The Kabbalistic Connection Between Tisha B’Av and Tu B’Av
By: Yisrael Yitzchak Rosenfeld
Chaverim, with HaShem’s help, we will now delve more deeply into the meaning of this remarkable period.
1. Bein HaMetzarim – The Time of “Narrow Straits”
The name Bein HaMetzarim comes from Lamentations (1:3):
“Between the narrow straits.”
According to Kabbalah, this refers not only to a historical period of mourning.
These days are understood as:
- A time when the Shechinah (the Divine Presence) is more concealed.
- A period in which Din (Divine judgment and strictness) predominates.
- A time when the distance between HaShem and Am Yisrael, as well as between people themselves, becomes more deeply felt.
The ARIzal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi) teaches that the spiritual light is gradually withdrawn during this period.
This is why the mourning practices intensify step by step from the Seventeenth of Tammuz until Tisha B’Av.
2. Tisha B’Av – The Deepest Point
According to the holy Zohar, Tisha B’Av is not merely the day on which the Holy Temples were destroyed.
It is also the lowest point in a cosmic spiritual cycle.
Precisely within the greatest darkness lies the hidden seed of redemption.
Therefore our Sages teach:
“Mashiach is born on Tisha B’Av.”
Mystically, this means:
- When all external lights disappear,
- The highest hidden light begins to emerge.
Redemption is therefore born not after the darkness,
but within the darkness itself.
The Maharal of Prague explains this philosophically:
Complete destruction creates the space for an entirely new creation.
3. Why Does Tu B’Av Follow Immediately Afterward?
Here the symbolism of Kabbalah becomes especially beautiful.
Immediately after Tisha B’Av, the spiritual ascent begins.
The seven days leading to Tu B’Av mark the beginning of the restoration of the relationship between HaShem and His people.
The moon plays a central role:
- On the Ninth of Menachem Av, the moon is still in its diminished phase.
- On the Fifteenth of Menachem Av (Tu B’Av), it reaches the full moon.
In Kabbalah, the moon symbolizes the Shechinah, the Divine Presence.
Just as the moon becomes full once again, so too the relationship between HaShem and Am Yisrael begins to be restored.
4. Tu B’Av – From Din to Chesed
The Fifteenth of Menachem Av represents a spiritual turning point.
The Talmud teaches:
“There were no happier days for Israel than Yom Kippur and Tu B’Av.”
At first glance, this seems surprising.
Kabbalah explains it as follows.
Tisha B’Av represents:
- Separation
- Din (judgment)
- Hiddenness
Tu B’Av represents:
- Reunion
- Love
- Chesed (loving-kindness and mercy)
- Revelation
The Divine attributes shift, as it were, from strict judgment to love and compassion.
5. The Connection to Love and Marriage
Why is Tu B’Av celebrated as the festival of love?
The Talmud relates that on this day, the unmarried young women, dressed in white garments, danced in the vineyards.
According to Kabbalah, marriage is the ultimate symbol of unity:
- Heaven and earth
- HaShem and Am Yisrael
- Soul and body
- The masculine and feminine dimensions of creation
After a period of separation comes a deeper union.
For this reason, Tu B’Av is often viewed as the counterpart to Tisha B’Av.
- Tisha B’Av commemorates broken relationships.
- Tu B’Av celebrates their restoration.
6. The Chassidic Perspective
Chassidic masters such as Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi and Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen Rabinowitz emphasize:
The greatest love is revealed not where there has never been distance, but precisely where a period of separation has led to an even deeper bond.
Therefore, Tu B’Av is not merely a return to what once was.
It represents a higher level of connection.
Summary
From a Kabbalistic perspective, these days form one continuous spiritual arc.
17 Tammuz
- The first cracks appear.
- The beginning of spiritual concealment.
Bein HaMetzarim
- Increasing anguish.
- Growing spiritual distance.
Tisha B’Av
- The deepest concealment.
- At the very same moment, the seed of redemption is born.
After Tisha B’Av
- The hidden light begins to grow once again.
Tu B’Av
- The full moon.
- The restoration of love.
- Reconciliation.
- Reunion.
Viewed in this way, Tu B’Av is not an isolated festival.
Rather, it is the Divine answer to Tisha B’Av.
According to Kabbalah, from the deepest mourning grows the possibility of an even greater love:
- Between one person and another.
- And between the Shechinah and Am Yisrael.
