Tisha b'Av - the Ninth of Av

© Petra van der Zande              

Excerpt from the book “Remember Observe Rejoice” 

The 9th day of Av usually falls in the middle of the summer holiday, in August.

On this solemn day, the Jewish people commemorate the destructions of their Temples by fasting 24 hours and praying. In Israel, most restaurants and places of entertainment are closed on this day.

Throughout the ages, Tisha b’Av has been a black day in Jewish history.

The Mishnah mentions specific events which took place:

•         On this day, the twelve spies returned to Moses; ten of them with bad news about the Promised Land.
•         In 586 BC, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Solomon’s Temple and sent the Judeans into Babylonian Exile.
•        In 70 AD, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, and the people in Judea scattered. It heralded the beginning of the Jewish exile from Eretz Israel.
•        135 AD, Bar Kochba’s revolt against the Romans was crushed and Betar destroyed.

In later years, more Tisha b’Av disasters were added to the list of commemorations. On this day:

•        All Jews were expelled from England in 1290
•        The Jews from Spain were expelled in 1492.
•     The same fate awaited the Jews from Vienna, whose turn came in 1670.
•        World War I officially began on the 9th of Av in 1914, when Germany declared war on Russia.

In the period between the 17th of Tammuz (July) till the 9th of Av, (August), religious Jews don’t eat meat, drink no wine (except for Shabbat), do not wear new clothes, and do not schedule happy events, such as weddings and house dedications. The 25 hour fast begins at nightfall on the 9th of Av.

In the synagogue, the Ark housing the Torah scrolls is draped in black and the lights are dimmed.  Wearing only socks or slippers, no (leather) shoes, people sit on the floor or on low stools. Like true mourners, they don’t greet each other with “Shalom”. 

Torah study is forbidden, for this is considered to be a joyful activity. During this fast day, the book of Lamentations, Job and parts of Jeremiah are read in the synagogue.

Special mourning prayers, kinot (written during the Middle Ages) are also recited.

Orthodox Jews believe that when Messiah comes, Tisha b’Av will be a day of celebration instead of mourning.

"Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'The fast of the fourth month, The fast of the fifth, The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace." Zechariah 8:19 (NKJV)

A religious Jew will never throw away his old prayer book, or discard a Torah Scroll. These are kept in a special place (Genizah*) and are usually buried on Tisha b’Av.

Fragments like these, considered too holy to be discarded as trash, are stored in the genizah.