Today is the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av. The Talmud states that on this day the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyard to find for themselves marriage partners.
The mystics teach that marriage isn't really a union between man and woman, it is a reunion. A soul is divided into two halves. Marriage is the joyous reunion of these two separated halves.
The love between husband and wife is the most passionate for it is a result of years of a soul's yearning to achieve wholeness through reuniting with its long-lost other half. When the two finally find each other and reconnect, the resulting emotions are dizzyingly intense.
On a cosmic level, man and woman are metaphors for G‑d and His nation. The soul of the Jew is a "part of G‑d"; we are essentially one with our Creator, just as a husband and wife are derived from one essence.
And we, too, undergo this process of alienation and reunion.
On Tisha b'Av (the 9th of Av), with the destruction of the Holy Temple and the commencement of two millenniums of exile, we embarked upon a most horrifically painful long stretch of estrangement. The result of this estrangement will be the grandest wedding of all times, the coming of Moshiach which will usher in an era of eternal marital bliss.
The 15th of Av symbolizes the reconciliation that follows the estrangement of Tisha b'Av.
It is an auspicious day, a day to increase in Torah learning, prayer and acts of kindness.
Wishing much much success to all those who are seeking their soul's mate.
