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47-655: Tisha or Tishah is the Hebrew word for the number nine, as in Tisha B'Av (= 9th of the month Av ), an annual fasting day in Judaism. Tisha is a given name and surname. It is also a diminutive of the Russian masculine name Тихон ( Tikhon ). Notable persons with that name include: Tisha B%27Av Tisha B'Av ( Hebrew : תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב Tīšʿā Bəʾāv ; IPA: [tiʃʕa beˈʔav] , lit.   '

94-536: A character of constantly growing sadness and asceticism. Two independent accounts in non-Jewish sources, written in the 4th and 5th centuries of the Common Era (CE), describe how Jews made pilgrimage to Jerusalem each year to mourn for their ruined Temple. At the time, the Byzantine Empire —which had recently adopted Christianity as the state religion—controlled Jerusalem and forbade Jews from entering

141-516: A day of joy" for Reform Jews as the day can mark both mourning Jewish suffering and celebrating Jewish resilience. While the classical Reform position has discouraged observance of Tisha B'Av, and while many Reform temples still do not observe it, some neo-traditional Reform synagogues have begun to observe Tisha B'Av. Reform 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

188-577: A record of Austrian customs , that haircuts are not taken and weddings are not celebrated during the Three Weeks. His opinion was cited as halacha by Moses Isserles in Rema on Shulchan Aruch , which is the foundation for most of current Ashkenazic practice. Special haftarot (passages from the Nevi'im ), the "Three of Affliction" ( tlat de-purʿanuta ), are read in the synagogue on each Shabbat of

235-417: A result, some Jews are particularly careful to avoid all dangerous situations during the Three Weeks. These include: going to dangerous places, undergoing a major operation that could be postponed until after Tisha B'Av, going on an airplane flight that could be postponed until after Tisha B'Av, and engaging in a court case if it can be postponed until after Tisha B'Av. The first source for a special status of

282-534: Is nidche ("delayed" in Hebrew). Thus the observance of Tisha B'Av can take place on the following day (that is, Sunday). This occurred in 2022, and will occur in 2029. No mourning can intrude upon the Sabbath. Normally Sabbath eating and drinking ends just before sunset Saturday evening, rather than nightfall. This fast lasts just over 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the preceding evening, lasting until nightfall

329-578: Is categorized as a day destined for tragedy. Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar . Observances of the day include 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 dirges that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As

376-558: Is performed with wine (without candle or spices). The laws of Tisha B'Av are recorded in the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 552–557. "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

423-817: Is read on Saturday like the other special haftarot, but the other is read on the Fast of Gedaliah . According to the Mishnah , "from the beginning of Av , happiness is decreased." The last nine days of the three weeks—which are also the first nine days of the month of Av, culminating in the Tisha B'Av fast—constitute therefore a period of intensified mourning in the Ashkenazi custom. Many Jewish communities refrain from partaking of poultry , red meat , and wine; wearing freshly laundered clothes; and bathing in warm water. Sephardic Jews observe many of these restrictions only from

470-504: Is to not put on tefillin nor tallit for Shacharit services. Men wear only the tallit katan without a blessing. At mincha services, tzitzit and tefilin are worn, with proper blessings before donning them. 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. It is therefore customary to maintain all restrictions of

517-615: The Book of Job is read on the morning of Tisha B'Av. Those called to the Torah reading on Tisha B'Av are not given the usual congratulations for this honor. 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. Most of

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564-592: The Fast of Gedaliah , the day when Gedaliah was assassinated in the time of the Babylonians following the destruction of the First Temple. 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 . Tisha B'Av falls in July or August in the Gregorian calendar . When Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat (the Sabbath), it then

611-508: The Gregorian calendar . 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 . Similarly, kinnot have been added to

658-469: The Mishnah ( Taanit 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting: Over time, Tisha B'Av has come to be a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for later 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

705-623: The Talmud that discuss the laws of mourning and those that discuss the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem . 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. Spanish and Portuguese Jews , who do not hang a curtain in front of the ark during the rest of

752-589: 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. 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. Iranian Jews refer to this holiday as Noi (pronounced No-ee), which likely comes from

799-715: 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 the Christian Saint Jerome , who spent time in Jerusalem after moving from Rome to Bethlehem in the late 4th Century CE. 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

846-616: The German-born Rabbi Shimon Schwab (in 1959, at the request of Rabbi Joseph Breuer ) and by Rabbi Solomon Halberstam , leader of the Bobov Hasidim (in 1984). Since Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza , some segments of the Religious Zionist community have begun to recite kinnot to commemorate the expulsion of Jewish settlers from Gush Katif and the northern West Bank on

893-708: The Jewish people are attributed to this period. These tragedies include the breaking of the Tablets of the Law by Moses , when he saw the people worshipping the golden calf ; the burning of a Torah scroll by Apostomus during the Second Temple period ; the destruction of both Temples on Tisha B'Av; the expulsion of the Jews from Spain shortly before Tisha B'Av 1492; and the outbreak of World War I shortly before Tisha B'Av 1914, which overturned many Jewish communities. As

940-611: 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. The Three Weeks The mourning observances during the Three Weeks are divided into four levels, increasing in intensity: Standard Ashkenazic custom, or minhag , restricts the extent to which one may take a haircut, shave or listen to music with instruments. However, communities and individuals vary their levels of observance of these customs. No Jewish marriages or other major celebrations are allowed during

987-643: The Smag) wrote that it is the universal custom to refrain from meat and wine during the whole day preceding the Ninth of Av. Rabbi Joseph Caro (16th century) says 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. A gradual extension of prohibitions can be traced in

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1034-496: The Talmud. But Maimonides in his Mishneh Torah prescribes a slight variation of these three, and Yemenite Jews read the haftarot that he lists. The nine haftarot of the eight weeks following Tisha B'Av likewise were selected for their content. These are the "Seven of Consolation" ( shev di-nhemta ) followed by the "Two of Repentance " ( tarte di-tyuvta )—which two appropriately fall between Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur ; one

1081-564: The Three Weeks, since the joy of such an event would conflict with the expected mourning mood during this time. Many Orthodox Jews refrain from eating meat during the Nine Days from the first of the month of Av until midday of the day after the fast of Tisha B'Av, based on the tradition that the Temple burned until that time. The Three Weeks are considered historically a time of misfortune since many tragedies and calamities which befell

1128-554: The Three Weeks—which is also the oldest extant reference to these days as Bein ha-Metzarim—is found in Lamentations Rabbah 1:29 (4th century?). This midrash glosses Lamentations 1:3 ("All [Zion's] pursuers overtook her between the straits"), interpreting "straits" as "days of distress"—namely the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av. Isaac Tyrnau (late 14th-early 15th centuries) wrote in his book Minhagim,

1175-747: The abstention from marrying at this season and in other signs of mourning. So Rabbi Moses of Coucy says that some do not use the tefillin ("phylacteries") in the morning of the Ninth Day of Av, a custom which later was 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 mostly all Jews. 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 were recreational spots permissible to be open they would go out on

1222-409: The basis that it can endanger their lives. The latest example of such a ruling was issued during Operation Protective Edge by Israel's Chief Rabbis: Rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef . When Menachem Begin became Prime Minister , he wanted to unite all the memorial days and days of mourning on Tisha B'Av, so that Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day would also fall on this day, but it

1269-545: The city. The only exception, evidently, was on a day of mourning, presumably the annual commemoration of Tisha B'Av. The first account is by the anonymous Bordeaux Pilgrim in his Latin travelogue, the Itinerarium Burdigalense , which is dated to 333 CE. The Bordeaux Pilgrim described a "perforated stone" on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which the Jews "anoint"—i.e., rub with oil—once a year. While

1316-479: The custom to sit low to the ground extends past mid-day until one prays Mincha (the afternoon prayer). 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 siddurim and Torah scrolls are often buried on this day. The custom

1363-638: The day after Tisha B'Av, in 2005. A paragraph that begins Nahem ("Console...") is added to the conclusion of the blessing Boneh Yerushalayim ("Who builds Jerusalem") recited during the Amidah (for Ashkenazim , only at the Mincha service). The prayer elaborates the mournful state of the 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 rabbis have proposed amending Nachem , as its wording no longer reflects

1410-415: The day as one of mourning and transform it into a day of joy instead. Because the destruction of the ancient temples is not assigned a central religious role within progressive denominations of Judaism, observing Tisha B'Av lacks meaning to progressive Jews. Some Reform Jews observe Tisha B'Av, however, many do not. Reform Rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs asserted, Tisha B'Av can be "both a day of mourning and

1457-630: 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; expulsions from England , Spain , and elsewhere; massacres of numerous medieval Jewish communities by Crusaders ; the Holocaust ; and the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel . According to

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1504-575: The end of a delayed Tisha B'Av. When Tisha B'Av begins on Saturday night, the Havdalah ritual is postponed by 24 hours, as one could not drink the accompanying wine. One says Attah Chonantanu in the Saturday night Shemoneh Esrei prayer or says Baruch Hamavdil thus ending Shabbat. A blessing is made on the candle Saturday night. After Tisha B'Av ends on Sunday evening, the Havdalah ceremony

1551-527: The eve of the fast day, and labeled the current legal status "religious coercion". The last 8% declined to answer. In Israel , restaurants and places of entertainment are closed on the eve of Tisha B'Av and the following day by law. Establishments that break the law are subject to fines. Outside of Israel, the day is not observed by most 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

1598-482: 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. In the long period which is reflected in Talmudic literature the observance of Tisha B'Av assumed

1645-406: The fast; in practice, consultation with a rabbi is best. Ritual hand washing up to the knuckles is permitted. Washing to cleanse dirt or mud from one's body is also permitted. 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 Jeremiah and chapters of

1692-670: The lens of social justice or progressive Zionism . Some Reconstructionist Jews observe Tisha B'Av and the Reconstructing Judaism website offers resources for Reconstructionist Jews who wish to observe it. The creation of the State of Israel had an important role in shaping the Conservative approach to Tisha B'Av. Historically, Tisha B'Av was rarely discussed or observed in the Conservative movement until

1739-403: The morning is spent chanting or reading Kinnot , bewailing the loss of the Temples and subsequent persecutions, many others 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 Elazar ha-Kalir and Rabbi Judah ha-Levi . After the Holocaust , kinnot were composed by

1786-413: The mourning practices of Jews on the Temple Mount, including how the Jews had to bribe Roman soldiers for permission to lament there. 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. Over the centuries, the observance of the day had lost much of its gloom. The growing strictness in

1833-569: The next day. Pleasurable activities are forbidden. 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: These restrictions are waived in the case of health issues. A competent posek , a rabbi who decides 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

1880-498: The nine days through midday ( chatzos ) of the following day. 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

1927-705: The ninth of Av ' ) is an annual fast day in Judaism . 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 . Tisha B'Av precedes the end of the three weeks between dire straits . This day is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar . It

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1974-546: The observance of mourning customs in connection with Tisha B'Av became pronounced in post-Talmudic times, and particularly in one of the darkest periods of Jewish history, from the 15th century to the 18th. Maimonides (12th century) says 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. Rabbi Moses of Coucy (13th century) (aka

2021-474: 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." Abbreviated from the Nachem prayer. The Book of Lamentations is read in synagogue during the evening services. In many Sephardic congregations,

2068-602: The three weeks. These prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah predict the fall of Jerusalem, unlike most haftarot of the yearly cycle, which reflect the theme of the day's Torah reading . The Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana is the first source to designate the appropriate 12 selections from the Prophets, the Three of Affliction being Most congregations use the haftarot suggested by the Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana , which are not mentioned in

2115-570: The tisha b'av liturgy regarding the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel . 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

2162-477: The year, place a black curtain over the ark for tisha b'av. According to Moses Isserles , it is customary to sit on low stools or on the floor, as is done during shiva (the first week of mourning), from the meal immediately before the fast (the seudah hamafseket ) until 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 rules that

2209-526: Was not accepted. 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

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