Tisha B'Av
The saddest day in the Jewish calendar — commemorating the destruction of both Temples and national tragedies.
✦ Why It Matters
Tisha B'Av (the 9th of Av) commemorates the destruction of the First Temple by Babylon (586 BCE) and the Second Temple by Rome (70 CE), as well as the expulsion from Spain in 1492, the Crusades, and other catastrophes. It is the culmination of three weeks of mourning.
✦ How It Is Observed
25-hour fast from sunset to nightfall, sitting on the floor or low chairs, reading the Book of Lamentations (Eicha), recitation of kinot (elegies), no Torah study except sad texts, no leather shoes, no bathing.
✦ Sacred Text
“How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.”
— Lamentations 1:1 ↗