During the height of the summer, on the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av, falls the saddest day on the Jewish calendar—Tisha B’Av (lit. Hebrew for “Ninth of Av”). The culmination of three weeks of intensifying mourning, Tisha B’Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, first by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, and then by the Romans in 70 CE. Throughout time, our communal mourning has morphed to include a score of Jewish tragedies, including the Crusades, the massacres of Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa, the Holocaust, and the persecution and decimation of European Jewry. We observe the holiday by fasting and observing a number of traditional mourning customs, reflecting on our people’s past, and praying for the future redemption. 

What Happened on Tisha B’Av? 

According to the Rabbinic Sages, the 9th of Av was preordained by God to be a day of tragedy for the Jewish people.  

In Mishnaic Times

According to the Mishnah (Ta'anit 4:6), five calamities took place on the 9th of Av:

1. The Spies’ Evil Report (1312 BCE): Our suffering on the 9th of Av sources back to the Biblical sin of the Israelite spies sent to scout the land of Israel before the people entered. When the spies brought back a negative report, the Israelites wept, betraying their lack of faith. G-d decreed that the entire generation would die in the wilderness. Because the Israelites wept needlessly on the 9th of Av, the Sages claim, G-d decreed that the day would become one of true tragedy in future generations (Taanit 29a:7). (For more about what the spies did wrong & the modern ramifications of their sin, check out this fascinating video series.)
2. Destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE): The Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, killing 100,000 Jews and exiling thousands of others. The Talmud tells us that the Temple began to burn on the 9th of Av and continued through the 10th. (For this reason, some observe mourning practices until midday on the 10th of Av.)
3. Destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE): The Romans destroyed the Second Temple. Estimates of Jews killed range from hundreds of thousands to over a million. The Romans sold hundreds of thousands of Jews as slaves and exiled them.
4. Failure of the Bar Kochba Revolt (135 CE): The last major rebellion of the Jews of Judea against the Romans failed. The Romans killed 100,000 Jews while suppressing the revolt, taking hordes of Jews captive.
5. Desecration of Jerusalem (136 CE): The Roman commander who crushed the Bar Kochba revolt, Turnus Rufus, plowed the Temple and its surrounding area. The Romans turned Jerusalem into a pagan city and barred Jews from entering.

Because of its status as a day of mourning, the restrictions of Tisha B’Av generally mimic those of a mourner. Prohibitions include:

• Eating & drinking
• Bathing or washing (wash hands only until the knuckle)
• Applying ointments, creams, or perfumes
• Shaving or cutting hair/nails
• Marital relations/intimacy 
• Wearing leather shoes or festive clothing 
• Sitting on chairs of normal height (until midday on the 9th of Av) 
• Studying Torah (with the exception of mournful passages like Lamentations, certain passages of Jeremiah, the Book of Job, or Talmudic laws of mourning)
• Greeting others or sending gifts
• Engaging in pleasurable trips or activities

There is a custom to avoid air travel on Tisha B’Av, and to lessen our comfort by modifying our normal sleeping arrangements on the night that Tisha B’Av begins. While work is permitted, it is highly discouraged, in order to help us maintain focus on mourning. 

The fast of Tisha B’Av, as decreed by the Rabbinic Sages, begins at sunset on the 8th day of the Hebrew month of Av and lasts for 25 hours until nightfall on the 9th. If the 9th of Av falls on Shabbat, the fast is postponed until the 10th of Av. Tisha B’Av falls on the following dates (sunset to nightfall):

• Mon, August 12 – Tues, August 13, 2024 (Jewish Year 5784)
• Sat, August 2 – Sun, August 3, 2025 (5785)
• Wed, July 22 – Thurs, July 23, 2026 (5786)
• Wed, Aug 11 – Thurs, Aug 12, 2027 (5787)]

Before the fast begins on the night of the 8th, we sit on the floor and eat a seudah hamafseket, a preparatory meal, consisting of a hard-boiled egg and a slice of bread dipped into ashes to symbolize mourning. Then, at synagogue, we:

• Remove the curtain from the ark and dim the lights
• Read The Book of Lamentations, or Megillat Eicha
• Recite kinot, mournful poems commemorating Jewish tragedies throughout history. (For a deeper exploration of the kinot, check out our Kinot 101 Guide).

On Tisha B’Av morning, we refrain from putting on tefillin during shacharit, or morning services. In the afternoon, we:

• Resume sitting on chairs of normal height 
• Put on tzitzit and tefillin with blessings during mincha, or afternoon services 
• Insert a special passaged called Nachem, or comfort, in the Shemonah Esrei prayer during afternoon services begging G-d to console the suffering mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

The Shabbat after Tisha B’Av is called Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath of Comforting. On Shabbat Nachamu, we read the first of seven haftarot that express the theme of redemption, leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Finding Hope in Tisha B’Av

Though Tisha B’Av is a day of mourning, it is also filled with enormous potential, hope, and anticipation for the future redemption. The Sages claim that the Messiah was born on Tisha B’Av, during the very time that the Temple was up in flames (Midrash Eichah Rabba 1:51).  The prophet Zechariya envisions a day when Tisha B’Av will transform from a mournful day into a holiday of joy and redemption (Zechariya 8:19). Even if we’re not there yet, through our uniting to mourn as a community, we reaffirm our identity as one people and help counteract the sinat chinam (baseless hatred) that led to the Temple’s destruction. 

Aleph Beta’s Tisha B’Av videos can help you connect with the deeper significance of the day. Join us in exploring this pivotal day in Jewish tradition, and make this Tisha B’Av count.