Rosh Hodesh Av: Mourning, Redemption, and the Month of the Lion

As we close the Book of Bamidbar and prepare to enter a new spiritual season, the Hebrew month of Av invites us into a moment of deep mystical transition. It is a time shaped by memory and longing, a month whose very name, “Father,” carries both pain and promise. Though Av begins with mourning, it carries within it the seed of redemption — a quiet hope inherited from our ancestors and etched into the destiny of our people.

Av is also known as the month of the Lion ,  chodesh aryeh. In the celestial order, it corresponds to the astrological sign of Leo, the lion. But in Jewish thought, this symbol holds deeper meaning. The lion evokes strength, royalty, and courage — traits we associate not only with the kings of Israel, like David and Solomon, but with the future redeemer, Mashiach ben David.

The word aryeh (lion) shares the same letters as the name Av and hints at a powerful transformation:  The lion of Babylon destroyed the Temple.  But the lion of Yehuda, the tribe of Mashiach, will rebuild it.

In this way, Av becomes the month of both destruction by the lion, and redemption through the Lion. We are reminded that within us lies this strength, he courage to face exile, and the royalty to rise from it.

Mikhal