Today is the 15th day of the month of Av, of which it is stated in the Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Ta’anit): “There were no holidays for the Jewish people like the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur.” The 15th of Av is the first festive day that arrives after the somber and mournful day of the 9th of Av, for the 15th of every month is always a special day, as it is the day of the full moon.
The Fifteenth of Av (which in 2026 falls on July 29) is undoubtedly the most mysterious day of the Jewish calendar. If one looks into the Shulchan Aruch (the code of Jewish law), one will not find mention of any rituals for this day, except that in prayers on this day Tachanun (the penitential prayer) is not recited, as on other festive days, and that beginning from the 15th of Av, one should devote more time to Torah study, as the nights grow longer, and “the night was created for study.”
And this day the Talmud calls the greatest holiday of the year, alongside Yom Kippur, assigning the latter the honorable second place!
In truth, the 15th of Av cannot fail to be a mystery. Falling on the full moon of the tragic month of Av, it is a holiday of the future Geulah, and consequently, a day whose essence is by definition unknowable to us, who are still not yet redeemed…
In the past, beautiful customs were associated with this day. For example, on the 15th of Av, the daughters of Israel would go out to dance in the vineyards. The Talmud states that absolutely all the girls went out in borrowed white dresses.
It was an absolute requirement that the dress be borrowed from another girl. This was done so as not to embarrass the one who did not have a dress due to poverty. So that even girls from the poorest families would not feel ashamed, the girls from the most noble families had to lend their white dresses for the evening. When a girl wears a borrowed dress (from someone else’s shoulders), she may not feel entirely comfortable, and the style may not be exactly to her taste. But she pays no attention to this—the most important thing is that everyone should rejoice on this festive day; no one should be shamed or saddened. The meaning of this custom is explained in the Talmud: “Everyone who did not have a wife would come here.” The most famous such instance of choosing wives is also described in Tanach, in the Book of Judges. To this day, some try to arrange a Chuppah specifically on the 15th of Av, as it is considered an auspicious day for lovers.
In an address from May 27, 1984, the Lubavitcher Rebbe explains what the Jewish meaning of marriage is.
