The Abduction of the Sabine Women, Nicolas Poussin,
Remedying Biblical Trauma with a Festival of Love
A Roman foundation myth is highly reminiscent of the abduction of the dancing girls in the book of Judges: A closer look at the Talmud’s description of Tu B’Av reveals a revolutionary, therapeutic rec
Published July 26, 2015
This is actually not their first but their second solution. Their first solution is to slaughter all of the men of Jabesh-Gilead (the only community which did not join the fight against Benjamin). After destroying the city, they bring the women as booty for the men of Benjamin who are forbidden from marrying with any of the other tribes of Israel. Only when the number of women captured proves insufficient do they turn to the kidnapping solution outlined above.
It seems that the 15th of Av was initially connected to vintage celebrations. In the calendars found at Qumran, the vine first fruits was celebrated at the beginning of the fifth month. See the TABS essay ”The Law of Fourth-Year Fruit: Restraining the Ancient Vintage Celebration.” As for how the ritual fits into the Mishnah’s reference to Yom Kippur, see the TABS essay, “Yom Kippur: A Festival of Dancing Maidens.”
For more discussion of the similarities and connections between the stories, see Robert Gnuse, “Abducted Wives: a Hellenistic narrative in Judges 21?,” Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 21,2 (2007) 228-240.
For a detailed discussion see Moshe Halbertal,Interpretative Revolutions in the Making: Values as Interpretative Considerations in Midrashei Halakhah(Hebrew; Jerusalem, 1997), pp. 74-83.
