Friends of Itamar

Leah’s Blog Tu B’Av 2026

Tu B’Av in Eretz Yisrael – July 2026- The full moon crowns the clear night time sky, a silver disc on black velvet. In this white light, in the midsummer night breeze not far from here, the dancing and coalescence began. Tribe and tribe, face to face in the vineyards of Shilo. Today the sun continues to shine on these vineyards as it did in ancient times (replanted as in the prophecies of Jeremiah) and the fierce heat and glare begin to diminish. Tisha B’Av smolders in memory of a burning scolding time of hurt; now we begin in apprehension to look towards the high holidays, to Rosh HaShana and Sukkot, a festive happy blessed time the family gathers, and we gather from the field. But today, on Tu B’Av, the parallel in time to Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees is like the cut off of the moon to the sun. In the times of the Temple, Tu B’av signified the closing of the Chamber of Wood, the place all collected dry wood was stored and stacked for service of the Alter fires and used continuously to maintain 3 fires burning on the alter day and night. Wood donations stopped now as the dew begins to fall richer, wetting the ground even before the rains of Cheshvan begin to fall. The nights become longer now as a new blazing love forms in the vineyards on Tu B’Av, Israel ‘s holiday of Love. – For two thousand six hundred years wooden beams that had been burnt in the First Temple’s destruction have recently been revealed in deep archeological excavations on and in the Temple Mount. Before this hill where I write from now on Itamar had a house or a tree it held a memory of millions of pilgrims who would walk past here, South, to the Temple. But first, they passed Shilo on that way, the place of our Tabernacle and site of moon meeting sun, night meeting day, woman dressed in white meeting her love. Shilo – the place where LOVE begins! Where man and wife become a family on TU B’AV. The place where AM YISRAEL marry HaShem

Happy Tu B’Av! Blessings! Xoxoxo Leah