(courtesy of Kollel Chatzos) Every little girl has a dream—of tulle and lace and a diamond ring on her very own finger.
And every little boy has a dream as well: to be a totty.
But when some of those girls and boys grow up, those dreams become just that: elusive, far-off and impossible to capture in real life.
As the years tick on and the dream of standing under the chupa seems further away, life becomes a nightmare—for the girl and boy, for their parents and for everyone who cares about them.
Sometimes, when the phone is too silent for too long and hope is all but dissolved, we feel like there is nothing to do but sigh. And wait.
Until Chamisha Asar b’Av approaches, and something starts to flutter. We remember, “Lo hayu yamim tovim k’Chamisha Asar b’Av.” Klal Yisrael experienced no yamim tovim likened to Tu b’Av. This was because, in the time of the Beis Hamikdash, the 15h of Av was the day that “bnos Yisroel yotzos.” It was a day of shidduchim, of merriment and of intense joy.
And while we no longer have the Beis Hamikdash and its accompanying brachos, Tu b’Av has remained a day that is mesugal for shidduchim. It’s our opportunity to pierce shaarei Shamayim on behalf of all those individuals who are waiting to find their zivug—and have our tefillos accepted l’ratzon.
These tefillos take on a new significance when davened at the kever of the holy tana, Rabbi Yonason ben Uziel. While the source of the segula remains shrouded in mystery, tradition has it that this sacred kever is the place to daven for shidduchim. Thousands of heartbroken individuals have streamed to this kever throughout the years to pour out their hearts—and then to see how their hearts were gladdened and their tefillos were accepted.
These tefillos at Amuka on Tu b’Av are magnified and intensified when recited by lomdei chatzos because the Gemara elucidates one of the reasons of rejoicing on Tu b’Av is “tashash kocha shel chama,” the summer solstice has passed, the nights lengthen and people have more time to learn Torah.
And so, Kollel Chatzos, the renowned emissaries of klal Yisrael, who bring forth so many yeshuos for broken-hearted Yidden, have undertaken to send a delegation from the Meron Kollel Chatzos to recite special tefillos on Sunday night, the night of Tu b’Av, on behalf of Kollel Chatzos’s partners.
Every year, Kollel Chatzos has merited to be the “shadchan of sorts” for many individuals who have said that these tefillos have brought about their shidduch. This Tu b’Av, Kollel Chatzos will daven at Amuka once again. And we hope that these tefillos will bring many a dream of sheitels, rings, talleisim and new homes to reality.
