Menachem Av: Consolation and Preparation for the New Year

20 Av: Heroism for the Sake of the "Distant" (1944)

20 Av marks the yahrzeit of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Seventh Rebbe, who passed away in exile in Alma-Ata. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was arrested by the Soviet authorities for his selfless work in teaching Jewish children Torah and supporting Jewish life under the harshest persecution. He made ink from herbs to write Chassidic commentaries, never ceasing his spiritual work even in exile. The Rebbe established 20 Av as a special day for strengthening Jewish education and increasing tzedakah (charity). The heroism of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak teaches us: for the sake of those who are far from Torah, it is worth risking everything.

40 Days Before Rosh Hashanah

20 Av falls exactly forty days before Rosh Hashanah, the day of Adam's creation. Just as the formation of an embryo takes forty days, this period marks the beginning of intense spiritual preparation for the New Year. Forty days is the time during which Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai, and during which the spies surveyed the Land of Israel. In some communities, the procedure of hatarat nedarim (annulment of vows) begins from 20 Av, as part of the preparation to purify the soul before God. Each of these forty days is an opportunity to rectify the corresponding day of the departing year and to lay the foundation for a blessed future.