Meaning of the month ‘Av’

The name of the month of Av symbolizes the attribute of mercy, as it is written: “”As a father has mercy …” (Av means father in Hebrew.) Aside from that, according to the Kabala, when a name is spelled with consecutive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, it represents mercy and loving-kindness. In contrast, when a name is spelled in the opposite direction, like the name of the month of Tishrei, where the letters are spelled from the end of the Hebrew alphabet towards the beginning, this represents the attribute of ‘din’, severity. Therefore, in Tishrei it is a time when the world is judged.The attribute of ‘din’ – judgment, rules.

Based on the above, it is hard to understand how so many troubles occurred during the month of Av. Terrible troubles that led to the destruction of the first and second Temples (Batei Mikdash).

Chassidut explains that on the esoteric level, destruction and exile stem from the attribute of Divine mercy and loving-kindness of the Creator. Aside from the fact that G-d allowed the destruction to fall on ‘wood and stones’ (the physical Temples) and not wipe out the (entire) Jewish people, every ascent and growth of a new thing comes after descent and destruction. In order to arrive at a completely new result, the old one must be nullified and left. Thus, the infinite revelation of the Creator which will be revealed in the Third Temple actually started at the time of the destruction. As the Midrash states; “Immediately at the time of the destruction, their savior was born.”