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DIARY
12-25 Av 5769
2-15 August 2009
Tuesday night-Wednesday 4-5 August / 15 Av
TU B’AV
The Fifteen of Av (Tu B’Av) is one of the holiest, albeit hidden festivals of the Torah calendar, possessing the same sanctity as Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). It marks the day when decree of death for the generation of the wilderness was seen to have come to an end, and also the reconciliation of the Tribes of Israel with the Tribe of Benjamin after the incident of the Concubine of Giv’ah, preventing the extinction of that tribe by enabling members to marry women of other tribes (Judges 19-20, 21:19; Ta’anit 30b). Under Hoshea ben Elah, king of the Ten Tribes, the roadblocks set up by Yeravaam (Jeraboam) preventing pilgrimage to the Jerusalem Temple were removed, and under the Roman occupation, the slain of Beitar were brought to burial. Today is particularly propitious for prayers to find one’s soulmate.
From this point in the year onwards, the nights are becoming noticeably longer in the northern hemisphere, and we should add to our Torah studies during the night-time hours because "a man learns most of his Torah wisdom only at night" (Rambam, Laws of Torah Study 3:13).
Friday night-Saturday 7-8 August / 18 Av
Shabbat Parshat EIKEV
Torah Reading: EIKEV, Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25. Haftara: Isaiah 49:14-51:3.
Today marks the eightieth anniversary of the 1929 Arab attacks on Jews in Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and other parts of Israel with the brutal murder of 113 martyrs.
Monday night-Tuesday 10-11 August / 21 Av
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, the Belzer Rebbe (1877-1957).
Tuesday night-Wednesday 11-12 August / 22 Av
Anniversary of the murderous Arab bomb attack on the crowded Number 2 Bus going to the Kotel (Western Wall) in 2003.
Wednesday night-Thursday 12-13 August / 23 Av
Yahrzeit of R. Yaakov Yisrael Kanyevski the "Steipler Rav" (1899-1985).
Friday night-Saturday 14-15 August / 25 Av
Shabbat Parshat RE’EH
Shabbat Mevarchin ELUL
Torah Reading: RE-EH, Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17. Haftara: Isaiah 54:11-55:5.
Shabbat Mevarchin blessing the coming month of Elul. The Molad (junction of the sun and the moon) will be on the night of Thursday 20 August at 11:03 and 6 chalakim.
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