7.24.26 – Happy Day!

Next week, Wednesday, many will celebrate the happiest day of the year—or at least tied for the happiest day of the year. Huh?

I have shared on many occasions that the Bible is a guidebook. Many treat it as a philosophy book, a history book, a science book, a denominational manual, a law book, and/or a theology book. And though it has all of those topics in it, the canon is none of those, inclusively. But without a doubt, it is the best guidebook for life on this earth ever compiled. Yet, with all of its great wisdom, our 66 books are not all that there is written or revealed on the subject of life.

For example, the Creation Story in Genesis 1:1–2:3, the Flood Story in Genesis 6–9, or the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11—these stories are just thumbnail sketches of the events they reveal. Even in Yeshua's life, if all was written, not even all the libraries in the world could contain the accounts of what He did (John 21:25).

Two negative events have taken place in the history of Israel that changed the face of time forever. The first is the Golden Calf incident (Ex. 32), and the second is the negative report of the spies concerning the Promised Land, the Land of our Inheritance (Num. 13, 14).

The Torah reveals to us that the sin of the golden calf was atoned for through Moses in the forty days that he was on the mountain interceding for the people and fashioning two new tablets of stone (Ex. 32–34). However, the sin of the spies, which took place on the 9th of Av a couple of days ago, historically, was a devastating day that had not been fully dealt with—which is obvious, since the Land still remains to be occupied by the Seed of Abraham in its entirety, and the battle for the Land continues. May that day come swiftly!

The sin of the spies is the most devastating and influential event in Israel's history. An entire generation would die as a result of that report over a thirty-eight-year period. History tells us that each year on the 9th of Av, an entire year's worth of birthdays would die on that day. In the first year, all of those who were sixty years of age died. The next year, all those who were fifty-nine died, and so on. It is even said that as the 9th of Av approached, the people would dig their own graves, lie down in them, and wait to die. If they did not die, they breathed a sigh of relief and lived for at least another year. We can only imagine what life was like on that day—the mourning and the relief. Yet each year on this date was an inevitable reminder that death was waiting for that entire generation above the age of twenty.

In Numbers 13 and 14, the text tells us that they were only a three-day journey away from entering the Promised Land. If the spies had come back with good news instead of an evil report, on the 10th of Av they would have taken apart the Tabernacle, gathered their belongings for the journey on days 11, 12, and 13, and on the 14th day they would have entered and conquered the Land. And on the 15th day of Av, they would have set up the Tabernacle and lived happily ever after. It would have been the culmination of the redemption they experienced in Egypt as a result of the blood of the Lamb (Ex. 12)—the purpose for which they were saved (Deut. 6:23–25; Gal. 3:16–27).

The 15th day would have been the greatest day since the revelation at Sinai (Ex. 19–23). Scripture gives us a thumbnail sketch of these events, but the historical commentaries reveal the most fascinating story.

Each year during the thirty-eight years, specific birthdays were marked by death. Year after year, the camp was filled with death and mourning. The camp was in a state of constant uncleanness (tamei). In the last year of the thirty-eight years, there was a miracle. The 9th of Av was approaching. People were digging their graves. But this year, in the 40th year since leaving Egypt, on the 9th of Av, no one died. The 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th came, and no one died. The 15th—because it would have been the day of the greatest joy of conquering the Land—became the day of celebration for God's mercy and hope for the fulfillment of our inheritance. The consequence of the spies' report was over and removed.

The 15th of Av is traditionally held as the day the earth was conceived, not created (Gen. 2:4). In the forty days before the 9th of Av, there was a time of deep reflection—no weddings in Israel, no engagements, no great celebrations. Nothing that would celebrate life as we know it, in remembrance of the destruction of the Temples and the sin of the spies. Yet it was less about mourning the past that we had nothing to do with, and more about mourning our own lives that we have not lived in such a way as to bring about peace in the Land and the rebuilding of the Temple.

The 15th day of Av, next Wednesday (July 29, 2026), continues to be the day of the greatest celebration. It is a "mystical" day when men find their future wives. It is a day of conception. It is a day of prayer, atonement, and the longing for the fulfillment of redemption completed. On this day, there is good luck (mazal)—not really luck, but a shining; a moment when you enter into the presence of God more intimately. It is a mini-Yom HaKippurim (Day of Atonements).

Welcome to the anticipation of the happiest day of the year. Wow! What does the day have for us? I, for one, choose to walk in the light of the revelation with hope for clarity on the days ahead, looking for the ultimate day of redemption when the Bridegroom, our Messiah, makes His wife known.

Happy Preparation Day and Shabbat Shalom! 

Alan 

Feel free to go to www.lightintorah.org for any past studies :-)