Today is the first day of the month of Av. The month of Av is the fifth month of the year when counting months from Nissan, as Jewish tradition requires. This is exactly how – as the “fifth month” – the Torah refers to it, where it is written: “And Aaron ascended… to Mount Hor… and he died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month” (Bamidbar 33:38).
Rosh Chodesh Av is always observed for one day, since the preceding month of Tamuz is incomplete (i.e., it has 29 days). The month of Av itself is always full, meaning it lasts 30 days.
The name “Av” is of Babylonian origin (as are the names of the other months). This month is also called Menachem Av (“Comforter of Av”), because in it we await consolation for the grief it has brought us – primarily, for the destruction of the First and Second Temples. There is an opinion that this name of the month is connected with the fact that the Book of Eichah, which recounts the destruction of the Temple, consists of verses whose first letters form the alphabet in order, and thus the Almighty grants consolation to the entire Hebrew alphabet (alef-bet) in the month of Av (a word composed of the letters alef and bet).
There is a custom that one who writes a date in a letter written before the 9th of Av refers to the month simply as Av, while one who does so after the 9th of Av calls it Menachem Av.
The main commemorative date in history associated with Av is, undoubtedly, the 9th of Av, which is called a “moed” – a festival – in the Book of Eichah. It is written there: “He has appointed a festival” (Eichah 1:15). This means that in the future, the Almighty will transform the 9th of Av from a day of mourning and fasting into a holiday, a day of joy and gladness.
