Hello John and Doves,
Several interesting dates
coming up in August.
"The Three Weeks" of
mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple began on the
17th of Tammuz and concludes with the fast of 9th of Av.
During the start of the 9th
of Av (the evening before) the Book of Lamentations is read in
the synagogue. It is a day of fasting, abstention and
lamentation. This is also the day where the Jews made graves
for themselves and slept in them until the 40th year of
wandering in the wilderness was over (see the info and link
below).
It begins on sunset on Thursday,
August 15 and ends at sunset on Friday, August 16,
it "served as a matchmaking day for unmarried women in the
Second Temple period (before the fall of Jerusalem in 70
C.E.)". This is a day "the daughters of Israel/Jerusalem
go out dressed in white and dance in the vineyards."
Tu
B'Av, the Jewish Day of Love | My Jewish Learning
It "marks the beginning of
the grape harvest", which ended on Yom Kippur in the Second
Temple period.
Tu B'Av marks the end of the
deaths of the generation that came out of Egypt (because of
the Sin of the Spies) - at the end of the fortieth year of
wandering in the wilderness. "The Talmud tells that for
forty years the Jews made graves for themselves every Tish
B'Av night and slept in them - each year a portion of them
died. In the fortieth year those who remained (15,000)
woke up next morning surprised to be alive. Thinking
they were mistaken in the date they slept in their graves
every night until Tu B'Av - the night of the full moon
confirming there was no mistake in their calculation of the
correct date. When they realized no more of their
generation would die there was great rejoicing."
Tu
B'Av | Etz Hayim—"Tree of Life" https://etz-hayim.com/resources/articles/tu_b-av.php
I am reminded of Micah 7 and Micah going out to
the vineyard and finding no grapes - Woe is me! All
the good men of the earth have been snatched away! The
day of your watchman has come! We are surrounded by
evil! Sounds like a description of the Rapture
followed by the Tribulation.
Also, at this time of year,
we get the Perseid meteors.
Then after this month of Av,
we move on to Elul, then Tishrei with the last three Feast
Days of the year.
Maranatha!
Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem!
Chance