Borrowed Dresses, Borrowed Hearts – The Hidden Greatness of Tu B’Av

 Most people knowthat Tu B’Av is considered the Jewish “holiday of love.” Fewer know that theMishnah calls it one of the happiest days of the entire year—even placing italongside Yom Kippur. Why? What could possibly make this almost-forgotten dayso extraordinary?  Inthis class, we set aside the familiar historical events of Tu B’Av and focusinstead on one seemingly insignificant detail: the daughters of Jerusalemborrowed white dresses from one another before going out to the vineyards. Whydid the Mishnah preserve that image? What does a borrowed dress teach us aboutdignity, generosity, marriage, community, and ultimately the rebuilding of theBeit HaMikdash?  Morethan a lesson about shidduchim, this is a lesson about becoming people whocreate connections. In a world where we often remain safely within our own“dalet amot”—our personal space—Tu B’Av challenges us to step beyond ourselves,to invite others in, and to replace the divisions of Tisha B’Av with acts ofahavat chinam. Sometimes rebuilding the Jewish people doesn’t begin with grandgestures. Sometimes it begins with one borrowed dress, one open heart, and onecourageous step toward another person.