Said Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel:
There were no greater festivals for Israel
than the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur (Talmud, Taanit 26b)
The Talmud goes on to list several joyous events which occurred on the 15th
day of the month of Av:
1) The dying of the generation of the Exodus ceased. Several
months after the people of Israel were freed from Egyptian slavery, the incident
of the "Spies" demonstrated their
unpreparedness for the task of conquering the land of Canaan and developing it
as the "Holy Land." G-d decreed that that entire generation would die out in
the desert, and that their children would enter the land in their stead (as
recounted in Numbers 13 and 14). After 40 years of wandering through the
wilderness, the dying finally ended, and a new generation of Jews stood ready to
enter the Holy Land. It was the 15th of Av of the year 2487 from creation (1274
BCE).
As long as members of this doomed generation were still alive, G-d didn't communicate with Moses. As soon as the last of these men died, once again G-d lovingly communicated with Moses.
2) The tribes of Israel were permitted to intermarry. In order to
ensure the orderly division of the Holy Land between the twelve tribes of
Israel, restrictions had been placed on marriages between members of two
different tribes. A woman who had inherited tribal lands from her father was
forbidden to marry out of her tribe, lest her children -- members of their
father's tribe -- cause the transfer of land from one tribe to another by
inheriting her estate (as recounted in Numbers 36). This ordinance was binding
on the generation that conquered and settled the Holy Land; when the restriction
was lifted, on the 15th of Av, the event was considered a cause for celebration
and festivity.
3) The tribe of Benjamin was permitted to enter the community. Av 15
was also the day on which the tribe of Benjamin, which had been excommunicated
for its behavior in the incident of the "Concubine at Givah," was readmitted
into the community of Israel (as related in Judges 19-21; this occurred during
the judgeship of Othniel ben Knaz, who led the people of Israel in the years
2533-2573 from creation (1228-1188 BCE)).
4) Hosea ben Eilah opened the roads to Jerusalem. Upon the division of
the Holy Land into two kingdoms following the death of King Solomon in the year
2964 from creation (797 BCE), Jeroboam ben Nebat, ruler of the breakaway
Northern Kingdom of Israel, set up roadblocks to prevent his citizens from
making the thrice-yearly pilgrimage to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, capital of
the Southern Kingdom of Judea. These were finally removed more than 200 years
later by Hosea ben Eilah, the last king of the Northern Kingdom, on Av 15, 3187
(574 BCE).
5) The dead of Betar were allowed to be buried. The fortress of Betar
was the last holdout of the Bar Kochba rebellion. When Betar fell on the 9th of
Av, 3893 (133 CE), Bar Kochba and many thousands of Jews were killed; the Romans
massacred the survivors of the battle with great cruelty and would not even
allow the Jews to bury their dead. When the dead of Betar were finally brought
to burial on Av 15, 3908 (148 CE), an additional blessing (HaTov VehaMeitiv)
was added to the "Grace After Meals" in commemoration.
6) "The day of the breaking of the ax." When the Holy Temple stood
in Jerusalem, the annual cutting of firewood for the altar was concluded on the
15th of Av. The event was celebrated with feasting and rejoicing (as is the
custom upon the conclusion of a holy endeavor) and included a ceremonial
breaking of the axes which gave the day its name.
