The Laws of the 15th of Av

The Laws of the 15th of Av

3 Av 5785 | July 28 , 2025

a. Our Sages, of blessed memory, said: There were no good days for Israel like the fifteenth of Av and like Yom Kippur1, and one should slightly increase joy on it for there is an elevation to the Divine Presence2 (Shechinah).

b. The day of the 15th of Av is forty days before the 25th of Elul, which is the day of the creation of the world, and on that day, they announced in heaven the creation of the world. Therefore, one should increase repentance and good deeds from here onwards, as the light of the Days of Awe is emerging and coming. And they already said (Amos 3:8): "A lion has roared, who will not fear"—"Lion" (Aryeh) is the acronym for Elul, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Hoshana Rabbah, and the month of Av, its mazal (zodiac sign) is a lion (Aryeh)3.

c. We do not fall on our faces [do not recite Tachanun] on this day, nor in the Mincha service before it4. And we do not say in the Shacharit prayer, the psalm, Ya'ancha, nor the psalm "Tefillah LeDavid5. And so too, we do not fast on it6. And when it falls on Shabbat, we do not say " Tzidkatcha7 at Mincha.

d. In the Grace After Meals of the 15th of Av, one should intend specifically in the blessing "He who is good and does good" (HaTov VeHaMetiv) regarding the slain of Beitar who were given for burial on this very day8.

e. There are pious people and men of action who begin to study the order of Tikkunei Zohar from the fifteenth of Av until Yom Kippur9.

f. One should be careful to add [time] to Torah study from the 15th of Av onwards, and especially at night, because from now on the nights become long, and our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "He who adds [to study], life will be added to him.10"

g. On the 20th day of the month of Av, people perform Hatarat Nedarim (annulment of vows), which is forty days before Rosh Hashanah, and it is good to perform annulment before ten [men]. And they were accustomed to also perform annulment on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Elul, which is forty days before Yom Kippur, and it is a fine custom so that any rebuke or ban from the Heavenly Court above will be removed from him. And he should be careful from here on in all matters so that he will not incur a rebuke or ban from the Heavenly Court above, so that his prayer will be heard on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur11.

Insights and Analysis

1. We learned in [Tractate] Taanit (26b): Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said, There were no good days for Israel like the fifteenth of Av and like Yom Kippur, on which the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed white garments, so as not to embarrass anyone who did not have them; all the garments required immersion [ritual purification]. And the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards. And what would they say? Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself; do not set your eyes on beauty, set your eyes on family: "False is grace and vain is beauty, a woman who fears Hashem—she shall be praised." And it says: "Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates." And it also says: "Go out and see, daughters of Zion, King Solomon in the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding and on the day of his heart’s gladness"—"on the day of his wedding," this is the giving of the Torah; "and on the day of his heart’s gladness," this is the building of the Holy Temple, may it be rebuilt speedily in our days. End of quote.

And in the Gemara (30b): Granted, Yom Kippur [is a joyful day]—because it contains forgiveness and pardon, [and it is] the day on which the second Tablets [of the Law] were given. But the fifteenth of Av, what is it? Rav Yehuda said in the name of Shmuel: The day on which the tribes were permitted to enter into [intermarry with] one another. What is the biblical interpretation? "This is the thing that Hashem commanded..." regarding the daughters of Tzlophechad, etc.—this restriction [against intermarriage between the tribes] shall not be practiced except in that generation. Rav Yosef said in the name of Rav Nachman: The day on which the tribe of Binyamin (Benjamin) was permitted to enter into the congregation, as it is stated, "And the men of Israel swore at Mizpah, saying: No man among us shall give his daughter to Binyamin as a wife." What is the biblical interpretation? Said Rav: "From us," and not from our children. Rabbah bar bar Chana said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: The day on which the dead of the wilderness ceased [dying]. For the Master said: As long as the dead of the wilderness had not ceased, the divine speech was not with Moshe, as it is stated: "And it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed to die from among the people, that Hashem spoke to me, saying"—to me was the divine speech. Ulla said: The day on which Hoshea son of Elah abolished the guards (prosdiot) that Yeravam son of Nevat had placed on the roads so that Israel would not go up for the festival pilgrimage, and he said: To whichever [place] they want, let them go up. Rav Mattana said: The day on which the slain of Beitar were given for burial. And Rav Mattana said: On the day the slain of Beitar were given for burial, they established in Yavneh [the blessing of] "He who is good and does good" (HaTov VeHaMetiv)—"He who is good," for they did not putrefy; "and does good," for they were given for burial. Rabbah and Rav Yosef both said: The day on which they ceased from cutting down trees for the altar's pyre. As it was taught in a baraita, Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: From the fifteenth of Av onwards, the power of the sun weakens, and they would no longer cut down trees for the altar's pyre, because they do not dry out [well]. Rav Menashya said: And they called it the "day of breaking the scythe."

And another reason for joy is that from this day onward, the nights lengthen, [so] each person must add to his study of Torah more during the nights, and they will add life to his life, as it is stated (Proverbs 9:11): "For by Me your days shall be multiplied, and years of life shall be added to you," and so it is stated (ibid. 3:16): "Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor." And so said our Sages, of blessed memory (Mishna Avot, chapter 2, Mishna 7): "He who increases Torah, increases life." (Tractate Taanit 30b; 31a.)

Our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Sanhedrin 92b): Any house in which words of Torah are not heard at night—fire consumes it, Heaven forbid. And the Rambam wrote (Chapter 3 of the Laws of Torah Study, Law 13): Even though it is a commandment to study Torah by day and by night, a person learns most of his wisdom only at night, as it is stated: "And you shall meditate upon it day and night." And thus, the Sages said: The song of Torah is found only at night, as it is stated: "Arise, cry out (alt. translation, sing out) in the night." And so said the Sages (Avodah Zarah 3b): "Anyone who engages in Torah at night, a thread of grace is drawn over him by day" [that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives him favor in the eyes of creatures]. Therefore, one who wishes to merit the crown of Torah with high quality should be very careful with all his nights, and not lose even a single one of them in eating, drinking, idle conversation, and the like, but rather in the study of Torah and wisdom. End of quote.

2. So wrote Maran the Chida, (Moreh BaEtzba, Siman 8, Ot 242) that on the day of the 15th of Av, one should increase joy somewhat, for there is an elevation to the Divine Presence (Shechinah), just as it is written in the holy Zohar (Part 2, page 135b).

And so wrote our master and teacher the Ben Ish Chai (Year 1, Parshat Devarim, Section 1) regarding a Jewish person who has a lawsuit with a non-Jew in the month of Av: that all this rule applies only up to the tenth of Av, and this is his words: there are those who say up to Tisha B'Av, which really means after the tenth of Av. And this reasoning is primary, as there is no need to evade [the lawsuit] until Rosh Chodesh Elul, but rather only up to after the tenth of Av. And especially since on Tu B'Av (15th of Av) one needs to make a celebration, because there is an elevation to the Shechinah (Divine Presence), as is written in the Zohar, Part 2, page 135b. And since the month was elevated on this day, it furthermore does not go down, for we increase in holiness [and do not decrease]. And with this, I explained with Heaven’s help the hint in the verse " A charming son is Yoseph, a son charming to the eye; daughters tread on the wall" [Genesis 49:22], as it is known what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: "There were no good days for Israel like Tu B'Av," etc., "on which the daughters of Israel go out and dance in the vineyards," etc., see Tractate Taanit 26b, etc. And it is known what our Sages, of blessed memory, said in the Midrash: that all of Israel are called by the name Yoseph, as it is written "be gracious to the remnant of Yoseph" [based on Amos 5:15]. And this is what is written, A charming son is Yoseph, these are Israel that will have a son charming upon the eye, which is the month of Av, which has an aspect of eye, as stated in a previous statement, and it says, daughters tread on the wall, meaning specifically when the daughters of Israel go out and dance in the vineyards, which is on the day of Tu B'Av [fifteenth of Av].

3. Behold, the 25th of Elul is the day of the creation of the world, and it is the day of the creation of the souls of Israel, as our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded on "Bereshit" (In the beginning)—for the sake of Israel who are called "Reshit" (the first), as it is stated (Yirmiyahu 2:3): "Israel is holy to Hashem, the first of His produce." And behold, our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Sota 2b): Forty days before the formation of the fetus, a heavenly voice goes out and says, "The daughter of so-and-so to so-and-so." And behold, according to this, forty days before the 25th of Elul—which is the day of the formation of the souls of Israel—falls on Tu B'Av. For then the souls of Israel arose in thought [before Hashem], and therefore they instituted that in every single year the daughters of Israel go out and dance in the vineyards, and the tribes were permitted to marry one another, and the tribe of Binyamin was permitted to enter the congregation, because this is the time when the souls of Israel arose in thought. And therefore, there is no better time than this for marriage.

After Tisha B'Av, we receive consolations, and the day of Tu B'Av is the seventh day from Tisha B'Av, which is the seventh day of the completion of the days of mourning, and then we stand up. Therefore, it is a good day, and from then begins the aspect of the Tikkun (rectification) of that year. Therefore, our Sages, of blessed memory, said from the day of Tu B'Av: "He who does not add [to his study] shall cease," because from then we begin to erect the Kingdom from the dust and raise it up to her Beloved in the month of Elul, as those who interpret acronyms expounded: Ani LeDodi VeDodi Li ("I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine") is the acronym for Elul.

From Tu B'Av, the days of mercy begin, and therefore the righteous were accustomed to begin making a soul-reckoning, summarizing the year and what to do. And so, on Tu B'Av, there are righteous people who began to study Tikkunei Zohar.

It is written in the books of Mussar (ethical teachings) that from the fifteenth of Av, it is the beginning and the head for the days of judgment that begin in Elul. And it is fitting for a person to begin from this day to make an accounting of his soul regarding his deeds throughout the entire year. Therefore, there are those who are accustomed, if one writes a letter to his friend from this day onwards, to write in it: "A good inscription and sealing" (Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah), as is customary among the Jewish world from the beginning of the month of Elul.

Those who are accustomed to do so found a nice textual support for the custom by way of Gematria (numerology), for the letters of "fifteen of Av" (chamesh asar b'Av) in Gematria equal: "nine hundred twenty and eight" [928]—which equals the Gematria value of "a good inscription and sealing" (Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah).

And they further said a hint to this: that the days of repentance begin on the fifteenth of Av and extend until Hoshana Rabbah, for so Moshe said to Israel, "You stand today all of you before Hashem your L-rd..." etc., "from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water..." [Deuteronomy 29:9-10]. "From the hewer of your wood"—this is the day of Tu B'Av, which is the last day for cutting wood for the altar's pyre; "to the drawer of your water"—this is Hoshana Rabbah, which is the time of the water libation on the festival.

And therefore, in these days a person must strengthen himself very much in Torah and fear [of Hashem], for they are forty days before the creation of the world anew, which is the 25th of Elul, when the creation of the world originally began, and it is completed on Rosh Hashanah, which is the sixth day and seventh day of the creation of the world, as is known. And just as our Rabbis of blessed memory said: The end of a matter is good [only] when its beginning was good. And since now this is the head/beginning of the year, a person should strengthen himself and study, and utilize his time before coming to the Day of Judgment.

4. Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 131:6): They were accustomed not to fall on their faces [recite Tachanun] on Tu B'Av, nor on Tu B'Shevat, nor on Rosh Chodesh, and not in the Mincha service before it. And the Kaf HaChaim wrote (sub-paragraph 31): The Pri Chadash wrote (Ot 7) that on any day that does not have the falling on the face (Nefilat Appayim), they are not accustomed to fall on their faces in the Mincha service before it, etc. But the Olat Tamid (Ot 7) wrote that it appears from the words of the Author of the Shulchan Aruch [Rav Yosef Karo] that on Tu B'Shevat and Tu B'Av there is falling on the face in Mincha before it, only that the custom is not so, etc. And so wrote in Ot 23 that on all these days the custom is that also in the Mincha before them they do not fall on their faces. And so wrote the Knesset HaGedolah in his glosses to the Beit Yosef, that our custom is that on any day we do not fall on our faces, we also do not fall [on our faces] in the Mincha before it.

5. The opinion of the Rama (Orach Chaim 131:1): that they say Lemanatzeach [Psalm 20], and these are his words: even on days when they do not say Tachanun, they say Lemanatzeach, except for Rosh Chodesh, Chanuka, Purim, Tu B'Shvat, and Tu B'Av (Minhagim, and see earlier on section 559:9). However, the custom of the Sephardic communities is that on any day that does not have Nefilat Appayim, they do not say Lemanatzeach, Ya'ancha B'Yom Tzara, nor Tefillah LeDavid . And so wrote the Ben Ish Chai (Year 1, Parshat Ki Tissa, Ot 17), and he of blessed memory said: On days when they do not say [Tachanun], it is simple and clear that the custom is not to say Psalm Ya'ancha nor Psalm Tefillah LeDavid. And so is the custom also among the pious congregation in the Holy City of Jerusalem, may it be rebuilt and established, and we do not know the reason for Tefillah LeDavid, and they say that it is a tradition from the early authorities, of blessed memory.

And so wrote: the Kaf HaChaim (sub-paragraph 37) on the words of the Rama and these are his words: But the Pri Chadash (Ot 1) wrote that we are not accustomed to do so, but rather on any day that they do not say Tachanun, they do not say Lemanatzeach. And so wrote the Shayarei Knesset Hagdola (Ot 3), Ma'amar Mordechai (Ot 6), Shalmei Tzibbur (page 154b), Chesed LaAlafim (Ot 14), and he wrote that so too they do not say Tefillah LeDavid, see Yafa LaLev (Ot 7). And it appears that this is only the custom of the Sephardim, but the custom of the Ashkenazim is as the Rama, of blessed memory had written, for the Ashkenazi rabbis cited the words of the Rama, of blessed memory. Therefore, every person should hold fast to his custom, for there is no prohibition in the matter. And the custom of the Sephardim is that on any day without Nefilat Appayim, they do not say Lemanatzeach, Ya'ancha B'Yom Tzarah, nor Tefillah LeDavid. And if it is Shabbat, they do not say Tzidkatcha Tzedek.

6. Magen Avraham (Siman 573, sub-paragraph 1). Elya Rabbah (there, sub-paragraph 3). Kaf HaChaim (there, sub-paragraph 11).

7. According to the Shulchan Aruch (Siman 292, paragraph 2), he of blessed memory said: We say Tzidkatcha. But if it fell on a day that, had it been a weekday, we would not say Nefilat Appayim [Tachanun] in Mincha, we do not say Tzidkatcha.

8. Ani LeDodi (page 3) in the name of Luach Dvar B'Ito.

9. For the virtue of reciting Tikkunei Zohar in the month of Elul is explained in the introduction of Kisse Melech to Tikkunim, that studying in the month of Elul purifies the body and the soul and its virtue is to bring near the end of redemption quickly in our days; and so, it is in Or HaTzaddikim (Siman 36, Ot 2). Praised is he who completes the book of Tikkunim in these days, and the distinguished ones of Jerusalem start reciting the Tikkunim from Tu B'Av [15th of Av]. And so, it is written in Siddur Or HaYashar Koidanov, that the holy Rabbi, the Tsaddik, the Rav, Rabbi M.M. of Koidanov used to say Tikkunei HaZohar from Tu B'Av until Hoshana Rabbah.

10. Gemara in Taanit (31a): From here onward, he who adds—shall add [from the 15th of Av onward, one who adds nights to the days to engage in Torah—he will add life to his life], and he who does not add (to engage in Torah at night) shall be gathered [he will be gathered, i.e., die before his time]. What is "shall be gathered"? Rav Yosef said: His mother will bury him (he will die not at his proper time).

And Rabbeinu Chananel explained: "His mother will bury him" means that he is not among the Sages who remove sleep from their eyes in this world, and live for the World to Come. And in Aruch he wrote: "And he who does not add—shall be gathered"—meaning, he will be collected/taken away. That is to say, he grows lazy and does not seek life, for the Torah wrote concerning it, "For it is your life and the length of your days." And the Anaf Yosef explained that because now is the time for night study, and the study belonging to night is the Oral Torah, as our Sages of blessed memory expounded on "Hear, my son, the instruction of your father"—this is the Written Torah, "and do not forsake the teaching of your mother"—this is the Oral Torah; and if he does not study it, it causes him to be buried. And this is "his mother will bury him"—meaning, the Oral Torah. See there.

And so wrote, the genius, the Chida (there), and these are his words: One should be careful to add Torah at night from here on. And he wrote in Moed LeKol Chai (Siman 10, Ot  97), and these are his words: And in the book Noheg KeTzon Yosef (page 68, side 2) he wrote in the name of the book Yosef Ometz K"K, regarding what our Sages of blessed memory said, that one who does not add after Tu B'Av shall cease—it was said only regarding the exiles of the Land of Israel, where the nights lengthen after Tu B'Av by more than eight hours; whereas in these exiles [abroad], whoever acts stringently will receive a blessing upon himself; up to here is his phrasing. And so wrote the Manhig: It is fitting for every person who knows how to study to act stringently with himself to arise at the very least at the tenth hour of the night, whether in the rainy days [winter] or in the sunny days [summer]; up to here is his phrasing. And see further there on page 1 Ot 2, regarding what our Rabbis of blessed memory said: "from my rising until my lying down, arise, from my lying down until I arise, lying down" see there. May it be His will that we merit to meditate on His Torah, day and night, in summer and in winter, for length of days and years—all of us alive!

11. So, it is written in the customs of the holy congregation of the Pious of Bet El (Ot 64). And behold, times arise where a person becomes obligated in annulment because he took a vow to Heaven, or such as when he mentioned the Name of Heaven in vain intentionally in any language, as is found in the Shulchan Aruch (Siman 334, paragraph 8), or delayed the public from performing a commandment, or slighted a Torah scholar even inadvertently, or disgraced his father and mother even not to their faces and even inadvertently, or struck his fellow. And since they said in the Zohar that one who incurs a reprimand or ban from the Heavenly Court above remains in his ban for forty days and his prayer is not heard, therefore they were careful to perform annulment of vows, bans, oaths, and reprimands on the 19th of Menachem Av, which is forty days before Rosh Hashanah, and likewise on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Elul, which is forty days before Yom Kippur, so that through this he will not stand in a ban on Yom Kippur, Heaven forbid. And such is the custom of Bet El, and it was brought in Nahar Mitzrayim, and in Kaf HaChaim (Siman 581, sub-paragraph 12).

And know that in Minhagei Bet El (Ot 64) they wrote to perform [it] on the 20th day of Av. However, in the customs of the holy congregation of Beit Yaakov of Rabbi Eliyahu Mani, of righteous and holy memory (Chapter 8, Ot 65), they wrote to perform the annulment on the 19th day of Av.

And regarding what we wrote that it is customary to perform it with ten [people], so too it is in Matteh Efraim and in the Minhagei Chatam Sofer, lest one was placed under a Niduy Ban in a dream and requires annulment by ten, or lest one vowed a vow in a dream; and if it is impossible to do it with ten, they may perform [it] with three. As is found in the Shulchan Aruch (Siman 334, paragraph 35), and see further there that initially ten who repeatedly study Halachot (laws) are required, or at least that study Mishna or at least know how to read, and only if he did not find [ten] the person should he get three to release (from his restrictions).