August 2 - August 30   2008

Printer-friedly version This month's poster shows the same Jerusalem stone we saw in the Kislev and Tevet posters that represent the building blocks of the Holy Temple. The blocks are tumbling on a fiery background symbolizing the destruction of the temple.   The name of 'This New Month' is Av Rosh Chodesh Av is Saturday, August 2 and the month of Av ends on Saturday, August 30   2008 The Themes for Av are: Appreciating Life's Treasures Emotions Bringing Comfort to those in Need Holidays in Av are: Tisha B'Av Tu B'Av   When the summer comes, it's hard to remember that the Jewish holidays don't end with Shavuot. In the month of Av, the Jewish people celebrate two very different holidays. The first, Tisha B'Av, commemorates the many disasters that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history. The second, Tu B'Av, just six days later, celebrates young love. Based on the writings of the biblical prophet Zechariah, Jewish tradition established four fast days of mourning throughout the year. (Yom Kippur is not one of these days. It is a day of atonement and not of mourning.) According to Zechariah, the second fast day is to occur in the fifth month of the year, the month of Av. This day commemorates both the destruction of the First Temple, by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and the Second Temple, by the Romans in 70 CE and is held on the ninth day of the month of Av, also known as Tisha B'Av. Just six days after Tisha B'Av, on Tu B'Av, the fifteenth day of the month, Jews celebrate one of the loveliest, but unfortunately, one of the most forgotten, holidays of the Jewish year. According to tradition, the fifteenth of Av was the day on which the young women of Jerusalem would leave their work in the vineyards and search for a young man to marry. About Tu B'Av, the Rabbis wrote: "There has not been a better day for Israel (the Jewish people) than the fifteenth of Av" (Mishnah, Tractate Ta'anit 4:8). The month of Av offers the Jewish people moments of commemoration and moments of celebration. As much as we should use Tisha B'Av to remember the calamities of Jewish history, we should use Tu B'Av to remember that the happier moments for the Jewish people can be just as powerful as the sad ones.   CREDITS: The JCC Association would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to the Av portion of the "This New Month" Project. Jonathan Fass Simi Peters

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