's going on, they still decided to celebrate. Sort of a F*ck you to all haters, Tel Aviv's spirit won't be crushed.
I agree.
Let's seize every opportunity to celebrate love - whether it's dancing under the stars, sharing a heartfelt conversation, or floating on Gordon's salty water pool, with drinks and a DJ.
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