From the Flames of Tishah Be’Av to the Joy of Tu Be’Av

 This past Shabbatwe entered Shabbat Naḥamu, the Shabbat ofComfort, and with it began the seven weeks that lead us from the ashes ofTishah Be’Av toward the hope of Rosh HaShanah. Then, on Tuesday night andWednesday, we celebrate Tu Be’Av, the fifteenthday of the Hebrew month of Av, a day that our Sages describe as one of thehappiest days of the Jewish year. How can the Jewish calendar move so quicklyfrom the deepest national mourning to one of its greatest celebrations? Whatchanged in just a few days? In thismorning’s class we explore a profound answer. Tu Be’Av is not a departure fromTishah Be’Av—it is its completion. The destruction of the Beit HaMikdash wasnot only our tragedy; it was, so to speak, HaShem’s. When our mourning maturesfrom grieving what we lost torecognizing the pain caused to Avinu ShebaShamayim, consolationcan begin. Drawing upon the Gemara, Midrash, and the timeless teachings passeddown by my rabbis, we discover why Tu Be’Av stands alongside Yom Kippur as aday of joy, how true teshuvah is rooted in empathy for HaShem, and why thefirst steps toward rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash begin not with stones, butwith repaired relationships—with HaShem and with one another.