What is Tisha b’Av? — Overview

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 have occurred on the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av. In particular, Tisha b’Av commemorates the

destruction of the two Jerusalem Temples—the first in 586 b.c.e. (Before the Common Era) and the second in 70 c.e.

Tisha b’Av, one of two “full-day” fasts in the Jewish year (the other occurs at Yom Kippur), is the culmination of a three-week peri-

od of mourning called “The Three Weeks” in English or Bein HaMitzarim (literally, “between narrow straits”) in Hebrew. This name

comes from a verse in the book of Lamentations, which is traditionally read on Tisha b’Av:

Judah has gone into captivity,

Under affliction and hard servitude;

She dwells among the nations,

She finds no rest;

All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.

(Lamentations 1:3, nkjv)

The three weeks of mourning begins with the fast of Shivah Asar b’Tammuz

(meaning the 17th day of the Hebrew month, Tammuz), and was instituted to

mark the breach of the Jerusalem walls during the Babylonian siege in 586 b.c.e.

According to tradition, it also marks a number of other tragedies that befell the

Jewish people after that day, including the halting of daily temple sacrifices and

the burning of the Torah after

the Babylonian invasion; and the

erection of idols in the temple

during the Roman occupation. It

is also considered the day on which Moses broke the first set of tablets containing

the Ten Commandments.

The three weeks leading up to Tisha b’Av are viewed as a time of quasi-mourning, a

time devoted to solemnity and reflection. During this time, the Jewish people re-

frain from personal indulgence and joyous activities. Weddings, parties, and other

festive events are not permitted. In the last nine days of this period, leading up to

the ninth of Av, the intensity of mourning increases—people refrain from eating

meat or drinking wine, and bathing, beyond what is absolutely necessary, is prohib-

ited, as is doing laundry, and buying or wearing new clothes.

The Jews mourning over the

ruins of Jerusalem

Moses breaking the

tablets of the Law

This period of mourning concludes in the fast of Tisha b’Av, a day that is spent entirely in mourning—fasting, praying, sitting on

stools instead of chairs, and reading the book of Lamentations, which is a poem recounting the prophet Jeremiah’s grief for the

fallen city of Jerusalem. Writes Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of The Fellowship, in How Firm a Foundation, “[Tisha

b’Av] is the blackest, most sorrowful day in the Jewish year. . . . Unlike the fast of Yom Kippur, which is one of repentance, that of

Tisha b’Av is one of mourning and sadness” (p. 129).

Not only does the date mark the destruction of the two Jerusalem Temples at different times in Jewish history, but it also marks

the date of other tragedies that have befallen the Jews: God’s decision to not allow the generation of the Exodus to enter the

Promised Land; the suppression of Bar Kochba’s revolt, thus

ending Jewish resistance to the Romans (135 c.e.); the expul-

sion of the Jews from Spain and the onset of the Spanish In-

quisition (1492); and most recently, the deportation of Jews

from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka concentration

camps (1942).

“We are to vicariously feel the depth of grief and sadness that

has marked this date throughout history,” writes Rabbi Eck-

stein. “For we, too, are mourners on Tisha b’Av; we too, ‘let

tears stream down like a torrent day and night’ over the fall of

Jerusalem, the ‘daughter of Zion’ (Lamentations 2:18).”

Yet, even this saddest of days for the Jewish people, is not

without hope. In the afternoon, the people rise from their

mourning stools and recall the tradition that says in messianic

times, this time of mourning will turn into a time of great joy and celebration. On the Sabbath following Tisha b’Av, and on the

next seven Sabbaths leading up to Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year), prophetic selections of consolation are read. As Rabbi

Eckstein explains, this is a “reminder that despite the adversities and affliction marking Jewish history, God’s covenant with this

people, Israel, remains in effect; his promise of redemption yet fulfilled, ‘The Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have

compassion on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you’” (Deuteronomy

30:3).

While some may think it strange to dwell and focus on such suffering and horrendous

events, Rabbi Eckstein said it is, in fact, biblical for Jews to not forget. Psalm 137:5–6 states,

“If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the

roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.”

And so, Rabbi Eckstein says, “We continue to commemorate past tragedies, not to wallow in

our grief, but to strengthen our memory of history, in order to ensure that such things may

never happen again. And, perhaps, our remembering will help us realize that our survival of

these many trials is indeed a miracle, a gift from God.”