Baba Batra 121 Why is the 15th day of Av such a happy day in our calendar?

We know from a Mishna in massekhet Ta’anit (26b) that “Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days as joyous for the Jewish people as the fifteenth of Av and as Yom Kippur, as on these days the daughters of Jerusalem would emerge in white garments, which each woman borrowed from another. Why did they borrow garments? They did this so as not to embarrass one who did not have her own white garments” (Sefaria.org translation) We can give two reasons why Yom Kippur was a joyous holiday. Either because our sins are forgiven or we rejoice that the second set of 10 Commandments were given on Yom Kippur.

The Gemara daf TB Baba Batra 121 provides six different reasons why the 15^th day of Av is such a happy day.

1.    “Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says: This was the day when the members of different tribes were permitted to marry into one another’s tribe. Such marriages were restricted for the first generation to enter Eretz Yisrael, as discussed above (120a). What verse did the sages of that time interpret in support of their conclusion that this halakha was no longer in effect? The verse states: “This is the matter” (Numbers 36:6), meaning, this matter shall be practiced only in this generation, in which Eretz Yisrael is being divided among the tribes.

2.    “Rabba bar Ḥana says that Rabbi Yoḥanan offered another explanation: The fifteenth of Av was the day when the tribe of Benjamin was permitted to enter into the congregation of the other tribes of Israel through marriage, after the other tribes found a way to dissolve the vow that had prohibited them from marrying a member of the tribe of Benjamin in the aftermath of the episode of the concubine in Gibeah (Judges, chapters 19–20). As it is written: “And the men of Israel had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying: None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife” (Judges 21:1). The Gemara asks: What verse did the sages of that time interpret that enabled them to dissolve this vow? The verse states: “None of us,” and not: None of our children; therefore, the oath applied only to the generation that had taken the oath.

3.    “Rav Dimi bar Yosef says that Rav Naḥman says: The fifteenth of Av was the day on which those designated to perish in the wilderness stopped dying, as the entire generation that had left Egypt had died due to the sin of the spies (Numbers 14:29–30). As the Master says: As long as those designated to perish in the wilderness had not stopped dying,  God did not speak with Moses, as it is stated: “So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people” (Deuteronomy 2:16), and juxtaposed to that verse it is written: “That the Lord spoke to me, saying” (Deuteronomy 2:17). Moses indicates: Only after the last of that generation had died, was the speech of God directed to me. When the Jewish people realized that the decree had been lifted, the day was established as a permanent day of rejoicing.

4.    “The Gemara continues to cite explanations for the significance of the fifteenth of Av. Ulla says: The fifteenth of Av was the day when King Hoshea, son of Ela, removed the guards [pardesaot] that Jeroboam, son of Nevat, placed on the roads so that Israel would not ascend to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage Festival. By doing so, King Hoshea renewed the access to Jerusalem for pilgrims.

5.    “Rav Mattana says: The fifteenth of Av was the day when the slain victims of Beitar were afforded burial, several years after they were killed and the Roman emperor Hadrian decreed that they were not to be buried (see Gittin 57a). As Rav Mattana says: On the day that the slain of Beitar were afforded burial, the Sages in Yavne instituted the blessing: Blessed is He Who is good and Who does good. The term: Who is good, is to give thanks that the corpses did not decompose despite the long delay; and the term: And Who does good, is to give thanks that the slain ones were ultimately afforded burial. (We know how important burial is for closure for the mourners from our own experiences and how the families of the dead hostages still in the hands of Hamas are feeling.-gg)

6.    “Rabba and Rav Yosef both say: The fifteenth of Av is the day when they stop cutting wood for the arrangement of wood on the altar. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: Once the fifteenth of Av came, the force of the sun would weaken, and from this date they would not cut additional wood for the arrangement, because wood cut from then on would not dry properly and would be unfit for use in the Temple. Rav Menashe said: And the people called the fifteenth of Av: The day of the breaking of the sickle [maggal ], as they did not need the lumbering tools until the following year. The Gemara adds: From this point forward, when the nights lengthen, one who adds [demosif ] to his nightly Torah study will add [yosif ] to his life, and he who does not add, that person is yesif. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of the term yesif ? Rav Yosef teaches: It means that his mother will bury him, as he will die during his mother’s lifetime.” (Sefaria.org translation))

What possible explanation can unify these six different explanations? The 15^th day of Av became a happy day in the calendar because something that was forbidden became permitted. For example, when the 10 northern tribes split from the united kingdom, they created the northern kingdom of Israel. The first king Jeroboam built two altars, one in Dan and one in Bethel, so that the Israelites would not continue to go to Jerusalem to worship. He wanted to strengthen his kingdom and loosen the bonds between his subjects and the southern kingdom of Judah. Roadblocks were created to further prevent the Israelites from worshiping in Jerusalem. On the 15^th day of Av these roadblocks were removed allowing the Israelites to worship in the Temple in Jerusalem.

At first glance, the sixth explanation doesn’t seem to fit the unifying theme of the first five. Rebeinu Gershom explanation resolves this difficulty. Between the months of Nisan and Av, people were busy cutting the trees for the wood for the Altar. They were too busy to study Torah (and maybe too tired after a long day of hard labor-gg). Once the month of Av entered, they were relieved of this burden and the nights grew longer and longer. The sages thought that nighttime was an excellent time to study Torah. What would be a more joyous day than the 15^th of Av when a person can start studying Torah?!