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{{Short description|Jewish fast day}} | |||
{{Infobox Holiday | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} | |||
|image = Francesco Hayez 017.jpg | |||
{{Infobox holiday | |||
|caption = Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, by ] | |||
| image = (Venice) La distruzione del tempio di Gerusalemme -Francesco Hayez - gallerie Accademia Venice.jpg | |||
|holiday_name = ''Tisha B'Av'' | |||
| caption = Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, by ] | |||
|official_name = ]: תשעה באב <br>]: Ninth of Av | |||
| holiday_name = Tisha B'Av | |||
|observedby = ]s in ] | |||
| official_name = ]: {{Script/Hebrew|תשעה באב}} <br />]: Ninth of Av | |||
|date = 9th day of ] (if '']'', then the 10th of Av) | |||
| date = 9th day of ] (if '']'', then the 10th of Av) | |||
|observances = ], ] | |||
| observances = ], ], ], abstaining from physical pleasures | |||
|type = Jewish | |||
| type = ] and national | |||
|significance = Mourning the destruction of the ] & ] ] in ], and more generally for all calamities which have befallen the Jewish people | |||
| |
| significance = Mourning the destruction of the ancient ] and ], and other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people. | ||
| relatedto = The fasts of ], the ] and the ], ] & ] | |||
|date2007 = Sunset, July 23 – nightfall, July 24 | |||
| date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=last}} | |||
|date2008 = Sunset, August 9 – nightfall, August 10 | |||
| date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=current}} | |||
|date2009 = Sunset, July 29 – nightfall, July 30 | |||
| date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next}} | |||
|date2010 = Sunset, July 19 – nightfall, July 20 | |||
| date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next2}} | |||
|date2011 = Sunset, August 8 – nightfall, August 9 | |||
| frequency = annual | |||
|date2012 = Sunset, July 28 - nightfall, July 29 | |||
| firsttime = | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''Tisha B'Av''' ({{langx|he|תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב}}{{efn|Also written {{Script/Hebrew|ט׳ באב}}, using ].}} {{Transliteration|he|Tīšʿā Bəʾāv}}; {{IPA|he|tiʃʕa beˈʔav|IPA|He-TishaBAv.ogg}}, {{Literally|the ninth of ]}}) is an annual ] in ]. A commemoration of a number of disasters in ], primarily the destruction of both ] by the ] and the ] by the ] in ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Tisha Be-Av - Jewish Tradition |url=https://yahadut.org/en/shabbat-and-festivals/fasts-commemorating-the-destruction-of-the-temple/tisha-be-av/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=yahadut.org |language=en}}</ref> | |||
Tisha B'Av precedes the end of the ]. This day is regarded as the saddest day in the ]. It is categorized as a day destined for tragedy.<ref name="BarclayJaeger2003">{{cite book|author1=Elozor Barclay|author2=Yitzchok Jaeger|title=Guidelines: Over Four Hundred of the Most Commonly Asked Questions about the Three Weeks|year=2003|publisher=Targum Press|isbn=978-1-56871-254-3|page=65|quote=Hashem condemned this day to become destined for national disasters throughout history...}}</ref><ref name="Ellis2005">{{cite book|author=Pinchos Yehoshua Ellis|title=Seasons in halacha|year=2005|publisher=Targum Press|isbn=978-1-56871-369-4|page=267|quote=Tisha B'Av initially became destined for tragedy...}}</ref> Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the ]. | |||
{{Audio|He-TishaBAv.ogg|'''''Tisha B'Av'''''}} ({{lang-he|תשעה באב}} or {{lang|he|ט׳ באב}}, "the Ninth of ],") is an annual ] in ], named for the ninth day (''Tisha'') of the month of ] in the ]. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the ] and ] in ], which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same ] date.<ref>The First Temple's destruction began on the 7th of Av (2 Kings 25:8) and continued until the 10th (Jeremiah 52:12). The fire was lit on the afternoon of the 9th (''Ta'anit'' 29a)</ref> Although primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of the Temples, it is also considered appropriate to commemorate other Jewish tragedies that occurred on this day, most notably the ] in 1492.<ref>http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayd.htm</ref> Accordingly, the day has been called the "saddest day in Jewish history".<ref>{{cite book | last = Telushkin | first = Joseph | year = 1991 | title = Jewish Literacy: Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History | publisher = William Morrow & Co | isbn = 0-688-08506-7 | pages = 656 }}</ref> | |||
Observances of the day include ], most notable of which is a 25-hour fast. The ], which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem, is read in synagogue, followed by the recitation of '']'', liturgical ]s that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As the day has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people, some ''kinnot'' also recall events such as the murder of the ] by the Romans; ], ], and elsewhere; ] by ]; ];<ref name=":0" /> and the ].<ref name="Hajdenbigger-A000">{{cite news |last=Hajdenberg |first=Jackie |date=2024-08-09 |title=For the first Tisha B'Av after Oct. 7, new liturgy and traditions mourn a fresh tragedy |url=https://www.jta.org/2024/08/09/religion/in-first-tisha-bav-after-oct-7-jewish-writers-musicians-and-lay-leaders-compose-new-liturgy-and-traditions-to-mourn-a-fresh-tragedy |access-date=2024-08-15 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency est 1917 |location=Yeruham, Israel |quote=Every year, on the fast day of Tisha B’Av, Jewish communities worldwide chant a series of dirges, called “kinnot,” that commemorate the tragedies of Jewish history in verse, from the destruction of the temples to the Crusades to the Holocaust.}}</ref><ref name = Harkovigger-A000>{{cite news | |||
''Tisha B'Av'' falls in July or August in the ]. When the ninth of Av falls on ] (Saturday), the observance is deferred to Sunday the tenth of Av. While the day recalls general tragedies which have befallen the Jewish people over the ages, the day focuses on commemoration of five events: the destruction of the two ancient Temples in Jerusalem, the sin of ten of the ] sent by ] who spoke disparagingly about the ], the razing of Jerusalem following the ] in ], and the failure of the ] against the ]. | |||
| last = Harkov | |||
| first = Lahav | |||
| date = 2024-08-12 | |||
| title = The rabbis adding Oct. 7 to their Tisha B'Av lamentations | |||
| url = https://jewishinsider.com/2024/08/tisha-bav-oct-7-rabbis-israel-religious-zionist-rabbi-david-stav/ | |||
| work = Jewish Insider (JI) | |||
| location = United States | |||
| access-date = 2024-08-15 | |||
| quote = Some congregations in Israel and the Diaspora will have new texts to read about more recent, tragic events of Oct. 7, the greatest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. | |||
}}</ref> | |||
==History== | |||
The fast lasts about 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the eve of ''Tisha B'Av'' and ending at nightfall the next day. In addition to the prohibitions against eating or drinking, observant Jews also observe prohibitions against washing or bathing, applying creams or oils, wearing leather shoes, and engaging in sexual activity. In addition, ] similar to those applicable to the '']'' period immediately following the death of a close relative are traditionally followed for at least part of the day, including sitting on low stools, refraining from work and not greeting others. | |||
===Five calamities=== | |||
The ] is traditionally read, followed by the '']'', a series of liturgical lamentations. In many ] and ] communities, and formerly also among ], it is also customary to read the ]. | |||
] | |||
==History== | |||
===Destruction of the Temple=== | |||
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2011}} | |||
] | |||
The fast commemorates the destruction of the ] and ]s. | |||
According to the ] ('']'' 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting: | |||
In connection with the fall of ], three other fast-days were established at the same time as the Ninth Day of Av: these were the ], when the siege<!--which siege? the article mentions several--> began; the ], when the first breach was made in the wall; and the Third of Tishrei, known as the ]h, the day when ] was assassinated. | |||
# The ] sent by ] to observe the land of ] returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, ] and ], brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the ] to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "]". For this, they were punished by ] that their generation would not enter the land.<ref>See {{bibleverse||Numbers|13|HE}}; {{bibleverse||Numbers|14|HE}}.</ref> The ] quotes God as saying about this event, "You cried before me pointlessly, I will fix for you crying for the generations",<ref>] 16:20</ref> alluding to the future misfortunes which occurred on the same date. | |||
The three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av are known as ], while the days leading up to Tisha B'Av are known as ]. | |||
# The ] built by ] was ] in 586 BCE, and the population of the ] was sent into the ].<ref name="jewishencyc">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/110-ab-ninth-day-of|title=Ab, Ninth Day of|encyclopedia=]|access-date=15 July 2013}}</ref> According to the Bible, the First Temple's destruction began on the 7th of Av (2 Kings 25:8) and continued until the 10th (Jeremiah 52:12). According to the ],<ref>] 29a</ref> the actual destruction of the Temple began on the Ninth of Av, and it continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av. | |||
# The ], built by ] and renovated by ], was ] on 9 Av 70 CE,{{efn|Secular chronology gives the year as 70 CE. Some versions of rabbinic chronology give the year as 68 CE. See ] for elaboration.}} scattering the people of ] and commencing the ] from the Holy Land.<ref name="jewishencyc"/> | |||
# The Romans subsequently crushed ] and destroyed the city of ], killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians (approximately 580,000) on 9 Av 135 CE.<ref name="Ohr">{{cite web |url=http://ohr.edu/1088 |title=History of Events on Tisha B'Av |last=Becher |first=Rabbi Mordechai |year=1995 |access-date=19 July 2010 |publisher=ohrnet}}</ref> | |||
# Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Roman commander ] plowed the site of the Temple in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.<ref name="Barclay" /> | |||
=== |
===Other calamities=== | ||
Over time, Tisha B'Av has come to be a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for later tragedies that occurred on or near the 9th of Av. References to some of these events appear in liturgy composed for Tisha B'Av (see below). Note that dates prior to 1582 are in the ], not the ]. | |||
According to the ] ('']'' 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting: | |||
*The ] officially commenced on 15 August 1096 (Av 24, AM 4856), ] in its first month and destroying Jewish communities in ] and the ].<ref name="Ohr"/><ref name="Erbstösser">{{cite book|last=Erbstösser|first=Martin|title=The Crusades|year=1978|publisher=Brunel House|location=UK|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bWCbAAAAMAAJ|isbn=978-0876633311}}</ref> | |||
# The ] sent by ] to observe the land of ] returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, ] and ], brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the ] to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "]". For this, they were punished by God that their generation would not enter the land. Because of the Israelites' lack of faith, God decreed that for all generations this date would become one of crying and misfortune for their descendants. (See ] Ch. 13–14) | |||
*The Jews were ] from ] on 18 July 1290 (Av 9, AM 5050).<ref name="Ohr" /> | |||
# The ] built by ] and the ] was destroyed by the ]ns led by ] in ] (3175 ]) after the ] and the Judaeans were sent into the ]. | |||
*The Jews were ] on 22 July 1306 (Av 10, AM 5066).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-1306-king-philip-expels-all-france-s-jews-1.5413718|title=This Day In Jewish History 1306: King Philip 'The Fair' Expels All France's Jews|first=David B.|last=Green|date=22 July 2016|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref> | |||
# The ] built by ] and ] was destroyed by the Romans in August 70 CE (3830 AM), scattering the people of ] and commencing the ] from the Holy Land. According to the ] in tractate ], the destruction of the Second Temple began on the Ninth of Av and the Temple continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av. | |||
*The Jews were ] from ] on 31 July 1492 (Av 7, AM 5252).<ref name="Barclay">{{cite book |title=Guidelines: Over Four Hundred of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About the Three Weeks |last1=Barclay |first1=Rabbi Elozor |last2=Jaeger |first2=Rabbi Yitzchok |year=2003 |publisher=] |isbn=1-56871-254-5}}. Note that 31 July is the ] date; corrected for the ] it would be 10 August.</ref> | |||
# The Romans crushed Bar Kokhba's revolt and destroyed the city of ], killing over 100,000 Jews, on July 8, 132 CE (Av 9, 3892 AM).<ref name="Ohr">{{cite web |url=http://ohr.edu/1088 |title=History of Events on Tisha B'Av |last=Becher |first=Rabbi Mordechai |year=1995 |accessdate=2010-07-19 |publisher=ohrnet}}</ref> | |||
*Germany entered ] on 1–2 August 1914 (Av 9–10, AM 5674), which caused massive upheaval in European Jewry and whose aftermath led to World War II and ].<ref name="Ohr" /> | |||
# Following the ], Roman commander Turnus Rufus plowed the site of the Temple and the surrounding area, in 133 CE.<ref name="Barclay" /> | |||
* On 2 August 1941 (Av 9, AM 5701), SS commander ] formally received approval from the Nazi Party for "]," which marked the beginning of the ] during which almost one third of the world's Jewish population was murdered.<ref name="TheUs">{{cite web|url=https://www.theus.org.uk/sites/default/files/9TH%20AV%20SLIDE%20SHOW_ie_ml.pdf|title=The three weeks, Tisha B'av (9th of Av) and the month of Av in general|access-date=1 August 2017|archive-date=17 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917110433/https://www.theus.org.uk/sites/default/files/9TH%20AV%20SLIDE%20SHOW_ie_ml.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
*On 23 July 1942 (Av 9, AM 5702), the mass deportation of Jews from the ] to ] began.<ref name="TheUs" /> | |||
*The ] on the Jewish community center in ], killed 85 and injured 300 on 18 July 1994 (10 Av, AM 5754).<ref>{{cite news|last=Kreiman|first=Claudia|title=Grief and Consolation in the Month of Av (Isaiah 40:1–26)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-claudia-kreiman/grief-and-consolation-in-_b_3605073.html|date=15 September 2013|agency=Huffington Post}}</ref> | |||
*The 2005 ], according to some ] rabbis like ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=יהדות, שיעורים, זמנים |url=https://www.yeshiva.org.il/?ignoreuniversal=1 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=אתר ישיבה |language=he}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-10-05 |title=גוש קטיף וט' באב {{!}} שאל את הרב |url=https://www.kipa.co.il/%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%9C-%D7%90%D7%AA-%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%91/%d7%92%d7%95%d7%a9-%d7%a7%d7%98%d7%99%d7%a3-%d7%95%d7%98-%d7%91%d7%90%d7%91/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=כיפה |language=he-IL}}</ref> ] have been composed about the withdrawal,<ref>{{Cite web |title=קינות גוש קטיף לתשעה באב – מוזיאון גוש קטיף |url=https://gushkatifmuseum.com/%d7%a7%d7%99%d7%a0%d7%95%d7%aa-%d7%92%d7%95%d7%a9-%d7%a7%d7%98%d7%99%d7%a3-%d7%9c%d7%aa%d7%a9%d7%a2%d7%94-%d7%91%d7%90%d7%91/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |language=he-IL}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=קינה על גוש קטיף • הקול היהודי |url=https://www.hakolhayehudi.co.il/item/Jewish_life/%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%A2%D7%9C_%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A9_%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A3 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=• הקול היהודי |language=he}}</ref> and the connection to Tisha b'Av was emphasized in 10-year anniversary commemorations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ben-Porat |first=Ido |date=Jul 21, 2015 |title='Disengagement Joins 5 Tragedies of Tisha B'Av' |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/198429 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=www.israelnationalnews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-03 |title=Revisiting the Gaza Withdrawal, 10 Years Later |url=https://forward.com/israel/318228/gaza-withdrawal-10-years-later/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=The Forward |language=en}}</ref> The disengagement's timing lent itself to symbolic interpretation both by Religious Zionists and by wider Jewish culture.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fine |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YR4_DQAAQBAJ |title=The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel |date=2016-11-21 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-08879-5 |pages=221–222 |language=en}}</ref> However, even within Religious Zionism, ] holds that the disengagement did not rise to the level of a calamity<ref>{{Cite web |title=יהדות, שיעורים, זמנים |url=https://www.yeshiva.org.il/?ignoreuniversal=1 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=אתר ישיבה |language=he}}</ref> and ] has written that mourning the disengagement on Tisha b'Av is forbidden because it incites political division.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-27 |title=במה לעסוק בט' באב? הרב אבינר משיב |url=https://www.kipa.co.il/%D7%99%D7%94%D7%93%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%97%D7%92%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%AA%D7%A9%D7%A2%D7%94-%D7%91%D7%90%D7%91/1096594-%D7%91%D7%9E%D7%94-%D7%9C%D7%A2%D7%A1%D7%95%D7%A7-%D7%91%D7%98-%D7%91%D7%90%D7%91-%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%91-%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%A8-%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%91/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=כיפה |language=he-IL}}</ref> ], then ], ruled in 2006 that the disengagement was a tragedy but mourning rituals should not be integrated into Tisha b'Av,<ref>{{Cite web |title=קביעת תענית וקינות על חורבן גוש קטיף |url=https://zomet.org.il/thumin/%D7%A7%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%AA-%D7%AA%D7%A2%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%AA-%D7%A2%D7%9C-%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%9F-%D7%92%D7%95%D7%A9-%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A3-2/ |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=צומת |language=he-IL}}</ref> while ] permits it in narrow fashion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gray Matter IV, Israel, Gush Katif Fasting and Kinnot 1 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Gray_Matter_IV,_Israel,_Gush_Katif_Fasting_and_Kinnot.1 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> | |||
While the ] spanned a number of years, religious communities use Tisha B'Av to mourn its 6,000,000 Jewish victims, either in addition to or instead of the secular ] such as ]. On Tisha B'Av, communities that otherwise do not modify the traditional prayer liturgy have added the recitation of special '']'' related to the ].<ref name=":0" /> | |||
'''''Note:''''' ''Due to a ], the years in which the First and Second Temple were destroyed have been disputed. Though it has been accepted by most historians to refer to the most modern interpretation of the Calendar (which corresponds to the ] in 70 CE.) | |||
Similarly, kinnot have been added to the tisha b'av liturgy regarding the ].<ref name = Hajdenbigger-A000></ref><ref name = Harkovigger-A000></ref> | |||
===Other calamities=== | |||
Over time, Tisha B'Av has come to be a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for later tragedies. Regardless of the exact dates of these events, for many Jews, Tisha B'Av is the designated day of mourning for them, and these themes are reflected in liturgy composed for this day (see below). | |||
===Related observances=== | |||
'''Other calamities associated with Tisha B'Av:''' | |||
In connection with the fall of ], three other fast-days were established at the same time as the Ninth Day of Av: these were the ], when the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians began; the ], when the first breach was made in the wall by the Romans; and the Third of Tishrei, known as the ], the day when ] was assassinated in the time of the Babylonians following the destruction of the First Temple.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6033-fasting-and-fast-days|title=Fasting and Fast-Days|website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> The three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av are known as ], while the nine days leading up to Tisha B'Av are known as ].<ref name=":0" /> | |||
*The ] was declared by ] on July 20, 1095 (Av 9, 4855 AM), killing 10,000 Jews in its first month and destroying Jewish communities in ] and the ].<ref name="Ohr"/> | |||
*Jews were expelled from England on July 25, 1290 (Av 9, 5050 AM).<ref name="Ohr" /> | |||
*Jews were ] from ] on August 11, 1492 (Av 9, 5252 AM).<ref name="Barclay">{{cite book |title=Guidelines: Over Four Hundred of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About the Three Weeks |last=Barclay |first=Rabbi Elozor |last2=Jaeger |first2=Rabbi Yitzchok |year=2003 |publisher=] |isbn=1-56871-254-5}}</ref> | |||
*On August 1, 1914 (Av 9, 5674 AM), World War I broke out, causing unprecedented devastation across Europe and set the stage for World War II and ].<ref name="Barclay" /> | |||
*On the eve of Tisha B'Av 5702 (July 23, 1942), the mass deportation began of Jews from the ], en route to ].<ref name="judaism1">{{cite web|url = http://judaism.about.com/od/daysofmourning/a/tav_events.htm |title = Tisha B'Av Calamities - 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av - Ninth of Av - Jewish Days of Mourning - Fast Day |accessdate = 2008-08-10}}</ref> | |||
*The Jewish community center in ] was ], killing 86 and wounding 300 others, on Monday July 18, 1994,<ref name="Ohr" /> in Jewish Calendar, the 10th of Av, 5754. | |||
==Laws and customs== | ==Laws and customs== | ||
] | |||
Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the ]. When Tisha B'Av falls on ] (the Sabbath), it then is {{transliteration|he|nidche}} ("delayed" in Hebrew). Thus the observance of Tisha B'Av can take place on the following day (that is, Sunday). This occurred in 2022, and will occur in 2029. No mourning can intrude upon the Sabbath. Normally Sabbath eating and drinking ends just before sunset Saturday evening, rather than nightfall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/48964976.html|title=When Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat or Sunday|date=14 June 2004}}</ref> | |||
This fast lasts just over 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the preceding evening, lasting until nightfall the next day. Pleasurable activities are forbidden.<ref name="ohr.edu">{{cite web|url=https://ohr.edu/1098|title=The Laws of Tisha B'Av |author=Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman}}</ref> | |||
===Main prohibitions=== | ===Main prohibitions=== | ||
''Tisha B'Av'' bears |
''Tisha B'Av'' bears a stringent nature alike that of ]. The length of a fast that lasts over 25 hours, beginning before sunset on the eve of Tisha B'Av and ends at nightfall the following day, Tisha B'Av mandates the following five prohibitions:<ref>] Orach Chaim 650:2</ref> | ||
#No eating or drinking | #No eating or drinking; | ||
#No washing or bathing | #No washing or bathing; | ||
#No application of creams or oils | #No application of creams or oils; | ||
#No wearing of leather shoes | #No wearing of (leather) shoes; | ||
#No marital relations | #No marital (sexual) relations. | ||
These restrictions are waived in the case of health issues. |
These restrictions are waived in the case of health issues. A competent ], a rabbi who decides ], must be consulted. Those who are ill will be allowed to eat and drink. On other fast days, almost any medical condition can justify breaking the fast; in practice, consultation with a ] is best.<ref name = "ohr.edu" /> ] up to the knuckles is permitted. Washing to cleanse dirt or mud from one's body is also permitted.<ref name="ohr.edu"/> | ||
===Additional customs=== | ===Additional customs=== | ||
] | |||
] study is forbidden on Tisha B'av (as it is considered a spiritually enjoyable activity), except for the study of distressing texts such as the ], the ], portions of ] and chapters of the ] that discuss the laws of mourning.<ref>{{cite book | last = Donin | first = Hayim Halevy | year = 1991 | title = To Be a Jew | publisher = Basic Books | isbn = 0-465-08632-2 | pages = 264 }}</ref> | |||
] is forbidden on Tisha B'Av (as it is considered an enjoyable activity), except for the study of distressing texts such as the ], the ], portions of ] and chapters of the ] that discuss the laws of mourning and those that discuss the destruction of the ].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Joseph ben Ephraim Karo|author-link=Joseph ben Ephraim Karo|title=''Shulchan Aruch'', Orach Chayim, Siman 554.|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Shulchan_Arukh%2C_Orach_Chayim.554?lang=en|access-date=30 July 2020|quote=Tisha b'Av is forbidden for washing, anointing, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations. It is also forbidden to read from the ], ] (Prophets), and ] (Writings) and to learn ] and ] and ] and ] and ], because it says, "The precepts of God are right, gladdening the heart" (]). Schoolchildren are idle on it. One may read ] and the negative passages in ], but if there are between them passages of consolation, one must skip them.}}</ref><ref name=donin>{{cite book | last = Donin | first = Hayim Halevy | year = 1991 | title = To Be a Jew | publisher = Basic Books | isbn = 0-465-08632-2 | pages = | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/tobejewguideto000doni }}</ref> | |||
In ], prior to the commencement of the evening services, the ], which normally covers and adorns the ], is removed or drawn aside until the ] prayer service.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=11 August 2019|title=Fallen Glory - The Message of Tisha B'Av • Torah.org|date=10 October 2016|url=https://torah.org/learning/integrity-fallenglory/}}</ref> ], who do not hang a curtain in front of the ark during the rest of the year, place a black curtain over the ark for tisha b'av.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dobrinsky |first=Herbert C. |title=A treasury of Sephardic laws and customs: the ritual practices of Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese Jews of North America |publisher=Yeshiva University Ktav |location=Hoboken, N.J |year=1986 |isbn=0-88125-032-5 |edition=2nd |pages=306 |language=English}}</ref> | |||
According to the ] it is customary to sit on low stools or on the floor, as is done during '']'' from the meal immediately before the fast (]) until noon. The ] rules that the custom extends until one prays ] (the afternoon prayer). | |||
According to ], it is customary to sit on low stools or on the floor, as is done during ] (the first week of mourning), from the meal immediately before the fast (the ]) until ] of the fast itself. It is customary to eat a hard-boiled egg dipped in ashes and a piece of bread dipped into ashes during this pre-fast meal. The ] rules that the custom to sit low to the ground extends past mid-day until one prays ] (the afternoon prayer).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Selected Halachos of the Days of Tisha B'Av {{!}} Beit Midrash {{!}} Torah Lessons {{!}} yeshiva.co|url=https://www.yeshiva.co/midrash/6869|access-date=29 July 2020|website=Yeshiva Site|language=en}}</ref> | |||
If possible, work is avoided during this period. Electric lighting may be turned off or dimmed, and kinot recited by candlelight. Some sleep on the floor or modify their normal sleeping routine, by sleeping without a pillow, for instance. People refrain from greeting each other or sending gifts on this day. Old prayerbooks and Torahs are often buried on this day. | |||
The custom is to dim the lighting and to read the ] by candlelight. Some sleep on the floor or modify their normal sleeping routine, for instance, by sleeping without a pillow (or with one fewer pillow than usual). People refrain from greeting each other or sending gifts on this day. Old ]im and ]s are often buried on this day.<ref name="ohr.edu"/> | |||
==End of fast== | |||
Although the fast ends at nightfall, according to tradition, the Temple continued burning throughout the night and for most of the following day, the tenth of Av.<ref>{{cite book | last = Donin | first = Hayim Halevy | year = 1991 | title = To Be a Jew | publisher = Basic Books | isbn = 0-465-08632-2 | pages = 265 }}</ref> It is therefore customary to refrain from eating meat, drinking wine, bathing, cutting hair, doing laundry, listening to music, making a '']'' blessing until midday ('']'') of the following day.<ref>Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 558:1</ref> | |||
The custom is to not put on ] nor ] for ] services. Men wear only the ] without a blessing. At mincha services, tzitzit and tefilin are worn, with proper blessings before donning them.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Joseph ben Ephraim Karo|author-link=Joseph ben Ephraim Karo|title=Shulchan Aruch/Orach Chaim/555|url=https://en.wikisource.org/?curid=57353|access-date=18 April 2016}}</ref> | |||
When Tisha B'Av begins on Saturday night, the ] ritual at the end of ] is truncated (using a candle but no spices), without a blessing over wine. After Tisha B'Av ends on Sunday evening, another Havdalah ceremony is performed with wine (without candle or spices).<ref>''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' 125:6</ref> | |||
===End of fast=== | |||
The laws of Tisha B'Av are recorded in the ] (Literally "The Set Table", a code of Jewish Law") '']'' 552-557. | |||
Although the fast ends at nightfall, according to tradition the ] continued burning throughout the night and for most of the following day, the tenth of Av.<ref name=donin /> It is therefore customary to maintain all restrictions of the nine days through midday ('']'') of the following day.<ref>Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 558:1</ref> | |||
When Tisha B'Av falls on a Saturday, and is therefore observed on Sunday, the 10th of Av, it is not necessary to wait until midday Monday to end restrictions of the nine days. However, one refrains from involvement in activity that would be considered "joyous", such as eating meat, drinking wine, listening to music, and saying the "shehecheyonu" blessing, until Monday morning. One can wash laundry and shave immediately after the end of a delayed Tisha B'Av.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=11 August 2019|title=When Tisha b'Av is Observed on Sunday|url=https://www.ou.org/holidays/fast-of-tisha-bav/when-tisha-bav-is-observed-on-sunday/|date=24 July 2015|website=Jewish Holidays}}</ref> | |||
===Services=== | |||
When Tisha B'Av begins on Saturday night, the ] ritual is postponed by 24 hours, as one could not drink the accompanying wine. One says ''Attah Chonantanu'' in the Saturday night ] or says ''Baruch Hamavdil'' thus ending Shabbat. A blessing ''is'' made on the candle Saturday night. After Tisha B'Av ends on Sunday evening, the Havdalah ceremony is performed with wine (without candle or spices).<ref>''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' 125:6</ref> | |||
The laws of Tisha B'Av are recorded in the ] ] 552–557. | |||
==Prayer service== | |||
===Scriptural readings=== | |||
{{Quote box | {{Quote box | ||
| quote = "Console, O Lord, the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem and the city laid waste, despised and desolate. In mourning for she is childless, her dwellings laid waste, despised in the downfall of her glory and desolate through the loss of her inhabitants…. Legions have devoured her, worshippers of strange gods have possessed her. They have put the people of Israel to the sword… Therefore let Zion weep bitterly and Jerusalem give forth her voice… For You, O Lord, did consume her with fire and with fire will You in future restore her… Blessed are You, O Lord, Who consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem." | | quote = "Console, O Lord, the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem and the city laid waste, despised and desolate. In mourning for she is childless, her dwellings laid waste, despised in the downfall of her glory and desolate through the loss of her inhabitants…. Legions have devoured her, worshippers of strange gods have possessed her. They have put the people of Israel to the sword… Therefore let Zion weep bitterly and Jerusalem give forth her voice… For You, O Lord, did consume her with fire and with fire will You in future restore her… Blessed are You, O Lord, Who consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem." | ||
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The ] of ''Eicha'' (]) is read in ] during the evening ]. In addition, most of the morning is spent chanting or reading ], most bewailing the loss of the Temples and the subsequent persecutions, but many others referring to post-exile disasters. These later ''kinnot'' were composed by various poets (often prominent rabbis) who had either suffered in the events mentioned or relate received reports. Important ''kinnot'' were composed by ] and Rabbi ]. After ], ''kinnot'' were composed by the German-born Rabbi ] (in 1959, at the request of Rabbi ]) and by Rabbi ], leader of the ] (in 1984). Since ] from ], some right wing segments of the ] community have begun to recite ''kinnot'' to commemorate the expulsion of Jewish settlers from ] and northern ] on the day after Tisha B'Av, in 2005.<ref> Tisha B'Av: Special Gush Katif Kinna</ref> | |||
The ] is read in ] during the evening services.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/715592/rabbi-josh-flug/the-reading-of-eicha-on-tisha-b-av/|title=The Reading of Eicha on Tisha B'Av (Rabbi Josh Flug)|website=www.yutorah.org|date=22 May 2023 }}</ref> | |||
In many Sephardic congregations, the ] is read on the morning of Tisha B'Av.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.yutorah.org/download.cfm?materialID=507764 | title=The Book of Iyov (Job) | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722155727/https://www.yutorah.org/download.cfm?materialID=507764 | archive-date=2018-07-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pathoftorah.com/tanakh/ketuvim/iyov-job/|title=Iyov (Job) – Derech HaTorah}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|reason=Need a halachik/primary source citing this Sephardic custom. Having the custom to read some book is different than being allowed to read some book—not to be confused with the law that only certain texts are allowed to be read on Tisha B'av.|date=July 2020}} | |||
In many ]c congregations the ] is read on the morning of Tisha B'Av. | |||
Those called to the ] on Tisha B'Av are not given the usual congratulations for this honor.<ref>Israel Abrahams, ''Festival Studies'' (1906, London, Macmillan & Co.) page 81.</ref> There is also a tradition that those who were called to read from the Torah or ] in the Tisha B'Av morning service are also called to read in the afternoon service, because the morning readings are filled with calamity and the afternoon readings contain words of consolation.<ref>Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard, Rite and Reason; 1050 Jewish Customs and Their Sources (1998, NY, Feldheim) pages 554–555.</ref> | |||
At the ] service, Ashkenazim add a paragraph that begins ''Nachem'' ("Console...") to the conclusion of the blessing ''Boneh Yerushalayim'' ("Who builds Jerusalem") recited during the ]. The prayer elaborates the mournful state of the ]. The concluding signature of the blessing is also extended to say ''"Blessed are You, O Lord, Who consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem."'' | |||
===Kinnot=== | |||
{{Main|Kinnot}} | |||
Most of the morning is spent chanting or reading ], bewailing the loss of the Temples and subsequent persecutions, many others referring to post-exile disasters. Later ''kinnot'' were composed by various poets (often prominent rabbis) who had suffered in the events mentioned. Important ''kinnot'' were composed by ] and Rabbi ]. After ], ''kinnot'' were composed by the German-born Rabbi ] (in 1959, at the request of Rabbi ]) and by Rabbi ], leader of the ] (in 1984). Since ] from ], some segments of the ] community have begun to recite ''kinnot'' to commemorate the ] from ] and the northern ] on the day after Tisha B'Av, in 2005.<ref name="Machon Shilo">{{cite web |url=http://www.machonshilo.org/en/eng/list-articles/36-minhag-eretz/59-kina-for-gush-katif |publisher=Machon Shilo |title=Tisha B'Av: Special Gush Katif Kinna |date=11 December 2008}}</ref> | |||
===Nachem=== | |||
A paragraph that begins ''Nahem'' ("Console...") is added to the conclusion of the blessing ''Boneh Yerushalayim'' ("Who builds Jerusalem") recited during the ] (for ], only at the ] service). The prayer elaborates the mournful state of the ] and city of ]. The concluding signature of the blessing is also extended to say "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem." | |||
Various ] and ] rabbis have proposed amending ''Nachem'', as its wording no longer reflects the existence of a rebuilt ] under Israeli sovereignty. Chief Rabbi ], for example, issued a revised wording of the prayer and Rabbi ] proposed putting the prayer's verbs relating to the Temple's destruction into the past tense. However, such proposals have not been widely adopted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oztorah.com/2008/08/nachem-to-change-or-not-to-change-ask-the-rabbi/ |publisher=OzTorah |title="Nachem": to change or not to change? – Ask the Rabbi |date=August 2008}}</ref> | |||
==History of the observance== | ==History of the observance== | ||
] | |||
In the long period which is reflected in Talmudic literature the observance of the Ninth Day of Av assumed a character of constantly growing sadness and asceticism. By the end of the second century or at the beginning of the third, the celebration of the day had lost much of its gloom. Rabbi ] was in favor of abolishing it altogether or, according to another version, of lessening its severity when the fast has been postponed from Saturday to Sunday (Talmud, Tractate Megillah 5b). | |||
In the long period which is reflected in ]ic literature the observance of Tisha B'Av assumed a character of constantly growing sadness and asceticism. | |||
The growing strictness in the observance of mourning customs in connection with the Ninth Day of Av became pronounced in post-Talmudic times, and particularly in the darkest period of Jewish history, from the fifteenth century to the eighteenth. | |||
Two independent accounts in non-Jewish sources, written in the 4th and 5th centuries of the ] (CE), describe how Jews made pilgrimage to Jerusalem each year to mourn for their ruined Temple. At the time, the ]—which had recently adopted Christianity as the state religion—controlled Jerusalem and forbade Jews from entering the city.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tradition of Mourning on the Temple Mount on Tisha B'Av|url= http://www.jewishmag.com/157mag/tisha_b_av_4th_century/tisha_b_av_4th_century.htm |access-date=26 April 2023|website=www.jewishmag.com}}</ref> The only exception, evidently, was on a day of mourning, presumably the annual commemoration of Tisha B'Av. | |||
] (twelfth century), in his '']'', says that the restrictions as to the eating of meat and the drinking of wine refer only to the last meal before fasting on the Eighth Day of Av, if taken after noon, but before noon anything may be eaten (''Hilchoth Ta'anith'' 5:8). Rabbi ] (thirteenth century) wrote that it is the universal custom to refrain from meat and wine during the whole day preceding the Ninth of Av (''Sefer Mitzvoth ha-Gadol'', Venice ed., ''Laws of Tishah B'Av'', 249b). Rabbi ] (sixteenth century) says some are accustomed to abstain from meat and wine from the beginning of the week in which the Ninth Day of Av falls; and still others abstain throughout the three weeks from the Seventeenth of Tammuz (''Shulkhan Arukh'', ''Orach Chayim'' 551). | |||
The first account is by the anonymous Bordeaux Pilgrim in his Latin travelogue, the ], which is dated to 333 CE. The Bordeaux Pilgrim described a "perforated stone" on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which the Jews "anoint"—i.e., rub with oil—once a year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Bordeaux Pilgrim (c. 333 C.E.), Translation by Andrew S. Jacobs|url= http://andrewjacobs.org/translations/bordeaux.html|access-date=26 April 2023|website=andrewjacobs.org}}</ref> While the Bordeaux Pilgrim stood in front of the stone, he heard the Jews lamenting and saw them tearing their clothes. | |||
A gradual extension of prohibitions can be traced in the abstention from marrying at this season and in other signs of mourning. So Rabbi Moses of Coucy says that some do not use the ] ("phylacteries") on the Ninth Day of Av, a custom which later was universally observed (it is now postponed until the afternoon). In this manner all customs originally designated as marks of unusual piety finally became the rule for all. | |||
The second account is by the Christian Saint ], who spent time in Jerusalem after moving from Rome to Bethlehem in the late 4th Century CE. Jerome was a prolific writer. In the early 5th Century, he wrote commentaries on the ], including ]. In his commentary on Zephaniah 1.16, Jerome described the mourning practices of Jews on the Temple Mount, including how the Jews had to bribe Roman soldiers for permission to lament there.<ref>See also {{Cite web|title=Did Jews Abandon the Temple Mount?|url= https://academia.edu/resource/work/8155313 |access-date=26 April 2023|website=www.academia.edu |last1= Loewenberg |first1= Meir }} F. Meir Loewenberg's scholarship in this area is extraordinarily helpful to the layperson. Note, however, that his citation (in multiple articles) to Jerome's commentaries on “Zephaniah 1.6” is incorrect. The correct citation is to Zephaniah chapter 1, verse 16, as indicated above.</ref> He also described Roman soldiers demanding additional money from elderly Jews, who were weeping, had disheveled hair, and wore garments that looked both worn out and torn.<ref name="Jerome">{{cite book |title=Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets: Volume 1 |author1=Jerome |last2=Scheck |first2=Thomas P. |year=2016 |publisher=] |isbn= 9780830829163}}.</ref> | |||
==In Israel== | |||
In ], restaurants and places of entertainment are closed on the eve of Tisha B'Av and the following day by law. Establishments that break the law are subject to fines. Outside of Israel, the day is not observed by most secular Jews, as opposed to ], on which many secular Jews fast and go to ]. | |||
Over the centuries, the observance of the day had lost much of its gloom.<ref>{{Cite web|title=AB, NINTH DAY OF - JewishEncyclopedia.com|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/110-ab-ninth-day-of|access-date=31 July 2020|website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> | |||
When ] became Prime Minister, he wanted to unite all the memorial days and days of mourning on Tisha B'Av, so that ] and ] would also fall on this day.<ref>, ''Haaretz'', July 20, 2010.</ref> | |||
The growing strictness in the observance of mourning customs in connection with Tisha B'Av became pronounced in post-Talmudic times, and particularly in one of the darkest periods of Jewish history, from the 15th century to the 18th.<ref name="jewishencyc"/> | |||
==Contemporary opinions== | |||
Although agreeing that the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem had threatened the very survival of the Jewish people, ], former chancellor of the Conservative ], downplayed its significance as having no appeal to the modern Jew who "no longer prays for the restoration of the sacrificial cult in Jerusalem." He viewed the day as having meaning since it had absorbed the “memory of other national disasters."<ref>{{Dead link|date=August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.learn.jtsa.edu/topics/luminaries/monograph/schorsch_tishab1.shtml |title=Tisha b'Av (I)|first = Ismar| last= Schorsch |publisher=web.archive.org |accessdate=2010-07-20 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070805065051/http://www.learn.jtsa.edu/topics/luminaries/monograph/schorsch_tishab1.shtml |archivedate = 2007-08-05}}</ref> In ] too, mourning the destruction of the Temple in such an elaborate fashion is not regarded as meaningful, as Reform has never assigned a central religious role to the ancient Temple.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://urj.org/holidays/tishabav/ |title=Tishah B'Av - URJ |publisher=urj.org |accessdate=2010-07-20 }}</ref> | |||
] (12th century) says that the restrictions as to the eating of meat and the drinking of wine refer only to the last meal before fasting on the Eighth Day of Av, if taken after noon, but before noon anything may be eaten.<ref>] ''Hilchoth Ta'anith'' 5:8</ref> Rabbi ] (13th century) (aka the Smag) wrote that it is the universal custom to refrain from meat and wine during the whole day preceding the Ninth of Av.<ref>''Sefer Mitzvoth ha-Gadol'', Venice ed, ''Laws of Tishah B'Av'', 249b</ref> Rabbi ] (16th century) says some are accustomed to abstain from meat and wine from the beginning of the week in which the Ninth Day of Av falls; and still others abstain throughout the three weeks from the Seventeenth of Tammuz.<ref>], ''Orach Chayim'' 551</ref> | |||
], a leader of the ] movement, criticized his party's youth movement for holding campfires on Tisha B'Av in 1936. He believed that even secular Jews could find some meaning in traditional observances.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myjewishlearning.com/israel/Jewish_Thought/Modern/Secular_Zionism.shtml|first= Rabbi Ed |last = Snitkof |title=Secular Zionism - My Jewish Learning |publisher=www.myjewishlearning.com |accessdate=2010-07-20 }}</ref> | |||
A gradual extension of prohibitions can be traced in the abstention from marrying at this season and in other signs of mourning. So ] says that some do not use the ] ("phylacteries") in the morning of the Ninth Day of Av, a custom which later was universally observed (it is now postponed until the afternoon). In this manner many customs originally designated as marks of unusual piety finally became the rule for mostly all Jews.<ref name="jewishencyc"/> | |||
A 2010 poll in Israel revealed the some 22% of Israelis fast on Tisha B'Av; another 52% honor the day by avoiding entertainment and not going out with friends.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3921895,00.html |title=Poll: 74% follow Tisha B'Av tradition|work= Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews|first= Rabi Levi and Rivkah Lubitch| last= Brackman |publisher=www.ynet.co.il |accessdate=2010-07-20 }}</ref> | |||
==Contemporary observance== | |||
===In light of renewed Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel=== | |||
===In Israel=== | |||
As the main focus of the day recalls the destruction of the ] and ]s and the subsequent scattering the Jewish nation into ], the modern day re-establishment of a Jewish state in the Holy Land has raised various attitudes within Judaism as to whether Tisha B'Av still has significance or not. | |||
{{Main|The Prohibition of Opening Entertainment Venues on Tisha B'Av Law}} | |||
], 1903.]] | |||
A 2010 poll in Israel revealed that some 22% of ] fast on Tisha B'Av, and 52% said they forego recreational activity on this day even though they do not fast. Another 18% of Israeli Jews responded that were recreational spots permissible to be open they would go out on the eve of the fast day, and labeled the current legal status "religious coercion". The last 8% declined to answer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3921895,00.html |title=Poll: 74% follow Tisha B'Av tradition|work= Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews|first1= Rabi |last1=Levi |first2=Rivkah Lubitch| last2= Brackman |publisher=www.ynet.co.il |access-date=20 July 2010 }}</ref> | |||
In ], restaurants and places of entertainment are closed on the eve of Tisha B'Av and the following day by law.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/146502#.T-K9ybXkCJo |title=Tisha B'Av: Mourning Destruction but Hoping for Redemption |publisher=Arutz Sheva |date=8 August 2011}}</ref> Establishments that break the law are subject to fines. Outside of Israel, the day is not observed by most ], as opposed to ], on which many secular Jews fast and go to ]. According to ], combat soldiers are absolved of ] on Tisha B'Av on the basis that it can endanger their lives. {{As of|August 2014|post=,}} the latest example of such a ruling was issued during ] by Israel's Chief Rabbis: Rabbis ] and ].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4554020,00.html |title=IDF fighters exempt from Tisha B'Av fast |first=Tali |last=Farkash |newspaper=Ynet |date=4 August 2014}}</ref> | |||
Some in the ] view the establishment of the State of Israel and the restoration of Jewish sovereign independence as “a great salvation” and conclude that it would be correct to commemorate this historic fact by concluding the fast after the midday service; others opine that the fast should be completed and cite the fact that even during the Second Temple period the fast was observed.<ref>''Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement 1927-1970 - Volume III'' Ed. David Golinkin, The Rabbinical Assembly, Jerusalem, 1997. Responsa relating to this topic in this volume include ''Marriage during the Sefirah'' 1949; ''Restraint on Marriages During the Omer Days'' 1952; ''A Dvar Torah Suggested by Lab Baomer'' 1962; ''Weddings During the Three Weeks'' 1964; ''Weddings During the Three Weeks'' 1968.</ref> | |||
When ] became ], he wanted to unite all the memorial days and days of mourning on Tisha B'Av, so that ] and ] would also fall on this day, but it was not accepted.<ref>, ''Haaretz'', 20 July 2010.</ref> | |||
Following the ], the national religious community viewed Israel’s territorial gains with almost messianic overtones. The liberation of geographical areas with immense religious significance, including Jerusalem, the Western Wall and Temple Mount was seen as portentious; however only the full rebuilding of the Temple will engender enough reason to cease observing the day as one of mourning.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inss.org.il/publications.php?cat=21&incat=&read=72 |first= Yehuda| last= Ben Meir|title=The Disengagement: An Ideological Crisis|work= Strategic Assessment, March 2005, Vol. 7, No. 4 |publisher=The Institute for National Security Studies|accessdate=2010-07-20 }}</ref> Some have always believed that until the arrival of the ], Tisha B'Av will continue to be observed as a fast day. | |||
===In relation to the creation of the State of Israel=== | |||
Following the ], the national religious community viewed Israel's territorial conquests with almost messianic overtones. The conquest of geographical areas with immense religious significance, including Jerusalem, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, was seen as portentous; however, only the full rebuilding of the Temple would engender enough reason to cease observing the day as one of mourning and transform it into a day of joy instead.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.inss.org.il/publications.php?cat=21&incat=&read=72 |first=Yehuda |last=Ben Meir|title=The Disengagement: An Ideological Crisis|journal=Strategic Assessment |date=March 2005 |volume=7 |issue=4 |publisher=The Institute for National Security Studies|access-date=20 July 2010}}</ref> | |||
===Progressive Judaism=== | |||
Because the destruction of the ancient temples is not assigned a central religious role within progressive denominations of Judaism, observing Tisha B'Av lacks meaning to progressive Jews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/tishah-bav |title=Tishah B'Av |publisher=] |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref> | |||
Some ] observe Tisha B'Av, however, many do not. Reform Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs asserted, Tisha B'Av can be "both a day of mourning and a day of joy" for Reform Jews as the day can mark both mourning Jewish suffering and celebrating Jewish resilience.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reformjudaism.org/blog/how-should-reform-jews-observe-tishah-bav |title=How Should Reform Jews Observe Tishah B'Av? |publisher=] |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref> While the ] Reform position has discouraged observance of Tisha B'Av, and while many Reform temples still do not observe it, some ] Reform synagogues have begun to observe Tisha B'Av. Reform Lawrence A. Hoffman has described the contemporary Reform stance on Tisha B'Av as "ambivalent and complicated". Some Reform Jews who observe Tisha B'Av frame their observance through the lens of ] or ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/reform-jews-embrace-tisha-bav |title=Reform Jews embrace Tisha B'Av |publisher=] |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref> | |||
Some ] observe Tisha B'Av and the ''Reconstructing Judaism'' website offers resources for Reconstructionist Jews who wish to observe it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/jewish-time-shabbat-and-holidays/tisha-bav/ |title=Tisha B'Av |date=6 July 2023 |publisher=] |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref> | |||
The creation of the State of Israel had an important role in shaping the Conservative approach to Tisha B'Av. Historically, Tisha B'Av was rarely discussed or observed in the ] movement until the 1940s when ] was founded by the ]. The Zionist stance of Camp Ramah emphasized the importance of observing Tisha B'Av.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.atlantajewishtimes.com/tisha-bav-in-the-modern-age/ |title=Tisha B'Av in the Modern Age |date=28 July 2020 |publisher=] |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref> Some Conservative Jews feel ambivalent towards Tisha B'Av or have abandoned it because the contemporary city of Jerusalem is thriving and is not in ruins. However, the large majority of Conservative synagogues maintain observance of Tisha B'Av.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.exploringjudaism.org/holidays/tisha-bav/what-is-tishah-beav-and-how-is-it-observed/#:~:text=A%20full%2Dday%20fast%20during,of%20the%20Temples%20in%20Jerusalem. |title=What is Tishah Be'av and how is it observed? |date=20 June 2022 |publisher=ExploringJudaism.org |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref> | |||
==Other traditions== | ==Other traditions== | ||
Classical Jewish sources<ref>Jerusalem Talmud, Berachos 2:4; <!--Eichah Rabbah 1:51.-this is stated online but I did not look it up myself--></ref> maintain that the ] will be born on Tisha B'Av, though many explain this idea metaphorically, as the hope for the Jewish Messiah was born on Tisha B'Av with the destruction of the Temple.<ref>{{cite web |last=Silberberg|first= Naftali|url=http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=110&o=43879 |title=Is it true that the Messiah will be born (or was born) on Tisha b'Av? |accessdate=2007-07-22 |format= |work= |publisher=AskMoses.com}}</ref> | |||
] refer to this holiday as Noi (pronounced No-ee), which likely comes from the Persian word “noh” meaning nine. The eve of Tisha B’Av is similarly referred to as Shab-e Noi, meaning night of the ninth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishlanguages.org/fun-facts |title=Jewish Languages Fun Facts |access-date=4 December 2023 }}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*] | * ] | ||
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== Explanatory notes== | |||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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Latest revision as of 23:12, 26 December 2024
Jewish fast day
Tisha B'Av | |
---|---|
Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, by Francesco Hayez | |
Official name | Hebrew: תשעה באב English: Ninth of Av |
Type | Jewish religious and national |
Significance | Mourning the destruction of the ancient Temples and Jerusalem, and other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people. |
Observances | Fasting, mourning, prayer, abstaining from physical pleasures |
Date | 9th day of Av (if Shabbat, then the 10th of Av) |
2024 date | Sunset, 12 August – nightfall, 13 August |
2025 date | Sunset, 2 August – nightfall, 3 August |
2026 date | Sunset, 22 July – nightfall, 23 July |
2027 date | Sunset, 11 August – nightfall, 12 August |
Frequency | annual |
Related to | The fasts of Gedalia, the Tenth of Tevet and the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the Three Weeks & the Nine Days |
Tisha B'Av (Hebrew: תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב Tīšʿā Bəʾāv; IPA: [tiʃʕa beˈʔav] , lit. 'the ninth of Av') is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusalem.
Tisha B'Av precedes the end of the three weeks between dire straits. This day is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. It is categorized as a day destined for tragedy. Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar.
Observances of the day include five prohibitions, most notable of which is a 25-hour fast. The Book of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem, is read in synagogue, followed by the recitation of kinnot, liturgical dirges that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As the day has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people, some kinnot also recall events such as the murder of the Ten Martyrs by the Romans; expulsions from England, Spain, and elsewhere; massacres of numerous medieval Jewish communities by Crusaders; the Holocaust; and the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
History
Five calamities
According to the Mishnah (Taanit 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting:
- The Twelve Spies sent by Moses to observe the land of Canaan returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the Children of Israel to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "Promised Land". For this, they were punished by God that their generation would not enter the land. The midrash quotes God as saying about this event, "You cried before me pointlessly, I will fix for you crying for the generations", alluding to the future misfortunes which occurred on the same date.
- The First Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and the population of the Kingdom of Judah was sent into the Babylonian exile. According to the Bible, the First Temple's destruction began on the 7th of Av (2 Kings 25:8) and continued until the 10th (Jeremiah 52:12). According to the Talmud, the actual destruction of the Temple began on the Ninth of Av, and it continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av.
- The Second Temple, built by Zerubbabel and renovated by Herod the Great, was destroyed by the Romans on 9 Av 70 CE, scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land.
- The Romans subsequently crushed Bar Kokhba's revolt and destroyed the city of Betar, killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians (approximately 580,000) on 9 Av 135 CE.
- Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Roman commander Quintus Tineius Rufus plowed the site of the Temple in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.
Other calamities
Over time, Tisha B'Av has come to be a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for later tragedies that occurred on or near the 9th of Av. References to some of these events appear in liturgy composed for Tisha B'Av (see below). Note that dates prior to 1582 are in the Julian calendar, not the Gregorian calendar.
- The First Crusade officially commenced on 15 August 1096 (Av 24, AM 4856), killing 10,000 Jews in its first month and destroying Jewish communities in France and the Rhineland.
- The Jews were expelled from England on 18 July 1290 (Av 9, AM 5050).
- The Jews were expelled from France on 22 July 1306 (Av 10, AM 5066).
- The Jews were expelled from Spain on 31 July 1492 (Av 7, AM 5252).
- Germany entered World War I on 1–2 August 1914 (Av 9–10, AM 5674), which caused massive upheaval in European Jewry and whose aftermath led to World War II and the Holocaust.
- On 2 August 1941 (Av 9, AM 5701), SS commander Heinrich Himmler formally received approval from the Nazi Party for "The Final Solution," which marked the beginning of the Holocaust during which almost one third of the world's Jewish population was murdered.
- On 23 July 1942 (Av 9, AM 5702), the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka began.
- The AMIA bombing on the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killed 85 and injured 300 on 18 July 1994 (10 Av, AM 5754).
- The 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza, according to some Religious Zionist rabbis like Yaakov Ariel and Dov Lior. Kinnot have been composed about the withdrawal, and the connection to Tisha b'Av was emphasized in 10-year anniversary commemorations. The disengagement's timing lent itself to symbolic interpretation both by Religious Zionists and by wider Jewish culture. However, even within Religious Zionism, Chaim Navon holds that the disengagement did not rise to the level of a calamity and Shlomo Aviner has written that mourning the disengagement on Tisha b'Av is forbidden because it incites political division. Yona Metzger, then Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel, ruled in 2006 that the disengagement was a tragedy but mourning rituals should not be integrated into Tisha b'Av, while Howard Jachter permits it in narrow fashion.
While the Holocaust spanned a number of years, religious communities use Tisha B'Av to mourn its 6,000,000 Jewish victims, either in addition to or instead of the secular Holocaust Memorial Days such as Yom HaShoah. On Tisha B'Av, communities that otherwise do not modify the traditional prayer liturgy have added the recitation of special kinnot related to the Holocaust.
Similarly, kinnot have been added to the tisha b'av liturgy regarding the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
Related observances
In connection with the fall of Jerusalem, three other fast-days were established at the same time as the Ninth Day of Av: these were the Tenth of Tevet, when the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians began; the Seventeenth of Tammuz, when the first breach was made in the wall by the Romans; and the Third of Tishrei, known as the Fast of Gedaliah, the day when Gedaliah was assassinated in the time of the Babylonians following the destruction of the First Temple. The three weeks leading up to Tisha B'Av are known as The Three Weeks, while the nine days leading up to Tisha B'Av are known as The Nine Days.
Laws and customs
Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar. When Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat (the Sabbath), it then is nidche ("delayed" in Hebrew). Thus the observance of Tisha B'Av can take place on the following day (that is, Sunday). This occurred in 2022, and will occur in 2029. No mourning can intrude upon the Sabbath. Normally Sabbath eating and drinking ends just before sunset Saturday evening, rather than nightfall.
This fast lasts just over 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the preceding evening, lasting until nightfall the next day. Pleasurable activities are forbidden.
Main prohibitions
Tisha B'Av bears a stringent nature alike that of Yom Kippur. The length of a fast that lasts over 25 hours, beginning before sunset on the eve of Tisha B'Av and ends at nightfall the following day, Tisha B'Av mandates the following five prohibitions:
- No eating or drinking;
- No washing or bathing;
- No application of creams or oils;
- No wearing of (leather) shoes;
- No marital (sexual) relations.
These restrictions are waived in the case of health issues. A competent posek, a rabbi who decides Jewish Law, must be consulted. Those who are ill will be allowed to eat and drink. On other fast days, almost any medical condition can justify breaking the fast; in practice, consultation with a rabbi is best. Ritual hand washing up to the knuckles is permitted. Washing to cleanse dirt or mud from one's body is also permitted.
Additional customs
Torah study is forbidden on Tisha B'Av (as it is considered an enjoyable activity), except for the study of distressing texts such as the Book of Lamentations, the Book of Job, portions of Jeremiah and chapters of the Talmud that discuss the laws of mourning and those that discuss the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
In synagogue, prior to the commencement of the evening services, the parochet, which normally covers and adorns the Torah ark, is removed or drawn aside until the Mincha prayer service. Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who do not hang a curtain in front of the ark during the rest of the year, place a black curtain over the ark for tisha b'av.
According to Moses Isserles, it is customary to sit on low stools or on the floor, as is done during shiva (the first week of mourning), from the meal immediately before the fast (the seudah hamafseket) until midday (chatzot hayom) of the fast itself. It is customary to eat a hard-boiled egg dipped in ashes and a piece of bread dipped into ashes during this pre-fast meal. The Beit Yosef rules that the custom to sit low to the ground extends past mid-day until one prays Mincha (the afternoon prayer).
The custom is to dim the lighting and to read the kinnot by candlelight. Some sleep on the floor or modify their normal sleeping routine, for instance, by sleeping without a pillow (or with one fewer pillow than usual). People refrain from greeting each other or sending gifts on this day. Old siddurim and Torah scrolls are often buried on this day.
The custom is to not put on tefillin nor tallit for Shacharit services. Men wear only the tallit katan without a blessing. At mincha services, tzitzit and tefilin are worn, with proper blessings before donning them.
End of fast
Although the fast ends at nightfall, according to tradition the First Temple continued burning throughout the night and for most of the following day, the tenth of Av. It is therefore customary to maintain all restrictions of the nine days through midday (chatzos) of the following day.
When Tisha B'Av falls on a Saturday, and is therefore observed on Sunday, the 10th of Av, it is not necessary to wait until midday Monday to end restrictions of the nine days. However, one refrains from involvement in activity that would be considered "joyous", such as eating meat, drinking wine, listening to music, and saying the "shehecheyonu" blessing, until Monday morning. One can wash laundry and shave immediately after the end of a delayed Tisha B'Av.
When Tisha B'Av begins on Saturday night, the Havdalah ritual is postponed by 24 hours, as one could not drink the accompanying wine. One says Attah Chonantanu in the Saturday night Shemoneh Esrei prayer or says Baruch Hamavdil thus ending Shabbat. A blessing is made on the candle Saturday night. After Tisha B'Av ends on Sunday evening, the Havdalah ceremony is performed with wine (without candle or spices).
The laws of Tisha B'Av are recorded in the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 552–557.
Prayer service
Scriptural readings
Abbreviated from the Nachem prayer."Console, O Lord, the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem and the city laid waste, despised and desolate. In mourning for she is childless, her dwellings laid waste, despised in the downfall of her glory and desolate through the loss of her inhabitants…. Legions have devoured her, worshippers of strange gods have possessed her. They have put the people of Israel to the sword… Therefore let Zion weep bitterly and Jerusalem give forth her voice… For You, O Lord, did consume her with fire and with fire will You in future restore her… Blessed are You, O Lord, Who consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem."
The Book of Lamentations is read in synagogue during the evening services.
In many Sephardic congregations, the Book of Job is read on the morning of Tisha B'Av.
Those called to the Torah reading on Tisha B'Av are not given the usual congratulations for this honor. There is also a tradition that those who were called to read from the Torah or Haftara in the Tisha B'Av morning service are also called to read in the afternoon service, because the morning readings are filled with calamity and the afternoon readings contain words of consolation.
Kinnot
Main article: KinnotMost of the morning is spent chanting or reading Kinnot, bewailing the loss of the Temples and subsequent persecutions, many others referring to post-exile disasters. Later kinnot were composed by various poets (often prominent rabbis) who had suffered in the events mentioned. Important kinnot were composed by Elazar ha-Kalir and Rabbi Judah ha-Levi. After the Holocaust, kinnot were composed by the German-born Rabbi Shimon Schwab (in 1959, at the request of Rabbi Joseph Breuer) and by Rabbi Solomon Halberstam, leader of the Bobov Hasidim (in 1984). Since Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza, some segments of the Religious Zionist community have begun to recite kinnot to commemorate the expulsion of Jewish settlers from Gush Katif and the northern West Bank on the day after Tisha B'Av, in 2005.
Nachem
A paragraph that begins Nahem ("Console...") is added to the conclusion of the blessing Boneh Yerushalayim ("Who builds Jerusalem") recited during the Amidah (for Ashkenazim, only at the Mincha service). The prayer elaborates the mournful state of the Temple and city of Jerusalem. The concluding signature of the blessing is also extended to say "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem."
Various Modern Orthodox and Conservative rabbis have proposed amending Nachem, as its wording no longer reflects the existence of a rebuilt Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty. Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren, for example, issued a revised wording of the prayer and Rabbi Hayim David HaLevi proposed putting the prayer's verbs relating to the Temple's destruction into the past tense. However, such proposals have not been widely adopted.
History of the observance
In the long period which is reflected in Talmudic literature the observance of Tisha B'Av assumed a character of constantly growing sadness and asceticism.
Two independent accounts in non-Jewish sources, written in the 4th and 5th centuries of the Common Era (CE), describe how Jews made pilgrimage to Jerusalem each year to mourn for their ruined Temple. At the time, the Byzantine Empire—which had recently adopted Christianity as the state religion—controlled Jerusalem and forbade Jews from entering the city. The only exception, evidently, was on a day of mourning, presumably the annual commemoration of Tisha B'Av.
The first account is by the anonymous Bordeaux Pilgrim in his Latin travelogue, the Itinerarium Burdigalense, which is dated to 333 CE. The Bordeaux Pilgrim described a "perforated stone" on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which the Jews "anoint"—i.e., rub with oil—once a year. While the Bordeaux Pilgrim stood in front of the stone, he heard the Jews lamenting and saw them tearing their clothes.
The second account is by the Christian Saint Jerome, who spent time in Jerusalem after moving from Rome to Bethlehem in the late 4th Century CE. Jerome was a prolific writer. In the early 5th Century, he wrote commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets, including Zephaniah. In his commentary on Zephaniah 1.16, Jerome described the mourning practices of Jews on the Temple Mount, including how the Jews had to bribe Roman soldiers for permission to lament there. He also described Roman soldiers demanding additional money from elderly Jews, who were weeping, had disheveled hair, and wore garments that looked both worn out and torn.
Over the centuries, the observance of the day had lost much of its gloom.
The growing strictness in the observance of mourning customs in connection with Tisha B'Av became pronounced in post-Talmudic times, and particularly in one of the darkest periods of Jewish history, from the 15th century to the 18th.
Maimonides (12th century) says that the restrictions as to the eating of meat and the drinking of wine refer only to the last meal before fasting on the Eighth Day of Av, if taken after noon, but before noon anything may be eaten. Rabbi Moses of Coucy (13th century) (aka the Smag) wrote that it is the universal custom to refrain from meat and wine during the whole day preceding the Ninth of Av. Rabbi Joseph Caro (16th century) says some are accustomed to abstain from meat and wine from the beginning of the week in which the Ninth Day of Av falls; and still others abstain throughout the three weeks from the Seventeenth of Tammuz.
A gradual extension of prohibitions can be traced in the abstention from marrying at this season and in other signs of mourning. So Rabbi Moses of Coucy says that some do not use the tefillin ("phylacteries") in the morning of the Ninth Day of Av, a custom which later was universally observed (it is now postponed until the afternoon). In this manner many customs originally designated as marks of unusual piety finally became the rule for mostly all Jews.
Contemporary observance
In Israel
Main article: The Prohibition of Opening Entertainment Venues on Tisha B'Av LawA 2010 poll in Israel revealed that some 22% of Israeli Jews fast on Tisha B'Av, and 52% said they forego recreational activity on this day even though they do not fast. Another 18% of Israeli Jews responded that were recreational spots permissible to be open they would go out on the eve of the fast day, and labeled the current legal status "religious coercion". The last 8% declined to answer.
In Israel, restaurants and places of entertainment are closed on the eve of Tisha B'Av and the following day by law. Establishments that break the law are subject to fines. Outside of Israel, the day is not observed by most secular Jews, as opposed to Yom Kippur, on which many secular Jews fast and go to synagogue. According to halakha, combat soldiers are absolved of fasting on Tisha B'Av on the basis that it can endanger their lives. As of August 2014, the latest example of such a ruling was issued during Operation Protective Edge by Israel's Chief Rabbis: Rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef.
When Menachem Begin became Prime Minister, he wanted to unite all the memorial days and days of mourning on Tisha B'Av, so that Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day would also fall on this day, but it was not accepted.
In relation to the creation of the State of Israel
Following the Six-Day War, the national religious community viewed Israel's territorial conquests with almost messianic overtones. The conquest of geographical areas with immense religious significance, including Jerusalem, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount, was seen as portentous; however, only the full rebuilding of the Temple would engender enough reason to cease observing the day as one of mourning and transform it into a day of joy instead.
Progressive Judaism
Because the destruction of the ancient temples is not assigned a central religious role within progressive denominations of Judaism, observing Tisha B'Av lacks meaning to progressive Jews.
Some Reform Jews observe Tisha B'Av, however, many do not. Reform Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs asserted, Tisha B'Av can be "both a day of mourning and a day of joy" for Reform Jews as the day can mark both mourning Jewish suffering and celebrating Jewish resilience. While the classical Reform position has discouraged observance of Tisha B'Av, and while many Reform temples still do not observe it, some neo-traditional Reform synagogues have begun to observe Tisha B'Av. Reform Lawrence A. Hoffman has described the contemporary Reform stance on Tisha B'Av as "ambivalent and complicated". Some Reform Jews who observe Tisha B'Av frame their observance through the lens of social justice or progressive Zionism.
Some Reconstructionist Jews observe Tisha B'Av and the Reconstructing Judaism website offers resources for Reconstructionist Jews who wish to observe it.
The creation of the State of Israel had an important role in shaping the Conservative approach to Tisha B'Av. Historically, Tisha B'Av was rarely discussed or observed in the Conservative movement until the 1940s when Camp Ramah was founded by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. The Zionist stance of Camp Ramah emphasized the importance of observing Tisha B'Av. Some Conservative Jews feel ambivalent towards Tisha B'Av or have abandoned it because the contemporary city of Jerusalem is thriving and is not in ruins. However, the large majority of Conservative synagogues maintain observance of Tisha B'Av.
Other traditions
Iranian Jews refer to this holiday as Noi (pronounced No-ee), which likely comes from the Persian word “noh” meaning nine. The eve of Tisha B’Av is similarly referred to as Shab-e Noi, meaning night of the ninth.
See also
Explanatory notes
- Also written ט׳ באב, using Hebrew numerals.
- Secular chronology gives the year as 70 CE. Some versions of rabbinic chronology give the year as 68 CE. See Missing years (Jewish calendar)#Two-year difference within the Hebrew calendar for elaboration.
References
- ^ "Dates for Tisha B'Av". Hebcal.com by Danny Sadinoff and Michael J. Radwin (CC-BY-3.0). Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Tisha Be-Av - Jewish Tradition". yahadut.org. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- Elozor Barclay; Yitzchok Jaeger (2003). Guidelines: Over Four Hundred of the Most Commonly Asked Questions about the Three Weeks. Targum Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-56871-254-3.
Hashem condemned this day to become destined for national disasters throughout history...
- Pinchos Yehoshua Ellis (2005). Seasons in halacha. Targum Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-1-56871-369-4.
Tisha B'Av initially became destined for tragedy...
- ^ Hajdenberg, Jackie (9 August 2024). "For the first Tisha B'Av after Oct. 7, new liturgy and traditions mourn a fresh tragedy". Jewish Telegraphic Agency est 1917. Yeruham, Israel. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
Every year, on the fast day of Tisha B'Av, Jewish communities worldwide chant a series of dirges, called "kinnot," that commemorate the tragedies of Jewish history in verse, from the destruction of the temples to the Crusades to the Holocaust.
- ^ Harkov, Lahav (12 August 2024). "The rabbis adding Oct. 7 to their Tisha B'Av lamentations". Jewish Insider (JI). United States. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
Some congregations in Israel and the Diaspora will have new texts to read about more recent, tragic events of Oct. 7, the greatest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
- See Numbers 13; Numbers 14.
- Numbers Rabbah 16:20
- ^ "Ab, Ninth Day of". Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- Ta'anit 29a
- ^ Becher, Rabbi Mordechai (1995). "History of Events on Tisha B'Av". ohrnet. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
- ^ Barclay, Rabbi Elozor; Jaeger, Rabbi Yitzchok (2003). Guidelines: Over Four Hundred of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About the Three Weeks. Targum Press. ISBN 1-56871-254-5.. Note that 31 July is the Julian calendar date; corrected for the Gregorian calendar it would be 10 August.
- Erbstösser, Martin (1978). The Crusades. UK: Brunel House. ISBN 978-0876633311.
- Green, David B. (22 July 2016). "This Day In Jewish History 1306: King Philip 'The Fair' Expels All France's Jews". Haaretz.
- ^ "The three weeks, Tisha B'av (9th of Av) and the month of Av in general" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- Kreiman, Claudia (15 September 2013). "Grief and Consolation in the Month of Av (Isaiah 40:1–26)". Huffington Post.
- "יהדות, שיעורים, זמנים". אתר ישיבה (in Hebrew). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- "גוש קטיף וט' באב | שאל את הרב". כיפה (in Hebrew). 5 October 2006. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- "קינות גוש קטיף לתשעה באב – מוזיאון גוש קטיף" (in Hebrew). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- "קינה על גוש קטיף • הקול היהודי". • הקול היהודי (in Hebrew). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- Ben-Porat, Ido (21 July 2015). "'Disengagement Joins 5 Tragedies of Tisha B'Av'". www.israelnationalnews.com. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- "Revisiting the Gaza Withdrawal, 10 Years Later". The Forward. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- Fine, Steven (21 November 2016). The Menorah: From the Bible to Modern Israel. Harvard University Press. pp. 221–222. ISBN 978-0-674-08879-5.
- "יהדות, שיעורים, זמנים". אתר ישיבה (in Hebrew). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- "במה לעסוק בט' באב? הרב אבינר משיב". כיפה (in Hebrew). 27 July 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- "קביעת תענית וקינות על חורבן גוש קטיף". צומת (in Hebrew). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- "Gray Matter IV, Israel, Gush Katif Fasting and Kinnot 1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- "Fasting and Fast-Days". www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
- "When Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat or Sunday". 14 June 2004.
- ^ Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman. "The Laws of Tisha B'Av".
- Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 650:2
- Joseph ben Ephraim Karo. "Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim, Siman 554". Retrieved 30 July 2020.
Tisha b'Av is forbidden for washing, anointing, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations. It is also forbidden to read from the Torah, Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings) and to learn mishna and midrash and gemara and halacha and aggada, because it says, "The precepts of God are right, gladdening the heart" (Tehillim 19:9). Schoolchildren are idle on it. One may read Iyov and the negative passages in Yirmiyah, but if there are between them passages of consolation, one must skip them.
- ^ Donin, Hayim Halevy (1991). To Be a Jew. Basic Books. pp. 264. ISBN 0-465-08632-2.
- "Fallen Glory - The Message of Tisha B'Av • Torah.org". 10 October 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- Dobrinsky, Herbert C. (1986). A treasury of Sephardic laws and customs: the ritual practices of Syrian, Moroccan, Judeo-Spanish and Spanish and Portuguese Jews of North America (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N.J: Yeshiva University Ktav. p. 306. ISBN 0-88125-032-5.
- "Selected Halachos of the Days of Tisha B'Av | Beit Midrash | Torah Lessons | yeshiva.co". Yeshiva Site. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- Joseph ben Ephraim Karo. "Shulchan Aruch/Orach Chaim/555". Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 558:1
- "When Tisha b'Av is Observed on Sunday". Jewish Holidays. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 125:6
- "The Reading of Eicha on Tisha B'Av (Rabbi Josh Flug)". www.yutorah.org. 22 May 2023.
- "The Book of Iyov (Job)". Archived from the original on 22 July 2018.
- "Iyov (Job) – Derech HaTorah".
- Israel Abrahams, Festival Studies (1906, London, Macmillan & Co.) page 81.
- Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard, Rite and Reason; 1050 Jewish Customs and Their Sources (1998, NY, Feldheim) pages 554–555.
- "Tisha B'Av: Special Gush Katif Kinna". Machon Shilo. 11 December 2008.
- ""Nachem": to change or not to change? – Ask the Rabbi". OzTorah. August 2008.
- "Tradition of Mourning on the Temple Mount on Tisha B'Av". www.jewishmag.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- "The Bordeaux Pilgrim (c. 333 C.E.), Translation by Andrew S. Jacobs". andrewjacobs.org. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
- See also Loewenberg, Meir. "Did Jews Abandon the Temple Mount?". www.academia.edu. Retrieved 26 April 2023. F. Meir Loewenberg's scholarship in this area is extraordinarily helpful to the layperson. Note, however, that his citation (in multiple articles) to Jerome's commentaries on “Zephaniah 1.6” is incorrect. The correct citation is to Zephaniah chapter 1, verse 16, as indicated above.
- Jerome; Scheck, Thomas P. (2016). Commentaries on the Twelve Prophets: Volume 1. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 9780830829163..
- "AB, NINTH DAY OF - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- Mishneh Torah Hilchoth Ta'anith 5:8
- Sefer Mitzvoth ha-Gadol, Venice ed, Laws of Tishah B'Av, 249b
- Shulkhan Arukh, Orach Chayim 551
- Levi, Rabi; Brackman, Rivkah Lubitch. "Poll: 74% follow Tisha B'Av tradition". Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews. www.ynet.co.il. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- "Tisha B'Av: Mourning Destruction but Hoping for Redemption". Arutz Sheva. 8 August 2011.
- Farkash, Tali (4 August 2014). "IDF fighters exempt from Tisha B'Av fast". Ynet.
- Dreaming of the Third Temple in a conflicted Land of Israel, Haaretz, 20 July 2010.
- Ben Meir, Yehuda (March 2005). "The Disengagement: An Ideological Crisis". Strategic Assessment. 7 (4). The Institute for National Security Studies. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- "Tishah B'Av". Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- "How Should Reform Jews Observe Tishah B'Av?". Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- "Reform Jews embrace Tisha B'Av". Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- "Tisha B'Av". Reconstructing Judaism. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- "Tisha B'Av in the Modern Age". Atlanta Jewish Times. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- "What is Tishah Be'av and how is it observed?". ExploringJudaism.org. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- "Jewish Languages Fun Facts". Retrieved 4 December 2023.
External links
- Rachel's Tears: Finding Meaning in Mourning on Tisha B'av - video by Rabbi David Fohrman, Aleph Beta
- Peninei Halakha by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
- What is Tisha B'Av: The Jewish Day of Mourning? video by BimBam
- How We Can Sweeten the Judgments this Tisha B'Av- ShiratMiriam.com
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