The Mishnah on the Joy of Yom Kippur and the Fifteenth of Av

R. Simeon ben Gamaliel said: There were no days of joy in Israel greater than the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur. On these days, the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed white garments in order not to shame anyone who had none. All these garments required immersion. The daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards. What would they say? Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself. Do not set your eyes on beauty but set your eyes on the family. Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised (Proverbs 31:30). And it further says: Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her works praise her in the gates (Proverbs 31:31). Similarly, it says: O maidens of Zion, go forth and gaze upon King Solomon wearing the crown that his mother gave him on his wedding day, on the day of the gladness of his heart (Song of Songs 3:11). On his wedding day: this refers to the giving of the Torah. And on the day of the gladness of his heart: this refers to the building of the Temple; may it be rebuilt speedily in our days, Amen.