Learning Library

The 15th of Av, a matchmaking holiday described in the Talmud (Taanit 30b), when young women would dance in the vineyards, is often referred to as the Jewish “Valentine’s Day” (even tho of course it came first). Falling less than a week after the 9th of Av, a fast day dedicated to mourning the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples, along with some of our other darkest days…Is there a connection? A suggested progression? Might the Jewish Response to destruction be love? (or marriage at least ;)) or is it more complicated? (probably). Why do we all know about Tisha B’Av and not so much Tu B’Av? How might this inform our leadership values and behavior? Come explore with Rabbi Shai Held, author of Judaism Is About Love.

Rabbi Shai Held, one of the most influential Jewish thinkers and leaders in America, is President and Dean of the Hadar Institute in New York City. Rabbi Held received the prestigious Covenant Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, and has been named multiple times to Newsweek’s list of the most influential rabbis in America and to the Forward’s list of the most prominent Jews in the world. He is the author of Abraham Joshua Heschel: The Call of Transcendence (2013) and The Heart of Torah: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion (2017). His newest book, Judaism is About Love, was published by Farrar, Straus, & Giroux in March 2024.

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