Tisha B'Av
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Five misfortunes befell our fathers ... on the ninth
of Av. ...On the ninth of Av it was decreed that our fathers should not enter
the [Promised] Land, the Temple was destroyed the first and second time,
Bethar was captured and the city [Jerusalem] was ploughed up.
-Mishnah Ta'anit 4:6
...Should I weep in the fifth month [Av], separating myself,
as I have done these so many years? -Zechariah 7:3
In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month ...came
Nebuzaradan ... and he burnt the house of the L-RD... -II Kings
25:8-9
In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month... came
Nebuzaradan ... and he burnt the house of the L-RD... - Jeremiah
52:12-13
How then are these dates to be reconciled? On the seventh
the heathens entered the Temple and ate therein and desecrated it throughout
the seventh and eighth and towards dusk of the ninth they set fire to it
and it continued to burn the whole of that day. ... How will the Rabbis then
[explain the choice of the 9th as the date]? The beginning of any misfortune
[when the fire was set] is of greater moment. -Talmud Ta'anit 29a
Tisha B'Av, the Fast of the Ninth of Av, is a day
of mourning to commemorate the many tragedies that have befallen the
Jewish people, many of which coincidentally
have occurred on the ninth of Av.
Tisha B'Av means "the ninth (day) of Av." It usually occurs during August.
Tisha B'Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the first and second
Temples, both of which were destroyed on the
ninth of Av (the first by the Babylonians in 586
B.C.E.; the second by the Romans in 70
C.E.).
Although this holiday is primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of
the Temple, it is appropriate to consider on this day the many other tragedies
of the Jewish people, many of which occurred on this day, most notably the
expulsion of the Jews from Spain in
1492.1
Tisha B'Av is the culmination of a three week period of increasing mourning,
beginning with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz,
which commemorates the first breach in the walls of Jerusalem, before the
First Temple was destroyed. During this three week period, weddings and other
parties are not permitted, and people refrain from cutting their hair. From
the first to the ninth of Av, it is customary to refrain from eating meat
or drinking wine (except on the Shabbat) and
from wearing new clothing.
The restrictions on Tisha B'Av are similar to those on
Yom Kippur: to refrain from eating and drinking
(even water); washing, bathing, shaving or wearing cosmetics; wearing leather
shoes; engaging in sexual relations; and studying Torah. Work in the ordinary
sense of the word [rather than the Shabbat
sense] is also restricted. People who are ill need not fast on this day.
Many of the traditional mourning practices
are observed: people refrain from smiles, laughter and idle conversation,
and sit on low stools.
In synagogue, the book of Lamentations is read and mourning prayers are recited.
The ark (cabinet where the Torah is kept) is draped in black.
Tisha B'Av will occur on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:
-
Jewish Year 5768: sunset August 9, 2008 - nightfall August 10, 2008
-
Jewish Year 5769: sunset July 29, 2009 - nightfall July 30, 2009
-
Jewish Year 5770: sunset July 19, 2010 - nightfall July 20, 2010
-
Jewish Year 5771: sunset August 8, 2011 - nightfall August 9, 2011
-
Jewish Year 5772: sunset July 27, 2012 - nightfall July 28, 2012
For additional holiday dates, see
Links to Jewish Calendars.
1. The Alhambra Decree, issued
March 31, 1492, ordered all Jews to leave Spain by the end of July 1492.
July 31, 1492 was Tisha B'Av. Note that if you use a Jewish calendar converter
to check this, it may show July 31 as the 27th of Tammuz. If so, the converter
has failed to take into account the Gregorian Reformation, which skipped
11 days on the calendar. If you add the 11 missing days and convert August
11 instead of July 31, you will see that "August 11" 1492 is 9 Av.
© Copyright 5756-5767 (1995-2007), Tracey
R Rich
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