The Nine Days
Part of a series on |
Jews and Judaism |
---|
The Nine Days of Av are a time of commemoration and spiritual observance in Judaism during the first nine days of the Jewish month of Av (corresponding to July/August). The Nine Days begin on Rosh Chodesh Av ("First of Av") and culminates on the public fast day of Tisha B'Av ("Ninth of Av").
The Nine Days are part of a larger period of time known as
The Talmud says, "When the month of Av begins, we [i.e. Jews] reduce our joy."[1] The Nine Days inaugurates an even greater level of communal and personal mourning in recognition of the many tragedies and calamities that befell the Jewish people at this time.[2] The Nine Days are considered an inauspicious time even in our day and age.[2]
Rather than view the Three Weeks and the Nine Days as times of punishment and self-mortification, some Jewish teachings see them as opportunities for introspection, repentance, and forging a closer relationship with God.
Mourning observances
Levels of mourning
The mourning observances during the Three Weeks are divided into four levels, increasing in intensity:[2]
- From the Seventeenth of Tammuz until the end of Tammuz (see also "The Three Weeks")
- From Rosh Chodesh Av until the week in which Tisha B'Av falls
- The week in which Tisha B'Av falls
- Tisha B'Av itself
During the entire Three Weeks,
During the Nine Days, these additional activities are forbidden by Jewish law because they bring joy:[2]
- Home improvements, painting and new construction
- Planting trees, flowers or grass
- Laundering clothes, towels, tablecloths and bed linens
- Wearing new or freshly laundered clothing
- Making or buying new clothes, towels, tablecloths and bed linens
- Eating meat or poultry
- Drinking wine or grape juice
- Bathing for pleasure (for example a hot tub, hanging out in the pool)
- Swimming or recreational sports for the purpose of leisure
- Listening to music
On Tisha B'Av itself, these additional prohibitions are observed:
- Eating and drinking
- Bathing
- Applying oils or perfumes
- Wearing leather shoes
- Sexual activity
- Greeting people
- Learning Torah [except for certain parts of the Scriptures and Talmud which deal with mourning or the destruction of the Temples].
For some restrictions, Jewish law makes a distinction between the beginning of the Nine Days and the week in which Tisha B'Av falls. (The new week begins on Saturday night). For example, the Ashkenazic custom is to permit nail trimming up until the week in which Tisha B'Av falls.
Meat and wine
The restrictions against eating meat and drinking wine, besides reducing a person's pleasure, recall the cessation of the Korban Tamid (daily animal sacrifice in the Jewish Temples in Jerusalem) and the Nesach Hayayin (wine libations) on the Temple Altar with the destruction of the Temple.[7]
Many kosher meat restaurants alter their menus during The Nine Days, replacing meat and chicken dishes with fish and vegetarian options in order to remain open while the meat prohibition is in place.[8][9]
Children, pregnant or nursing women, and old or sick people who must eat meat for health reasons are allowed to do so. It is advisable, however, for them to eat poultry or meat derivatives.[7]
One who usually makes
Children
Children under the age of
The Nine Days typically coincide with summer camps for Jewish children in America. While swimming and water sports are avoided, camps often run special study programs and Holocaust education modules.[11] On Tisha B'Av itself, campers gather to listen to the traditional reading of the Book of Lamentations and engage in creative projects that express the themes of the day.[12]
Exceptions
On Shabbat, all forms of mourning are suspended. Therefore, observant Jews eat meat at their Shabbat meals and drink wine or grape juice for Kiddush as usual. Similarly, while during the rest of the week one cannot wear freshly laundered clothes, on Shabbat, this is allowed.[2]
Throughout the Nine Days (excluding Tisha B'Av), guests at a
The last Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, requested that a siyum of a Talmudic tractate should be held every day of The Nine Days. Chabad now broadcasts the completion of tractates on its website.[14]
An exception to the prohibition against new construction is made in the case of a building constructed for a mitzvah. Thus, a synagogue, yeshiva or mikveh may be constructed or decorated during the Nine Days.[2]
Shabbat Chazon
During each of the three
- Divrei Yirmiyahu (from the Pinechas. In leap years when the preceding Rosh Hashanah was a Thursday [or, in Israel, when the following Rosh Hashanah is a Monday], it coincides with Matot.)
- Shim`u D'var Hashem (from the Book of Jeremiah 2.4-28) (In the leap years stated above when Matot is the first week, this coincides with Masei. In most years when Pinechas is the first week, Matot and Masei are read together for the second week.)
- Chazon Yishayahu (from the Devarim.)
The last Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av is traditionally called
Eighth of Av
The eighth day of Av is called Erev Tisha B'Av (the eve of the Ninth of Av). It is customary to eat a large meal early in the afternoon before Mincha services, and then to have the Seudah HaMafseket ("cut-off meal") right before sunset.[15]
The Seudah HaMafseket resembles the meal of a mourner. The custom is to eat cold, hard-boiled eggs or lentils with bread and water. Only one cooked food may be eaten. The bread is dipped in ashes. Those who are eating sit on the ground or on low chairs, as they will during the night and morning of Tisha B'Av, and do not converse with each other.[2]
If the Eighth of Av falls on a Shabbat or Friday, the Seudah HaMafseket is not eaten.[2]
Ninth of Av
The ninth day of Av, or Tisha B'Av, is a fast day of extreme sadness and mourning over the destruction of the Temple. Some of the observances of this day resemble those of
End of restrictions
The restrictions of The Nine Days conclude at midday of the Tenth of Av, the day after Tisha B'Av. The Sages enforced this extension of the mourning period to reflect the fact that while the Temple was set on fire during the afternoon of Tisha B'Av, it continued to burn through the Tenth of Av. All the prohibitions associated with The Nine Days are still in effect until midday, although one who attends a seudat mitzvah at this time may consume meat and wine.[2]
When Tisha B'Av falls on a Shabbat, the fast day is postponed until Sunday (the Tenth of Av). In this case, most restrictions end at nightfall after the fast. Except for the drinking of Havdalah wine, consumption of meat and wine are delayed until the following morning. Some opinions say that one should not listen to music until the next morning.[2]
Shabbat Nachamu
The Shabbat after Tisha B'Av is called Shabbat Nachamu ("Sabbath of Comforting"), after the Haftarah read on this day from the Book of Isaiah 40:1-26, which speaks of "comforting" the Jewish people for their suffering. This is the first of the seven Haftarahs of consolation that express the theme of redemption, leading up to the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Mishnah Ta'anit 26b.
- ^ ISBN 1-56871-254-5.
- ^ a b c "Three Weeks Laws and Customs: From Destruction to Renewal". chabad.org. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ Ta'anit 30b.
- ^ Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot 2:4; Eichah Rabbah 1:51.
- ^ "The Custom of Syrian Jews Not to Make Weddings During the Three Weeks". dailyhalacha.com. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ a b c Neustadt, Doniel (2010). "Eating Meat and Drinking Wine During the Nine Days". kashrut.com. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ Steinberg, Avi (25 July 2004). "Living with Nine Days' Tenets: For young Jews, a time for choices". Boston Globe. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Adler, Daniella (16 July 2010). "A Good Catch for Masbia: A fish story". The Jewish Star. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
- ^ "The Nine Days - Laws and Customs". chabad.org. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
- ^ "The Nine Days: A Countdown of Mourning". gojerusalem.com. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ Ulman, Jane (2010). "We Must Confront The Darkness Of Tisha B'Av To Find Its Meaning". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ "Participating in a Siyum During the Nine Days". chabad.org. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ "Daily Siyum - Live Broadcast". chabad.org. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ "What Is Tisha B'Av?". chabad.org. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
External links
- Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik's unique comparison between the mourning of the Three Weeks and mourning for a deceased parent
- Recipes for the Nine Days
- Commentary based on "A Summary of Halachos of the Three Weeks" by Rabbi Shimon D. Eider
- How We Can Sweeten the Judgments this Tisha B’Av -Shiratmiriam.com