View source for Tisha B'Av


{{Short description|Jewish fast day}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox holiday
| image         = (Venice) La distruzione del tempio di Gerusalemme -Francesco Hayez - gallerie Accademia Venice.jpg
| caption       = ''[[The Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem]]'' by [[Francesco Hayez]], 1867
| holiday_name  = Tisha b'Av
| official_name = [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{Script/Hebrew|תשעה באב}} <br />[[English language|English]]: Ninth of Av
| date          = 9th day of [[Av (month)|Av]] (if ''[[Shabbat]]'', then the 10th of Av)
| observances   = [[Fasting]], [[mourning]], [[prayer]], abstaining from physical pleasures
| type          = [[Judaism|Jewish religious]] and national
| significance  = Mourning the destruction of the ancient [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temples]] and [[Jerusalem]], and other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people.
| relatedto     = The fasts of [[Fast of Gedalia|Gedalia]], the [[Tenth of Tevet]] and the [[Seventeenth of Tammuz]], [[the Three Weeks]] & [[the Nine Days]]
| date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=last}}
| date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=current}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next}}
| date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Calendar date/infobox|year=next2}}
| frequency     = annual
| firsttime     = 
}}
'''Tisha b'Av''' ({{langx|he|תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב|Tišʿā Bəʾāḇ|ninth of [[Av (month)|Av]]}}{{efn|Also written {{lang|he|ט׳ באב}}, using [[Hebrew numerals]]; {{langx|yi|תּישעה־באָבֿ|Tíshebov}}; [[Modern Hebrew]] {{IPA|he|tiʃʕa beˈʔav|IPA|He-TishaBAv.ogg}}}}) is an annual [[ta'anit]] (fast day) in [[Rabbinic Judaism]]. ([[Qaraite Judaism]] fasts on the 7th and 10th of Av.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mershon |first1=Ronit |title=Rinat Yisrael to Present Dr. Daniel Lasker: ‘Why Should an Orthodox Jew Be Interested in Karaism?’ |url=https://jewishlink.news/rinat-yisrael-to-present-dr-daniel-lasker-why-should-an-orthodox-jew-be-interested-in-karaism/ |work=The Jewish Link |date=23 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref>) It is 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]].<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 Three Weeks]]. This day is regarded as the saddest day in the [[Hebrew calendar|Jewish calendar]]. 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 [[Gregorian calendar]].

Observances of the day include [[#Main prohibitions|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 [[dirge]]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 [[Ten Martyrs]] by the Romans; [[Edict of Expulsion|expulsions from England]], [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|Spain]], and elsewhere; [[Rhineland massacres|massacres of numerous medieval Jewish communities]] by [[Crusades|Crusaders]]; [[the Holocaust]];<ref name=":0" /> and for some, the [[October 7 attacks]].<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
| 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==

===Five calamities===

[[Image:NinthAvStonesWesternWall.JPG|thumb|right|Excavated stones from the [[Western Wall]] of the [[Temple Mount]], knocked onto the street below by Roman battering rams in the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE]]]]

According to the [[Mishnah]], [[Ta'anit (Talmud)|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 [[Israelites]] to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "[[Promised Land]]". For this, they were punished by [[God in Judaism|God]] so that their generation would not enter the land.<ref>See {{bibleverse||Numbers|13|HE}}; {{bibleverse||Numbers|14|HE}}.</ref> 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",<ref>[[Numbers Rabbah]] 16:20</ref> alluding to the future misfortunes which occurred on the same date.
# The [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]] built by [[Solomon|King Solomon]] was destroyed by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] in the [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|587 BCE Siege of Jerusalem]], and the population of the [[Kingdom of Judah]] was sent into the [[Babylonian captivity]].<ref name="jewishencyc">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/110-ab-ninth-day-of|title=Ab, Ninth Day of|encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]|access-date=15 July 2013}}</ref> According to the [[Hebrew 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]], [[Ta'anit (Talmud)|Ta'anit]] 29a, 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 [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destroyed by the Romans]] on 9 Av in 70 CE,{{efn|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.}} scattering the people of [[Judea]] and commencing the greatest [[Jewish diaspora]].<ref name="jewishencyc"/> 
# The Romans subsequently crushed the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] and destroyed the city of [[Betar (ancient city)|Betar]], killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians (approximately 580,000) on 9 Av in 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 [[Quintus Tineius Rufus (consul 127)|Quintus Tineius Rufus]] plowed the site of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] and the surrounding area.<ref name="Barclay" />

===Other calamities===
Over time, Tisha b'Av has evolved into a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for subsequent 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), and began with the [[Rhineland massacres]] targeting Jews as "[[resident alien]]s", killing 10,000 Jews in its first month and annihilating Jewish communities in [[France]] and the [[Rhineland]].<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 Jews were [[Edict of Expulsion|expelled]] from [[England]] on 18 July 1290 (Av 9, AM 5050).<ref name="Ohr" />
*The Jews were [[History of the Jews in France#The Great Exile of 1306|expelled from France]] 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 [[Alhambra Decree]] by the [[Catholic Monarchs of Spain]] expelled Jews from Spanish-ruled territories 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=[[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.</ref>
*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]].<ref name="Ohr" />
* 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.<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 [[Warsaw Ghetto]] to the [[Treblinka extermination camp]] began.<ref name="TheUs" />
*The [[AMIA bombing]] on the Jewish community center in [[Buenos Aires]], 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>

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.<ref name=":0" />[[File:Tisha beav.png|thumb|Tisha b'Av prayers (1740)]]Similarly, within [[Religious Zionism|Religious Zionist]] communities, the 2005 [[Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip]] is mourned on Tisha b'Av as well, a practice supported by Religious Zionist rabbis like [[Yaakov Ariel]] and [[Dov Lior]].<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> [[Kinah|Kinnot]] 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 ten-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> Although the disengagement operation had been delayed specifically to avoid coinciding with [[The Three Weeks]] and Tisha b'Av, the 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, [[Chaim Navon]] 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 [[Shlomo Aviner]] 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> [[Yona Metzger]], then [[Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel]], 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 [[Howard Jachter]], a prominent Orthodox scholar who is a member of the [[Rabbinical Council of America]], 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>

Kinnot regarding the [[October 7 attacks]] have also been added to the Tisha b'Av liturgy.<ref name="Hajdenbigger-A000"></ref><ref name="Harkovigger-A000"></ref>

===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 Gedalia]], the day [[Gedaliah]] was assassinated in the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire 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 [[The Three Weeks]], while the nine days leading up to Tisha b'Av are known as [[The Nine Days]].<ref name=":0" />

==Laws and customs==
[[File:Woodcut tisha b'av.png|thumb|Tisha b'Av (1657 woodcut)]]
Tisha b'Av falls in July or August in the [[Gregorian calendar]]. When Tisha b'Av falls on [[Shabbat]], it then is {{transliteration|he|nidḥā}} ({{lang|he|נִדְחָה}} "delayed"). Thus the observance of Tisha b'Av can take place on the following day (that is, Sunday). This last occurred in 2022, and will next occur in 2029. No mourning can intrude upon the Sabbath. Normally, Sabbath eating and drinking end 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|work=aishcom |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===
''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:<ref>[[Shulchan Aruch]] Orach Chaim 650:2</ref>

#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 [[Halakha|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.<ref name="ohr.edu" /> [[Ritual washing in Judaism|Ritual hand washing]] 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===
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 3434 9 av kotel.JPG|thumb|200px| Reading ''kinnot'' at the Western Wall]]
[[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 [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] and chapters of the [[Talmud]] that discuss the laws of mourning and those that discuss the destruction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Joseph Karo|author-link=Joseph 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 [[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" ([[Psalm 19|Tehillim 19:9]]). Schoolchildren are idle on it. One may read [[Book of Job|Iyov]] and the negative passages in [[Book of Jeremiah|Yirmiyah]], 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 = [https://archive.org/details/tobejewguideto000doni/page/264 264] | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/tobejewguideto000doni }}</ref>

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.<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> [[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.<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 [[Moses Isserles]], it is customary to sit on low stools or on the floor, as is done during [[Shiva (Judaism)|shiva]] (the first week of mourning), from the meal immediately before the fast (the [[Seudah#Seudah HaMafseket|seudah hamafseket]]) until [[Zmanim#Midday|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 (book)|''Beit Yosef'']] rules that the custom to sit low to the ground extends past mid-day until one prays [[Mincha]] (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>

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 [[siddur]]im and [[Torah scroll]]s are often buried on this day.<ref name="ohr.edu" />

The custom is not to put on [[tefillin]] nor [[tallit]] for [[Shacharit]]. Men wear only [[tallit katan]] without a blessing. At [[mincha]], tzitzit and tefilin are worn, with proper blessings before donning them.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Joseph Karo|author-link=Joseph Karo|title=Shulchan Aruch/Orach Chaim/555|url=https://en.wikisource.org/?curid=57353|access-date=18 April 2016}}</ref>

===End of fast===
The laws of Tisha b'Av as observed by [[Orthodox Jews]] are recorded in ''[[Orach Chayim]]'' 552–557.

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.<ref name="donin" /> It is therefore customary to maintain all restrictions of the nine days through midday (''[[Noon#Solar noon|chatzos]]'') of the following day according to Shulchan Aruch with Mishnah Brurah 558:1.

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>

The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' 125:6 instructs that when Tisha b'Av begins on Saturday night, [[Havdalah]] is postponed by 24 hours, as one could not drink the accompanying wine. One says ''Attah Chonantanu'' in the Saturday night [[Amidah]] or says ''Baruch Hamavdil'', thus ending Shabbat. A blessing is made on the candles on Saturday night. After Tisha b'Av ends on Sunday evening, the Havdalah ceremony is performed with wine (without candle or spices)

==Prayer service==
===Scriptural readings===
{{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."
| source = <small>Abbreviated from the ''Nachem'' prayer.</small>
| width = 20em
| align = right
}}
The [[Book of Lamentations]] is read in [[synagogue]] 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 [[Book of Job]] 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}}

Those called to the [[Torah reading]] 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 [[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.<ref>Shmuel Pinchas Gelbard, Rite and Reason; 1050 Jewish Customs and Their Sources (1998, NY, Feldheim) pages 554–555.</ref>

===Kinnot===
{{Main|Kinnot}}
[[File:Remembrance_of_the_Destruction_(Leopold_Pilichowski_1925).jpg|thumb|260x260px|''Remembrance of the Destruction,'' showing women reading the Book of Lamentations, painting by [[Leopold Pilichowski]] (1925)]]
Most of the morning is spent chanting or reading ''kinnot'', bewailing the loss of the Temples and subsequent persecutions, as well as 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 [[Eleazar beRabbi Qallir]] and [[Judah Halevi]]. After the Holocaust, ''kinnot'' were composed by the German-born rabbi [[Shimon Schwab]] in 1959, at the request of [[Joseph Breuer]], and by [[Shlomo Halberstam (third Bobover rebbe)|Solomon Halberstam]], the second [[Bobov (Hasidic dynasty)|Bobover rebbe]] in 1984. Since Israeli disengagement from the [[Gaza Strip]], some segments of the [[Religious Zionist]] community have begun to recite ''kinnot'' to commemorate the expulsion of [[Israeli settlement|Israeli settlers]] from [[Gush Katif]] and the northern [[West Bank]] 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 [[Amidah]] (for [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazim]], only at the [[Mincha]] service). The prayer elaborates the mournful state of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|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 Judaism|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.<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==
[[File:Tish'a B'av 1887.jpg|thumb|200px|Lamenting in the synagogue, 1887]]

In the long period which is reflected in [[Talmud]]ic 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 century|4th]] and [[5th century|5th]] centuries, describe how Jews made a pilgrimage to the former city of Jerusalem each year to mourn the destruction of the Temple. Romans had forbade Jews from entering the city after the Bar Kokhba revolt, when it was razed and rebuilt as the [[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]] of [[Aelia Capitolina]], and to reside in the former region of [[Roman Judaea]], now part of [[Syria Palaestina]]. The [[Byzantine Empire]]—which had recently [[Christian state|adopted Christianity as the state religion]]—controlled the city in this era.<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 was evidently on the annual commemoration of Tisha b'Av. This blanket ban on Jews in Aelia and its environs ended with the [[First Muslim conquest of Jerusalem|early Muslim conquest of Aelia]] in 637, which had Jewish military assistance.

The first account of the mourning pilgrimage is found in the anonymous Latin travelogue, the ''[[Itinerarium Burdigalense]]'', which is dated to 333. The Bordeaux Pilgrim described a "perforated stone" on the Temple Mount, 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. 

The second account is by [[Jerome]], who spent time in Aelia after moving from Rome to [[Bethlehem]] in the late 4th century. 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 on the Temple Mount, including how 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 |date= September 2014 }} 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 Zephaniah 1:16.</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=[[InterVarsity Press]] |isbn= 9780830829163}}.</ref>

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>

The growing strictness in observing mourning customs in connection with Tisha b'Av became pronounced after [[late antiquity]], particularly during the [[early modern period]] (15th to the 18th centuries), one of the darkest periods for Jews.<ref name="jewishencyc"/>

The [[al-Andalus|Andalusi]] refugee [[Maimonides]] wrote in the ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' (''Hilchoth Ta'anith'' 5:8) 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. [[Moses ben Jacob of Coucy]] wrote in the 13th century that it is the universal custom to refrain from meat and wine during the whole day preceding 9 Av in the ''Sefer Mitzvoth ha-Gadol'' (Venice ed, ''Laws of Tishah B'Av'', 249b) [[Joseph Karo]] wrote in his 16th century ''[[Orach Hayyim]]'', 551 that 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>[[Shulkhan Arukh]], ''Orach Chayim'' 551</ref>

A gradual extension of prohibitions can be traced in the abstention from marrying at this season and in other signs of mourning. [[Moses ben Jacob of Coucy]] says that some do not use the [[tefillin]] on the morning of 9 Av, a custom that was later 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 most Jews.<ref name="jewishencyc"/>

==Contemporary observance==
===In Israel===
{{Main|The Prohibition of Opening Entertainment Venues on Tisha B'Av Law}}
[[File:יהודים מתפללים בבית הכנסת בליל ט' באב (גלויה).jpg|thumb|''Tisha B'av'' by [[Maurycy Trębacz]], 1903.]]
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 if recreational spots were permissible to be open, they would go out on the eve of the fast day, and labelled the current legal status "[[Blue laws|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 |date=19 July 2010 |publisher=www.ynet.co.il |access-date=20 July 2010 }}</ref>

In [[Israel]], which has Rabbinic Judaism as a [[state religion]], 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. When [[Menachem Begin]] became [[Prime Minister of Israel|Prime Minister]], he wanted to unite all the memorial days and days of mourning on Tisha b'Av, so that Yom HaShoah and [[Yom HaZikaron]] would also fall on this day, but it was not accepted.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Levinson |first1=Chayyim |title=Dreaming of the Third Temple in a Conflicted Land of Israel |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2010-07-20/ty-article/dreaming-of-the-third-temple-in-a-conflicted-land-of-israel/0000017f-e57e-dea7-adff-f5ff70410000 |access-date=8 August 2025 |work=Haaretz |date=Jul 20, 2010}}</ref>

Outside of Israel, the day is not observed by most [[Jewish secularism|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 2025}}, the latest example of such a ruling was issued by the [[Military Rabbinate]] for the [[Gaza war]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Koningsveld |first1=Akiva Van |title=IDF rabbis rule most soldiers cannot fast on Tisha B’Av |url=https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/idf-rabbis-rule-most-soldiers-cannot-fast-on-tisha-bav/ |work=Israel Today}}</ref>

===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.<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 [[Temple in Jerusalem|ancient Temples]] is not assigned a central religious role within many progressive (non-Orthodox) denominations of Judaism, "many Jews understand Tishah B'Av as a day to remember many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history, and to reflect on the suffering that still occurs in our world."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/tishah-bav |title=Tishah B'Av |work=Reform Judaism |publisher=[[Union for Reform Judaism]] |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref> However, [[Reconstructing Judaism]] teaches, "On Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, we mourn the destruction of the first and second Temples and for numerous other events that befell our people throughout the ages. Together, we lament ancient and current suffering of our people and all people around the world."<ref>{{cite web |title=Tisha B’Av - Reconstructing Judaism |url=https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/jewish-time-shabbat-and-holidays/tisha-bav/ |website=www.reconstructingjudaism.org |date=6 July 2023}}</ref> [[Conservative Judaism]] also observes it as a traditional ta'anit and mourning day.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tisha B'av |url=https://www.exploringjudaism.org/holidays/tisha-bav/ |website=The Digital Home for Conservative Judaism}}</ref>

[[Reform Judaism|Reform]] rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs asserted that it 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? |work=Reform Judaism |publisher=[[Union for Reform Judaism]] |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref> While the [[Classical Reform Judaism|Classical Reform]] position has discouraged observance of Tisha b'Av, and many Reform temples still do not observe it, some [[Reform Judaism#The New Reform Judaism|New Reform]] synagogues observe Tisha b'Av. 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/reform-jews-embrace-tisha-bav |title=Reform Jews embrace Tisha B'Av |publisher=[[Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle]] |accessdate=2023-08-03}}</ref>

The creation of the State of Israel played a significant role in shaping the Conservative approach to Tisha b'Av. Historically, Tisha b'Av was rarely discussed or observed in the [[Conservative Judaism|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.<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=[[Atlanta Jewish Times]] |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==

[[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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishlanguages.org/fun-facts |title=Jewish Languages Fun Facts |access-date=4 December 2023 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Judaism}}
* [[Jewish holidays]]

== Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.alephbeta.org/playlist/power-of-rachels-tears Rachel's Tears: Finding Meaning in Mourning on Tisha B'av - video by Rabbi David Fohrman, Aleph Beta]
* [http://ph.yhb.org.il/en/category/zemanim/05-10/ Peninei Halakha by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed]
* [https://www.bimbam.com/tisha-bav/ What is Tisha B'Av: The Jewish Day of Mourning? video by BimBam]
* [https://shiratmiriam.com/sweeten-judgments-tisha-bav/ How We Can Sweeten the Judgments this Tisha B'Av- ShiratMiriam.com]

{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}
{{Three weeks}}
{{Tabernacle and Jerusalem Temples}}
{{Temples in Jewish history}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Tisha B'Av| ]]
[[Category:Av observances]]
[[Category:Book of Lamentations]]
[[Category:Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)]]
[[Category:Days of the Hebrew calendar]]