| Tisha b'Av | |
|---|---|
_La_distruzione_del_tempio_di_Gerusalemme_-Francesco_Hayez_-_gallerie_Accademia_Venice.jpg) | |
| Official name | Hebrew:תשעה באב English: Ninth of Av |
| Type | Jewish religious and national |
| Significance | Mourning the destruction of the ancientTemples andJerusalem, and other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people. |
| Observances | Fasting,mourning,prayer, abstaining from physical pleasures |
| Date | 9th day ofAv (ifShabbat, then the 10th of Av) |
| 2025 date | Sunset, 2 August – nightfall, 3 August[1] |
| 2026 date | Sunset, 22 July – nightfall, 23 July[1] |
| 2027 date | Sunset, 11 August – nightfall, 12 August[1] |
| 2028 date | Sunset, 31 July – nightfall, 1 August[1] |
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | The fasts ofGedalia, theTenth of Tevet and theSeventeenth of Tammuz,the Three Weeks &the Nine Days |
Tisha b'Av (Hebrew:תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב,romanized: Tišʿā bəʾĀḇ,lit. 'ninth ofAv'[a]) is an annualta'anit (fast day) inRabbinic Judaism. (Qaraite Judaism fasts on the 7th and 10th of Av.[2]) It is a commemoration of a number of disasters inJewish history, primarily the destruction of bothSolomon's Temple by theNeo-Babylonian Empire and theSecond Temple by theRoman Empire inJerusalem.[3]
Tisha b'Av precedes the end ofThe Three Weeks. This day is regarded as the saddest day in theJewish calendar. It is categorized as a day destined for tragedy.[4][5] Tisha b'Av falls in July or August in theGregorian calendar.
Observances of the day includefive prohibitions, most notable of which is a 25-hour fast. TheBook of Lamentations, which mourns the destruction of Jerusalem, is read in synagogue, followed by the recitation ofkinnot, liturgicaldirges that lament the loss of the Temples and Jerusalem. As the day has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people, somekinnot also recall events such as the murder of theTen Martyrs by the Romans;expulsions from England,Spain, and elsewhere;massacres of numerous medieval Jewish communities byCrusaders;the Holocaust;[3] and theOctober 7 attacks.[6][7]
According to theMishnah,Taanit 4:6, five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting:
Over time, Tisha b'Av has evolved into a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for subsequent 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 theJulian calendar, not theGregorian 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 secularHolocaust memorial days such asYom HaShoah. On Tisha b'Av, communities that otherwise do not modify the traditional prayer liturgy have added the recitation of specialkinnot related to the Holocaust.[3]
Similarly, withinReligious Zionist communities, the 2005Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip is mourned on Tisha b'Av as well, a practice supported by Religious Zionist rabbis likeYaakov Ariel andDov Lior.[17][18]Kinnot have been composed about the withdrawal,[19][20] and the connection to Tisha b'Av was emphasized in ten-year anniversary commemorations.[21][22] Although the disengagement operation had been delayed specifically to avoid coinciding withThe Three Weeks and Tisha b'Av, the timing lent itself to symbolic interpretation both by Religious Zionists and by wider Jewish culture.[23] However, even within Religious Zionism,Chaim Navon holds that the disengagement did not rise to the level of a calamity[24] andShlomo Aviner has written that mourning the disengagement on Tisha b'Av is forbidden because it incites political division.[25]Yona Metzger, thenAshkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, ruled in 2006 that the disengagement was a tragedy but mourning rituals should not be integrated into Tisha b'Av,[26] whileHoward Jachter, a prominent Orthodox scholar who is a member of theRabbinical Council of America, permits it in narrow fashion.[27]
Kinnot regarding theOctober 7 attacks have also been added to the Tisha b'Av liturgy.[6][7]
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 theTenth of Tevet, when the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians began; theSeventeenth of Tammuz, when the first breach was made in the wall by the Romans; and the Third of Tishrei, known as theFast of Gedalia, the dayGedaliah was assassinated in the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire following the destruction of the First Temple.[28] The three weeks leading up to Tisha b'Av are known asThe Three Weeks, while the nine days leading up to Tisha b'Av are known asThe Nine Days.[3]
Tisha b'Av falls in July or August in theGregorian calendar. When Tisha b'Av falls onShabbat, it then isnidḥā (נִדְחָה "delayed"). Thus the observance of Tisha b'Av can take place on the following day (that is, Sunday). This last occurred in 2022, and will next occur in 2029. No mourning can intrude upon the Sabbath. Normally, Sabbath eating and drinking end just before sunset Saturday evening rather than nightfall.[29]
This fast lasts just over 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the preceding evening, lasting until nightfall the next day. Pleasurable activities are forbidden.[30]
Tisha b'Av bears a stringent nature alike that ofYom 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:[31]
These restrictions are waived in the case of health issues. A competentposek, a rabbi who decidesJewish 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 the fast; in practice, consultation with arabbi is best.[30]Ritual hand washing up to the knuckles is permitted. Washing to cleanse dirt or mud from one's body is also permitted.[30]
Torah study is forbidden on Tisha b'Av (as it is considered an enjoyable activity), except for the study of distressing texts such as theBook of Lamentations, theBook of Job, portions ofJeremiah and chapters of theTalmud that discuss the laws of mourning and those that discuss the destruction of theTemple in Jerusalem.[32][33]
Insynagogue, prior to the commencement of the evening services, theparochet, which normally covers and adorns theTorah ark, is removed or drawn aside until theMincha prayer service.[34]Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who do not hang a curtain in front of the ark during the rest of the year, place a black curtain over the ark for tisha b'av.[35]
According toMoses Isserles, it is customary to sit on low stools or on the floor, as is done duringshiva (the first week of mourning), from the meal immediately before the fast (theseudah hamafseket) untilmidday (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. TheBeit Yosef rules that the custom to sit low to the ground extends past mid-day until one praysMincha (the afternoon prayer).[36]
The custom is to dim the lighting and to read thekinnot 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. Oldsiddurim andTorah scrolls are often buried on this day.[30]
The custom is not to put ontefillin nortallit forShacharit. Men wear onlytallit katan without a blessing. Atmincha, tzitzit and tefilin are worn, with proper blessings before donning them.[37]
The laws of Tisha b'Av as observed byOrthodox Jews are recorded inOrach Chayim 552–557.
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.[33] It is therefore customary to maintain all restrictions of the nine days through midday (chatzos) of the following day according to Shulchan Aruch with Mishnah Brurah 558:1.
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 the end of a delayed Tisha b'Av.[38]
TheKitzur Shulchan Aruch 125:6 instructs that when Tisha b'Av begins on Saturday night,Havdalah is postponed by 24 hours, as one could not drink the accompanying wine. One saysAttah Chonantanu in the Saturday nightAmidah or saysBaruch Hamavdil, thus ending Shabbat. A blessing is made on the candles on Saturday night. After Tisha b'Av ends on Sunday evening, the Havdalah ceremony is performed with wine (without candle or spices)
"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 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."
TheBook of Lamentations is read insynagogue during the evening services.[39]
In many Sephardic congregations, theBook of Job is read on the morning of Tisha b'Av.[40][41][non-primary source needed]
Those called to theTorah reading on Tisha b'Av are not given the usual congratulations for this honor.[42] There is also a tradition that those who were called to read from the Torah orHaftara 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.[43]
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Most of the morning is spent chanting or readingkinnot, bewailing the loss of the Temples and subsequent persecutions, as well as referring to post-exile disasters. Later,kinnot were composed by various poets, often prominent rabbis, who had suffered in the events mentioned. Importantkinnot were composed byEleazar beRabbi Qallir andJudah Halevi. After the Holocaust,kinnot were composed by the German-born rabbiShimon Schwab in 1959, at the request ofJoseph Breuer, and bySolomon Halberstam, the secondBobover rebbe in 1984. Since Israeli disengagement from theGaza Strip, some segments of theReligious Zionist community have begun to recitekinnot to commemorate the expulsion ofIsraeli settlers fromGush Katif and the northernWest Bank on the day after Tisha b'Av, in 2005.[44] Additionally, after the October 7 Attacks, kinnot were added to commemorate them.[1]
A paragraph that beginsNahem ("Console...") is added to the conclusion of the blessingBoneh Yerushalayim ("Who builds Jerusalem") recited during theAmidah (forAshkenazim, only at theMincha service). The prayer elaborates the mournful state of theTemple and city ofJerusalem. The concluding signature of the blessing is also extended to say "Blessed are You, O Lord, Who consoles Zion and builds Jerusalem."
VariousModern Orthodox andConservative rabbis have proposed amendingNachem, as its wording no longer reflects the existence of a rebuiltJerusalem under Israeli sovereignty. Chief RabbiShlomo Goren, for example, issued a revised wording of the prayer and RabbiHayim 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.[45]
In the long period which is reflected inTalmudic literature the observance of Tisha b'Av assumed a character of constantly growing sadness and asceticism.
Two independent accounts in non-Jewish sources, written in the4th and5th centuries, describe how Jews made a pilgrimage to the former city of Jerusalem each year to mourn the destruction of the Temple. Romans had forbade Jews from entering the city after the Bar Kokhba revolt, when it was razed and rebuilt as thecolonia ofAelia Capitolina, and to reside in the former region ofRoman Judaea, now part ofSyria Palaestina. TheByzantine Empire—which had recentlyadopted Christianity as the state religion—controlled the city in this era.[46] The only exception was evidently on the annual commemoration of Tisha b'Av. This blanket ban on Jews in Aelia and its environs ended with theearly Muslim conquest of Aelia in 637, which had Jewish military assistance.
The first account of the mourning pilgrimage is found in the anonymous Latin travelogue, theItinerarium Burdigalense, which is dated to 333. The Bordeaux Pilgrim described a "perforated stone" on the Temple Mount, which the Jews "anoint"—i.e., rub with oil—once a year.[47] While the Bordeaux Pilgrim stood in front of the stone, he heard the Jews lamenting and saw them tearing their clothes.
The second account is byJerome, who spent time in Aelia after moving from Rome toBethlehem in the late 4th century. Jerome was a prolific writer. In the early 5th century, he wrote commentaries on theTwelve Minor Prophets, includingZephaniah. In his commentary onZephaniah 1:16, Jerome described the mourning practices on the Temple Mount, including how Jews had to bribe Roman soldiers for permission to lament there.[48] 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.[49]
Over the centuries, the observance of the day had lost much of its gloom.[50]
The growing strictness in observing mourning customs in connection with Tisha b'Av became pronounced afterlate antiquity, particularly during theearly modern period (15th to the 18th centuries), one of the darkest periods for Jews.[10]
TheAndalusi refugeeMaimonides wrote in theMishneh Torah (Hilchoth Ta'anith 5:8) 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.Moses ben Jacob of Coucy wrote in the 13th century that it is the universal custom to refrain from meat and wine during the whole day preceding 9 Av in theSefer Mitzvoth ha-Gadol (Venice ed,Laws of Tishah B'Av, 249b)Joseph Karo wrote in his 16th centuryOrach Hayyim, 551 that 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.[51]
A gradual extension of prohibitions can be traced in the abstention from marrying at this season and in other signs of mourning.Moses ben Jacob of Coucy says that some do not use thetefillin on the morning of 9 Av, a custom that was later 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 most Jews.[10]
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A 2010 poll in Israel revealed that some 22% ofIsraeli 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 if recreational spots were permissible to be open, they would go out on the eve of the fast day, and labelled the current legal status "religious coercion". The last 8% declined to answer.[52]
InIsrael, which has Rabbinic Judaism as astate religion, restaurants and places of entertainment are closed on the eve of Tisha b'Av and the following day by law.[53] Establishments that break the law are subject to fines. WhenMenachem Begin becamePrime Minister, he wanted to unite all the memorial days and days of mourning on Tisha b'Av, so that Yom HaShoah andYom HaZikaron would also fall on this day, but it was not accepted.[54]
Outside of Israel, the day is not observed by mostsecular Jews, as opposed toYom Kippur, on which many secular Jews fast and go tosynagogue.
According tohalakha, combat soldiers are absolved of fasting on Tisha b'Av on the basis that it can endanger their lives. As of August 2025[update], the latest example of such a ruling was issued by theMilitary Rabbinate for theGaza war.[55]
Following theSix-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 the day as one of mourning and transform it into a day of joy instead.[56]
Because the destruction of theancient Temples is not assigned a central religious role within many progressive (non-Orthodox) denominations of Judaism, "many Jews understand Tishah B'Av as a day to remember many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people throughout history, and to reflect on the suffering that still occurs in our world."[57] However,Reconstructing Judaism teaches, "On Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, we mourn the destruction of the first and second Temples and for numerous other events that befell our people throughout the ages. Together, we lament ancient and current suffering of our people and all people around the world."[58]Conservative Judaism also observes it as a traditional ta'anit and mourning day.[59]
Reform rabbi Stephen Lewis Fuchs asserted that it can mark both mourning Jewish suffering and celebrating Jewish resilience.[60] While theClassical Reform position has discouraged observance of Tisha b'Av, and many Reform temples still do not observe it, someNew Reform synagogues observe Tisha b'Av. 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 the lens ofsocial justice orprogressive Zionism.[61]
The creation of the State of Israel played a significant role in shaping the Conservative approach to Tisha b'Av. Historically, Tisha b'Av was rarely discussed or observed in theConservative movement until the 1940s, whenCamp Ramah was founded by theJewish Theological Seminary of America. The Zionist stance of Camp Ramah emphasized the importance of observing Tisha b'Av.[62] 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.[63]
Iranian Jews refer to this holiday as Noi (pronounced No-ee), which possibly comes from the Persian word “noh” meaning nine. The eve of Tisha b'Av is similarly referred to as Shab-e Noi, meaning night of Noi.[64] Another possible origin of the name is the Persian wordنوحه (nohe), meaning "lament" in reference to the day's mournful character.[65]
Hashem condemned this day to become destined for national disasters throughout history...
Tisha B'Av initially became destined for tragedy...
Every year, on the fast day of Tisha B'Av, Jewish communities worldwide chant a series of dirges, called "kinnot," that commemorate the tragedies of Jewish history in verse, from the destruction of the temples to the Crusades to the Holocaust.
Some congregations in Israel and the Diaspora will have new texts to read about more recent, tragic events of Oct. 7, the greatest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Tisha b'Av is forbidden for washing, anointing, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations. It is also forbidden to read from theTorah,Nevi'im (Prophets), andKetuvim (Writings) and to learnmishna andmidrash andgemara andhalacha andaggada, because it says, "The precepts of God are right, gladdening the heart" (Tehillim 19:9). Schoolchildren are idle on it. One may readIyov and the negative passages inYirmiyah, but if there are between them passages of consolation, one must skip them.
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