Tisha B'Avתִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב

The Hebrew Bible records the capture and burning of the First Temple by the Babylonian army in the fifth month (Av); 2 Kings gives the 7th day of the month, Jeremiah the 10th. The Babylonian Talmud reconciles the two dates: the enemy entered the Temple on the seventh, set it on fire toward evening on the ninth, and the fire burned on through the tenth.^1,2,3

The Mishnah summarizes that on the ninth of Av it was decreed that the generation of the wilderness would not enter the Land, the First and Second Temples were destroyed, Betar fell (the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt), and the city was plowed under. Tradition thus made the date a collective day of national catastrophes.⁴

Later tradition links further events to 9 Av, such as the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. This association is traditional rather than a precise dating, and historians cite it with reservations.

The prophet Zechariah mentions "the fast of the fifth month" alongside three other fasts that are one day to be turned into days of joy. Traditional interpretation identifies them with 9 Av, 17 Tammuz, 3 Tishrei and 10 Tevet.^5,6

The day is not merely the memory of a building but a reflection on the loss of national and spiritual independence. Rabbinic literature repeatedly asks why the destruction came and answers with moral reasons, most famously "baseless hatred" (sinat chinam) in the time of the Second Temple.⁷

Modern approaches differ: Orthodox practice keeps the fast in full; parts of the Reform movement place the emphasis on a general remembrance of persecution rather than on lamenting the Temple cult; in Israel the day also recalls the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

The Shabbat before Tisha B'Av is called Shabbat Chazon after the haftarah from Isaiah 1 ("The vision of Isaiah"); the Shabbat after it is Shabbat Nachamu after the haftarah from Isaiah 40 ("Comfort, comfort my people").^9,10

According to the Shulchan Arukh, the same five restrictions apply as on Yom Kippur: no eating or drinking, no washing for pleasure, no anointing, no wearing of leather shoes and no marital relations. In addition, Torah study is forbidden except for sad texts (Job, Lamentations, parts of Jeremiah, the laws of mourning), and people sit on the floor or on low seats.^12,13

The sick and pregnant or nursing women should consult a rabbi; halakhah does not require the sick to fast where health would be at stake.

In the evening and the morning the Book of Lamentations (אֵיכָה, Eikhah) is read, traditionally to a special mournful chant, with the lights dimmed. In Ashkenazi synagogues the curtain in front of the ark is often removed.¹⁵

The kinot, medieval and more recent elegies, are recited. In the morning the Torah reading is Deuteronomy 4:25–40 with a haftarah from Jeremiah 8–9; in the afternoon Exodus 32 and 34 are read, as on other fast days.¹⁶

The plea Nachem ("Console") for Jerusalem is inserted into the afternoon prayer.¹⁷

The symbols of the day are the giving up of comfort: sitting on the floor, canvas or rubber shoes instead of leather, dimness in the synagogue. Tradition mentions ashes or dust in connection with the mourning meal.

Before the fast the final meal (seudah mafseket) is eaten; in its traditional form it is modest, often just bread and a hard-boiled egg, sometimes dipped in ashes, and it is eaten sitting on the floor. In Jewish tradition eggs and lentils are the food of mourners.¹⁸

Tisha B'Av is the day when Jews remember that a great Temple once stood in Jerusalem and that it was destroyed twice. Adults go the whole day without eating and sit on the floor like people in mourning. Children do not fast, but they can listen to the story and think about why it matters that people treat each other kindly.