Jewish Day of Love: Tu B'Av

A popular date for weddings, the fifteenth of the Hebrew month of Av (Tu B’av) is celebrated in modern Israel as a holiday of love similar to Valentine’s Day. According to the Talmud, in the ancient world on this date unmarried women would dress in white and go out to dance in the vineyards and choose a husband. Though there are not many traditional rituals associated with the holiday, contemporary rituals have been created to explore the theme of love.

Latest Rituals

Chant and poem for Tu b’Av
Daughters of Tu b’Av

“Here, in hearth of heart, / All is made whole.”

Shir Hashirim: The Song of Songs
A midrashic tale of how twelve sisters, representing each of the twelve months, gather to dance and celebrate Tu b’Av
Dance of the Twelve Sisters: A Tu b’Av Story

A ritual to mark gender transition and celebrate freedom

Tu B’Av Ritual to Celebrate Transgender Transition

A Rosh Chodesh ritual that draws on Tu B’Av’s traditional association with the celebration of women and love to honor communally the love and losses that shape so much of our experiences of any given year

A Tu B’Av Ritual: Beyond the Jewish Valentine’s Day

The Reconstructionist Network

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