A Celebration of Love and the Coming of the Messiah - Tu B'Av [2]
The
Talmud offers a couple explanations for the connection not only to love and
romance, but also marriage.
Rabbi Judah bar Ilai said that Samuel of Nehardea
(died c. AD 257) described the holiday as a yearly celebration commemorating
the lifting of the prohibition of intermarriage between tribes described in
Numbers 36: “This is the thing which the LORD
doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad…only to the family of the
tribe of their father shall they marry: So shall not the inheritance of the
children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe.” Rabbah bar Hana (died AD
322) refers to the teachings of Rabbi Johanan bar Nappaha (AD 180–279) who more
generally taught that Av 15 marked the end of
the prohibition of intermarriage with the tribe of Benjamin as described in
Judges 20–21. Following the battle at Gibeah, there was a shortage
of wives for the surviving men of Benjamin, so the men were allowed to take
wives at an annual festival of the Lord at Shiloh (Judges 21:19),
grabbing them as they came out to dance in the vineyards during the harvest
festival. This occurred on Tu B'Av, the beginning of the grape harvest. "The LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob like
the splendor of Israel, though destroyers have laid them waste and have ruined
their vines." (Nahum 2:2)
Woman in an Israeli vineyard
Tu B'Av: the Temple, the Torah, and Loving God
Yet another Talmudic teaching states that Tu B'Av
is a memorial of a decision by King Hoshea, the last king of Israel.
King Hosea voided a decree made 50 years earlier by King Jeroboam that forbade
the people from making pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Rabbi Jacob
Bar Acha (3rd Century) explains that Tu B'Av was the end of the woodcutting
season, the annual cutting of firewood for the
altar in the Holy Temple for the year. The event was celebrated with
feasting, rejoicing, song, and dance, and included a ceremonial breaking of the
axe. Bar Acha connected the celebratory nature of Tu B’Av with the time when
the days begin to grow shorter. And because nighttimes is considered the
time to study Torah, it signals increased study of God’s Word.
Priest at the Altar
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rebbe Schneerson, stressed
the importance of loving God—a trait that is acquired when one studies God’s
Word and in this way comes to know Him. Of course, prayer, which is “the
service of the heart,” is one way that we approach God in order to show Him our
love. (Chabad) Still, love did not abound during the days of
Yeshua (Jesus) and the Second Temple. The rabbis say that baseless hatred
of Jews against Jews ultimately resulted in the destruction of the Temple and
the exile of Adonai's people. Of course, in our time, we are witnesses to
Adonai's drawing His people home to the Holy Land, but the Temple has yet to be
built. Yet there is always hope. As Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook declared,
“The [Second] Temple was destroyed because of causeless hatred [among Jews]; it
can be rebuilt only by causeless love.” Of course, there is no greater example of causeless love than Yeshua.
Those who follow Him become the temple of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit)
whose love abounds within that temple, helping us love others without cause.
"We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)
Tu B’Av, Redemption, and the Messiah
“As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice
over you.” (Isaiah 62:5)
As a whole, this day of love on the Jewish calendar
is still a very mysterious day; nevertheless, Orthodox Jews recognize that it
points to the Messiah. Since it falls on the full moon of what is
otherwise a tragic month, it hints at a future redemption. We can better
understand this concept if we consider that the full moon brings light to the
darkness of a month that commemorates repeated judgment of sin. Still, during
Temple Times, both Yom Kippur and Tu B'Av were the traditional days for
matchmaking for young men and women of Jerusalem—a
redemption of sorts from singlehood into betrothal, from loneliness to the
promise of intimate relationship. Likewise, Yom Kippur marks the day
on which the Second Tablets were given to Moses and represents the fulfillment
of the covenant at Mount Sinai—a redemption from slavery to a nation possessing
a covenant with the Creator of the Universe.
An Israeli bride stands with her family.
Jewish tradition holds that the Messiah will reveal
himself to his bride on Av 15. Of course, Believers in Yeshua HaMashiach
understand that He is the Bridegroom who betrothed Himself to us on the day He
atoned for our sins as “the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) He is the
Bridegroom (the Lamb of God) who will be returning for His ready bride. “'Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let
us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has
come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ And to her it was granted to
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous
acts of the saints. ... Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the
marriage supper of the Lamb!’” (Revelation 19:6–9)
The Bridegroom saved His beloved for no other reason than causeless
love.
And when He returns for His bride, the Glory of the
Lord will enter the newly built Temple and the Messianic Era will begin. Dear
reader, on Tu B'Av, let us signal the coming of the Bridegroom and ready
ourselves for the marriage supper of the Lamb by loving others as He loved
us—without cause.
God loves Israel and has an irrevocable covenant
with us. Please be a part of His end-time plan for the complete
restoration of the nation, let’s us bring the love of God to Israel and the
nations. "Because the LORD loved you
and kept the oath He swore to your ancestors that He brought you out with a
mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery.... Know therefore
that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of
love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His
commandments." (Deuteronomy 7:8–9) "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are
few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His
harvest field." (Luke 10:2)