Tonight: The Night of the Fifteenth of Av

Tonight, the night of the fifteenth of Av (Tu B'Av), we are gathering at the request of His Holy Eminence, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days) at 10:00 PM in the prayer hall of the Yeshiva (Torah academy) to recite "The Tikkun HaKlali" (The General Rectification) three times in a large assembly to bring about many salvations and to hasten the Geulah (Redemption) during these auspicious days.

Anyone who cannot arrive for the recitation of the Tikkun HaKlali tonight in the prayer hall of the Yeshiva can gather their friends—and a woman her friends—in groups together to recite the Tikkun HaKlali.

Regarding the greatness of the day of the fifteenth of Av, the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a said:

"Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) are essentially the same aspect. If a person believes in what Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory) say, then right now, Tu B'Av is literally like Kol Nidrei (the opening prayer of Yom Kippur). Only instead of fasting and saying Selichos (penitential prayers), they gave us juice and good cakes so that we can have a joyful Yom Kippur. Hashem (God) accepts the teshuvah (repentance) today. The gates of heaven are open. Every person can receive holy eyes today, a holy mind; everyone can merit today. With joy, with dancing, with song, with eating and drinking. One can merit today everything that can be merited on Yom Kippur. Just keep your head focused. Remember that this is Yom Kippur.

"One must utilize this day of the fifteenth of Av to guard one's eyes, to guard one's thoughts, to sleep a little less, and to go to the field (for secluded prayer). To dance, to sing songs. We were given the fifteenth of Av as a gift—a day when one can emerge from all falls, from all obstacles, from all failures, from all nonsense, and from all imaginations. It is a day when a person is given immense strength, strength from heaven. They bring down a new soul for him, they bring down a new mind for him, they bring down new eyes for him. Today is the true teshuvah (repentance). Just like the night of Kol Nidrei."

"A person receives a new soul and he can sing and dance, pray with enthusiasm, and be happy." Today, everyone can receive a completely new soul that they never had before. He—suddenly—can begin to pray with enthusiasm, to sing and dance, to guard his eyes, and to guard his thoughts in holiness. Everyone can reach immense heights today because today is the day of the creation of souls, 40 days before the creation of the world, which was created on the 25th of Elul. This is the aspect of "Forty days before the formation of the fetus, a Heavenly Voice goes out and proclaims: the daughter of so-and-so for so-and-so." Today, everyone receives a new soul. A soul with patience (erech apayim), a soul with composure (yishuv hadaas), a soul with cleaving (deveikus) to Hashem, a soul with love for Hashem."