Tu b'Av

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Pronunciations

Tu b'Av (TOO bih-ahv) listen
Tu b'Av (too bih-AHV) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The 15th of Av, sometimes associated with romantic love and nicknamed "Jewish Valentine's Day."

Example Sentences

  • "Are you going to take your wife out for Tu B'Av?"

  • "Tu B’Av is the perfect Jewish holiday to celebrate the mixed race and interfaith marriages that make up an increasing number of marriages in our Jewish communities." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • ט"ו באב 'fifteenth of Av'

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

      Alternative Spellings

      Tu be'Av, Tu beAv

Notes

  • Like in "Tu Bishvat," the "tu" is gematria. Tet is the 9th letter, and vav (pronounced as a vowel oo) is the 6th letter. The standard letters for this would be yud (10) and hey (5,) but yud-hey is a name of God and so is not used.

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