Lamentations Rabbah on the Joy of Yom Kippur and the Fifteenth of Av
Lamentations Rabbah Proem 33
5th or 6th Century
[There were no happier days for Israel than the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur.] Granted [that this is so] with respect to Yom Kippur, since it is a day of pardon and atonement for Israel and the day on which the second set of tablets [of the Ten Commandments] was given, but why [is this so with respect to] the fifteenth of Av? R. Jacob bar Aḥa said in the name of R. Assi: Because that day begins the favorable season for cutting down trees [to fuel the sacrificial fires in the Temple], for all the wood that is cut down then does not become grub-eaten.
Translated by Richard S. Sarason.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
You may also like
The Mishnah on the Joy of Yom Kippur and the Fifteenth of Av
m. Ta‘anit 4:8
Philo’s Explanation of Yom Kippur
On the Special Laws 2.193–203
Atonement of Sins
Repentance
The Mishnah on Observing the Fast
m. Yoma 8:1, 4–5
The Talmud on Observing the Fast
b. Yoma 83a
This passage from Lamentations Rabbah explains the curious statement in m. Ta‘anit 4:8 that there were no happier days in Israel than the fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur.
Related Guide
Yom Kippur in Early Judaism
Related Guide
Ancient Jewish Festivals
The Israelite annual festivals originated as agricultural celebrations marking seasonal cycles. Over time, these observances were mythologized into a nation-forming narrative centered on the Exodus from Egypt and the revelation of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Related Guide
Jewish Daily Life in Roman-Era Palestine
You may also like
The Mishnah on the Joy of Yom Kippur and the Fifteenth of Av
m. Ta‘anit 4:8
Philo’s Explanation of Yom Kippur
On the Special Laws 2.193–203
Atonement of Sins
Repentance
The Mishnah on Observing the Fast
m. Yoma 8:1, 4–5
The Talmud on Observing the Fast
b. Yoma 83a