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MembersWhat is the origin of Tu B’Av?

What’s come to be known as Israel’s version of Valentine’s Day is much more than mere imitation of a beloved Christian holiday.

Israelis take photos in front of a Tu B'Av display at a mall in northern Israel. Photo by Michael Giladi/Flash90
Israelis take photos in front of a Tu B'Av display at a mall in northern Israel. Photo by Michael Giladi/Flash90

For many Jews and especially Israelis, Tu B’Av is the Jewish holiday of love, the local equivalent of the Christian Valentine’s Day. Tu B’Av is celebrated these days like Valentine’s Day. Couples go out to spend time together, men send women flowers and chocolates, and woe to the Jewish man who forgets spoil his significant other. But Tu B’Av is not a Jewish imitation of a Christian holiday, and has deep roots in the history and tradition of the people of Israel and Judaism. Just like the sufganiyah that you eat on Hanukkah is not a Jewish imitation of a doughnut, which we eat it in accordance with the custom to remember the miracle of the oil that was able to light the menorah for eight days.

The first event that took place on Tu B’Av was in the 40th year of the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert. On Tu B’Av in the second year of the wanderings of the Israelites, the sin of the spies occurred, therefore every year after...

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Patrick Callahan

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