Tisha B'Av

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Tisha B'Av
Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, by Francesco Hayez
Official nameHebrew: תשעה באב
English: Ninth of Av
TypeJewish religious and national
SignificanceMourning the destruction of the ancient Temples and Jerusalem, and other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people.
ObservancesFasting, mourning, prayer, abstaining from physical pleasures
Date9th day of Av (if Shabbat, then the 10th of Av)
2023 dateSunset, 26 July –
nightfall, 27 July[1]
2024 dateSunset, 12 August –
nightfall, 13 August[1]
2025 dateSunset, 2 August –
nightfall, 3 August[1]
2026 dateSunset, 22 July –
nightfall, 23 July[1]
Frequencyannual
Related toThe fasts of Gedalia, the Tenth of Tevet and the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the Three Weeks & the Nine Days

Tisha B'Av (Hebrew: תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב[a] Tīšʿā Bəʾāv; IPA: [tiʃʕa beˈʔav] , lit.'the ninth of Av') is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, 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 marks the end of the three weeks between dire straits and is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, and it is thus believed to be a day which is destined for tragedy.[2][3] Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar.

The observance of the day includes five prohibitions, most notable of which is a 25-hour fast. The Book of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem, is read in the 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; and the Holocaust.

History

Five calamities

Excavated stones from the Western Wall of the Temple Mount (Jerusalem, Israel), knocked onto the street below by Roman battering rams in 70 CE

According to the Mishnah (Taanit 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting:

  1. 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.[4] The midrash quotes God as saying about this event, "You cried before me pointlessly, I will fix for you [this day as a day of] crying for the generations",[5]
    alluding to the future misfortunes which occurred on the same date.
  2. The
    destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and the population of the Kingdom of Judah was sent into the Babylonian exile.[6] 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,[7]
    the actual destruction of the Temple began on the Ninth of Av, and it continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av.
  3. The Second Temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah was destroyed by the Romans on 2 August[8] 70 CE,[b] scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land.[6]
  4. The Romans subsequently crushed
    Betar, killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians (approximately 580,000) on 4 August[9] 135 CE.[10]
  5. Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Roman commander Quintus Tineius Rufus plowed the site of the Temple in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, also on 4 August 135 CE.[11]

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 which 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.

While the

Holocaust
.

Related observances

In connection with the fall of

Fast of Gedaliah, the day when Gedaliah was assassinated in the time of the Babylonians following the destruction of the First Temple.[18] 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 (1657 woodcut)

Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar. When Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat (Saturday), it then is known as a nidche ("delayed") in Hebrew and the observance of Tisha B'Av then takes place on the following day (that is, Sunday). This last occurred in 2022, and will next occur in 2029. No outward signs of mourning intrude upon the normal Sabbath, although normal Sabbath eating and drinking end just before sunset Saturday evening, rather than nightfall.[19]

The fast lasts about 25 hours, beginning just before sunset on the preceding evening lasting until nightfall the next day. In addition to fasting, other pleasurable activities are also forbidden.[20]

Main prohibitions

Tisha B'Av bears a similar stringent nature to that of Yom Kippur. In addition to the length of the fast which lasts about 25 hours, beginning just before sunset on the eve of Tisha B'Av and ends at nightfall the following day, Tisha B'Av also shares the following five prohibitions:[21]

  1. No eating or drinking;
  2. No washing or bathing;
  3. No application of creams or oils;
  4. No wearing of (leather) shoes;
  5. No marital (sexual) relations.

These restrictions are waived in the case of health issues but a competent posek, a rabbi who decides Jewish Law, must be consulted. For example, those who are seriously ill will be allowed to eat and drink. On other fast days almost any medical condition may justify breaking the fast; in practice, since many cases differ, consultation with a rabbi is often necessary.[20] Ritual washing up to the knuckles is permitted. Washing to cleanse dirt or mud from one's body is also permitted.[20]

Additional customs

Reading kinnot at the Western Wall

Study of the Torah 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.[22][23]

In

Torah Ark) is removed or drawn aside, lasting until the Mincha prayer service.[24] In Spanish and Portuguese Congregations (Western Sephardic) a black curtain is placed over the Torah Ark (Heichal) for Tisha(ng) BAv. This is the only time of the year that a curtain hangs in front of the Torah Ark.[25]

According to 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).[26]

If possible, work is avoided during this period. Electric lighting may be turned off or dimmed, and

Torah scrolls are often buried on this day.[20]

The custom is to not put on

talit kattan without a blessing. At Mincha services tzitzit and tefilin are worn, with proper blessings prior to donning them.[27]

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.[23] It is therefore customary to maintain all restrictions of the nine days through midday (chatzos) of the following day.[28]

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.[29]

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, and/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).[30]

The laws of Tisha B'Av are recorded in the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 552–557.

Prayer service

Scriptural readings

"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."

Abbreviated from the Nachem prayer.

Tisha b'Av prayers (1740)

The

services.[31]

In many

Sephardic congregations the Book of Job is read on the morning of Tisha B'Av.[32][33][non-primary source needed
]

Those called to the Torah reading on Tisha B'Av are not given the usual congratulations for this honor.[34] There is also a tradition that those who were called to read from the Torah or Haftarah 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.[35]

Kinnot

In addition, most of the morning is spent chanting or reading

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.[17]

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.[36]

History of the observance

Lamenting in the synagogue, 1887

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.[37] 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.[38] 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.[39] 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.[40]

Over the centuries, the observance of the day had lost much of its gloom.[41]

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.[6]

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.[44]

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.[6]

Contemporary observance

In Israel

Jews pray in a synagogue on Tisha B'av. Painted by Maurycy Trębacz and published in 1903. From the collection of the National Library of Israel.

A 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.[45]

In

Operation Protective Edge by Israel's Chief Rabbis: Rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef.[47]

When

Memorial Day would also fall on this day, but it was not accepted.[48]

In relation to the creation of the State of Israel

As the main focus of the day recalls the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem and the subsequent Jewish diaspora, the modern day re-establishment of a Jewish state in the Holy Land has raised various attitudes within Judaism about the appropriateness of fasting and other mourning customs associated with the day. Some observant Jews outside of Orthodoxy curtail some of the mourning customs in recognition of the miracle of the reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty after nearly two thousand years.[citation needed]

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.[49]

Progressive Judaism

Because the destruction of the ancient temples is not usually assigned a central religious role within progressive denominations of Judaism, observing Tisha B'Av may not be important or meaningful to progressive Jews.[50]

Some

progressive Zionism.[52]

Some Reconstructionist Jews observe Tisha B'Av and the Reconstructing Judaism website offers resources for Reconstructionist Jews who wish to observe it.[53]

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.[54] 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.[55]

Other traditions

Classical Jewish sources

Jewish Messiah 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.[57]

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.[58]

See also

  • Jewish fast days
  • Jewish holiday

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Also written ט׳ באב‎, using Hebrew numerals.
  2. ^ 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

  1. ^ a b c d "Dates for Tisha B'Av". Hebcal.com by Danny Sadinoff and Michael J. Radwin (CC-BY-3.0). Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  2. . Hashem condemned this day to become destined for national disasters throughout history...
  3. . Tisha B'Av initially became destined for tragedy...
  4. ^ See Numbers 13; Numbers 14.
  5. ^ Numbers Rabbah 16:20
  6. ^
    Jewish Encyclopedia
    . Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  7. ^ Ta'anit 29a
  8. ^ "Hebrew Date Converter – 9th of Av, 3830". Hebcal Jewish Calendar. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Hebrew Date Converter – 9th of Av, 3895". Hebcal Jewish Calendar. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d Becher, Rabbi Mordechai (1995). "History of Events on Tisha B'Av". ohrnet. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  11. ^
    ISBN 1-56871-254-5.. Note that 31 July is the Julian calendar date; corrected for the Gregorian calendar
    it would be 10 August.
  12. .
  13. ^ Green, David B. (22 July 2016). "This Day In Jewish History 1306: King Philip 'The Fair' Expels All France's Jews". Haaretz.
  14. ^ a b "The three weeks, Tisha B'av (9th of Av) and the month of Av in general" (PDF).
  15. ^ Kreiman, Claudia (15 September 2013). "Grief and Consolation in the Month of Av (Isaiah 40:1–26)". Huffington Post.
  16. ^ Urquhart, Conal; Gilmore, Inigo (13 August 2005). "After all the threats, it's a muted goodbye to Gaza". The Guardian.
  17. ^ a b "Tisha B'Av: Special Gush Katif Kinna". Machon Shilo. 11 December 2008.
  18. ^ "Fasting and Fast-Days". www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
  19. ^ "When Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat or Sunday". 14 June 2004.
  20. ^ a b c d Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman. "The Laws of Tisha B'Av".
  21. ^ Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 650:2
  22. 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 bad things which are in Yirmiyah
    , but if there are between them passages of consolation, one must skip them.
  23. ^ .
  24. ^ "Fallen Glory - The Message of Tisha B'Av • Torah.org". 10 October 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  25. .
  26. ^ "Selected Halachos of the Days of Tisha B'Av | Beit Midrash | Torah Lessons | yeshiva.co". Yeshiva Site. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  27. Joseph ben Ephraim Karo. "Shulchan Aruch/Orach Chaim/555"
    . Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  28. ^ Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Brurah 558:1
  29. ^ "When Tisha b'Av is Observed on Sunday". Jewish Holidays. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  30. ^ Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 125:6
  31. ^ "The Reading of Eicha on Tisha B'Av (Rabbi Josh Flug)". www.yutorah.org. 22 May 2023.
  32. ^ https://www.yutorah.org/download.cfm?materialID=507764[bare URL PDF]
  33. ^ "Iyov (Job) – Derech HaTorah".
  34. ^ Israel Abrahams, Festival Studies (1906, London, Macmillan & Co.) page 81.
  35. ^ Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard, Rite and Reason; 1050 Jewish Customs and Their Sources (1998, NY, Feldheim) pages 554–555.
  36. ^ ""Nachem": to change or not to change? – Ask the Rabbi". OzTorah. August 2008.
  37. ^ "Tradition of Mourning on the Temple Mount on Tisha B'Av". www.jewishmag.com. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  38. ^ "The Bordeaux Pilgrim (c. 333 C.E.), Translation by Andrew S. Jacobs". andrewjacobs.org. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  39. ^ 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.
  40. ISBN 9780830829163. {{cite book}}: |last2= has generic name (help
    )
    .
  41. ^ "AB, NINTH DAY OF - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  42. ^ Mishneh Torah Hilchoth Ta'anith 5:8
  43. ^ Sefer Mitzvoth ha-Gadol, Venice ed, Laws of Tishah B'Av, 249b
  44. Shulkhan Arukh
    , Orach Chayim 551
  45. ^ Brackman, Rabi Levi and Rivkah Lubitch. "Poll: 74% follow Tisha B'Av tradition". Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews. www.ynet.co.il. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  46. ^ "Tisha B'Av: Mourning Destruction but Hoping for Redemption". Arutz Sheva. 8 August 2011.
  47. ^ Farkash, Tali (4 August 2014). "IDF fighters exempt from Tisha B'Av fast". Ynet.
  48. ^ Dreaming of the Third Temple in a conflicted Land of Israel, Haaretz, 20 July 2010.
  49. ^ Ben Meir, Yehuda (March 2005). "The Disengagement: An Ideological Crisis". Strategic Assessment. 7 (4). The Institute for National Security Studies. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  50. ^ "Tishah B'Av". Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  51. ^ "How Should Reform Jews Observe Tishah B'Av?". Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  52. ^ "Reform Jews embrace Tisha B'Av". Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  53. Reconstructing Judaism
    . 6 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  54. Atlanta Jewish Times
    . 28 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  55. ^ "What is Tishah Be'av and how is it observed?". ExploringJudaism.org. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  56. ^ Jerusalem Talmud, Berachos 2:4;
  57. ^ Silberberg, Naftali. "Is it true that the Messiah will be born (or was born) on Tisha b'Av?". AskMoses.com. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  58. ^ "Jewish Languages Fun Facts". Retrieved 4 December 2023.

External links