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Tu B’Av Celebrations Mark
Evolutions in Jewish Dating
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
T he easiest way for Tribe 12
matchmaker Danielle Selber to
describe the holiday of Tu B’Av
is “Jewish Valentine’s Day.”
The comparison isn’t perfect, but
for a minor Jewish holiday that is nary
observed in the United States, the
cheeky moniker is the closest descrip-
tor to how Selber understands the day.

Falling on the 15th day of the month Av
(or Aug. 11-12 this year), Tu B’Av is a hol-
iday to celebrate love and, in the Temple
era, the beginning of the grape harvest. It
occurs a week after Tisha B’Av, an annual
fast day that marks the destruction of the
two temples in ancient Jerusalem.

While Tisha B’Av is a day of mourn-
ing, Tu B’Av is a day of jubilation. In
Israel, where Selber’s mother is from,
After more than two years of COVID-19, Tribe 12 matchmakers Danielle Selber
and Michal Naisteter are reconsidering how they host dating events.

Photo by Ed Meisarosh
the holiday is marked with celebrations
that resemble New Year’s parties where
women don all white. Having weddings
on Tu B’Av is common and auspicious.

If one switched the motif of white
with red or pink, they could see the
cultural similarities between Tu B’Av
and Valentine’s Day, albeit with very
different religious significance.

Selber’s parents are one of many Jewish
couples who were married on Tu B’Av.

They met in Philadelphia while Devorah
Selber, Selber’s mother, was on an
exchange program. She went on a blind
date with her to-be husband, and the two
married in Israel six months later. The
couple has been together for 38 years.

“It really added some roots to how I
met my husband,” Devorah Selber said.

“This is the way we did it; you just let
yourself out there, and something will
happen.” Traditions & Memories
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AUGUST 11, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
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