Tu b'Av...
Today is Tu b'Av, a minor Jewish holiday. It began at sundown last night (when you can't tell a wolf from a dog) and will end at sundown tonight. It is a celebration, the Full Moon in the middle of the month of Av, a month of tragedy. And, of course, it's the Sabbat.
Tu b'Av is ט"ו באב, Tet (9) + Vev (6) = 15. Beit as a suffix means "in", so, literally, it means 15 in Av. Av is Aleph Beit, which are the letters of a number of Hebrew words. Two of these are the words for Father and Fruit, so Av is the Month of the Father or the Month of Fruit. Both meanings are relevant to this holiday.
During the time of the second Temple, on Tu b'Av, unmarried women would borrow white dresses and dance in the fields in celebration of the harvest. Young men would go down and watch, and sometimes find a bride. On Tu b'Av, class and tribe were ignored. All Israelites could choose as mate any other Israelite. During the Exodus, when no one could marry outside their tribe because of the determination of the division of the Holy Land, on Tu b'Av, they were allowed to marry outside the tribe anyway. Tu b'Av was a celebration of the harvest, and of love and marriage.
The Babylonian Talmud states that forty days before the birth of a person, G-d declares the life mate of the person. This is G-d as Father arranging the marriage of his children. Forty days after Tu b'Av is the traditional date of Creation. Tu b'Av is G-d as Father declaring the marriage of Moshiach (Messiah) to Shekhinah, the Bridegroom to the Groom, G-d to Creation, Moshiach to Israel.
Today is a great day!
~Muninn's Kiss