By Mordechai Rubin, Chabad.org
The 15th of Av is perhaps the most enigmatic day on the Jewish calendar. Coming a mere 6 days after the 9th of Av—which marks the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temples—it is a day of happiness and rejoicing. “There were no days as joyous for the Jewish people as the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur,” the Mishnah declares. On this day “the maidens of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards. And what would they say? Young man, please lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself.”
The last Mishnah in Masechet Taanit (quoted above) describes how the dancing maidens of Jerusalem would call to their prospective matches, “Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself. Do not set your eyes toward beauty, but set your eyes toward a [good] family.” The Rebbe understands that this event—which according to some readings occurred both on the 15th of Av and on Yom Kippur—is referencing something of a lofty nature, not a simple matchmaking event. In the Rebbe’s reading, this event was to showcase not the physical or even spiritual qualities that individuals may possess, but the innate spiritual character we all possess as members of one family, the Nation of Israel:
One should not look at virtues (both spiritual and physical) as they appear to the eye—which is the usual manner [one would judge another.] Rather, one should “lift up your eyes and see” (referencing Isaiah 40:26, “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who has created these things”) with a higher and more inward gaze—to see the root and source from which these virtues stem.
Given that she is the daughter of Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, and Leah, she inherently possesses the Jewish virtues passed down from her mothers.
