Tu B'Av: From the Company to the Home | Rabbi Peretz Einhorn

There are moments when a person realizes that their mission does not end where they thought it ended. For thirteen years, we have had the privilege of accompanying religious soldiers all over the country. We visit bases, study Torah with them, hold gatherings, send out pocket-sized books, provide support, listen, and above all, strive to uphold one simple principle: that there should be no soldier who is alone in their spirituality.

Over the years, we have understood that this mission is much greater. It does not end at the base gate, nor does it end on the day of discharge. It continues by maintaining contact with those discharged, returning to the yeshivot for army veterans, continuing the building of character, guiding grooms, and providing accompaniment until the chuppah and the establishment of a home. There is no greater pleasure than seeing a soldier you have accompanied for years standing under the chuppah, establishing a faithful home in Israel, and proudly holding in both hands both the banner of the Torah and the banner of the army.

Precisely for this reason, Tu B'Av is a holiday that reminds us that the greatest light in the people of Israel is created from faithful homes in Israel. One home adds more light, more children, more kindness, more Torah, and more responsibility. Just as in the company we discovered that a soldier's strength stems from the group around him, so it is in family life. A Jewish home is built on partnership, on Torah, on mutual responsibility, and on the knowledge that no one is left alone. When we say that there is no soldier who is alone in their spirituality, we also mean that the path to the home should not be taken alone. The role of rabbis, educators, friends, and the community is to accompany the person even when they take off the uniform and begin to build their home. This is what true continuity of a mission looks like.

After years in which we have had the privilege of meeting tens of thousands of soldiers in the field, I am convinced that the great task of our generation is not only to raise great warriors, but to raise great builders of homes. A home filled with love of Torah, love of Israel, and a good eye for every person is the home from which a strong and healthy society grows. Every new home established out of faith, out of responsibility, and out of a desire to add good, is another stone in the building of the people of Israel. This, in my view, is the deep meaning of Tu B'Av: to choose to be people who increase light in the world, and continue that same mission that accompanied us in the company, to the home, to the family, and to the generations to come.