Mourning the destruction of the Temples on Tisha B’Av 2025: Special guidelines when the fast falls on Saturday night
Other than fasting and mourning the loss of the Second Temple, Tisha B'Av has various other traditions in Jewish culture to help us remember the tragedy; This year the fast begins at the end of Shabbat and there are special rules
Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon|
The Mishna, Ta’anit 26b, describes all the different terrible events that happened on Tisha B’Av, or the 9th of the Hebrew month of Av, which begins this year on Saturday night and lasts for 25 hours. On that date throughout Jewish history, the Jewish people have suffered terrible tragedies: it was decreed upon our ancestors in the desert that they would not enter the land of Israel; the first and second Temples were destroyed; Beitar was captured; and the city of Jerusalem was overrun.
The First Temple stood for 410 years (Yoma 9a). On the seventh day of Av, the Babylonians entered the First Temple; on the ninth day of Av, it was set on fire and destroyed.
6 View gallery
Reciting the Book of Lametnations at the Western Wall
(Photo: The Western Wall Heritage Foundation)
The Second Temple was also destroyed on the ninth of Av after a five-month siege of the city of Jerusalem. Thus, some mourning observances begin before Tisha B’Av and continue until the middle of the 10th of Av.
From Saturday evening after the conclusion of Shabbat until hours after the end of the fast, Jews from all backgrounds and communities will come to the Western Wall to mark the day of mourning at the most symbolic place of the destruction. Thousands will sit on the ground and lament the destruction of the holy temples in all the traditions and versions, as is fitting for a place that unites and brings the nation together.
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Reading the Book of Lamentations at the Western Wall on Tisha B'Av
(Photo: Eli Mandelbaum)
This year, Tisha B’Av begins on Saturday night, August 2, 2025. When the fast begins after Shabbat, special halachic guidelines apply. Here are the key points:
Seudah Mafseket (Final meal before the fast)
According to the Talmud (Ta’anit 29b), when Tisha B’Av falls on Saturday night, one may eat freely at the third meal on Shabbat — "even like the banquet of King Solomon" — unlike a regular year, where only one cooked dish is eaten. The Mishnah Berurah rules that meat and wine are permitted, and there’s no need to refrain from singing or eating with family. Zimun (communal grace) is also allowed. While joy should not be excessive, the meal should be in the spirit of a regular Shabbat.
When to end the final meal
Eating must stop before sunset (shkiya), and Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals) must be completed before sunset as well. One should rinse the mouth beforehand. From sunset on, all fast-day restrictions apply: no eating, drinking, bathing, etc. However, one may still sit on regular chairs and greet others with “shalom” until Shabbat ends, as public mourning practices do not apply on Shabbat. Soulful Shabbat songs and words of wisdom (but not regular Torah study) may be said after sunset.
Removing shoes and changing clothes
Ma’ariv (evening prayers) is delayed by 15–30 minutes after Shabbat ends. At home, after reciting “Baruch hamavdil bein kodesh lechol” (“Blessed is He who separates holy from mundane”), one removes leather shoes and changes into weekday clothes — ideally the same ones worn earlier during the Nine Days, as fresh laundry is forbidden, especially on Tisha B’Av.
Havdalah (post-Shabbat blessing)
Regular Havdalah is not said on this Saturday night due to the fast. Instead, the Atah Chonantanu paragraph is recited in Ma’ariv. If forgotten, one should say Baruch hamavdil before doing any weekday tasks. Women not attending synagogue should say this phrase themselves.
Although full Havdalah is delayed until Sunday night, the blessing over fire (borei me’orei ha’esh) is recited Saturday night before the reading of Eicha (Lamentations). If missed, it may be said any time during the night but not after Sunday morning.
No blessing over besamim (spices) is recited this week — either due to the pleasure it brings or because mourners avoid fragrances, both reasons relevant to Tisha B’Av.
Havdalah for someone who must eat on Tisha B’Av
If a sick person must eat on Tisha B’Av, they should make Havdalah first — on beer or natural juice (chamar medinah), ideally not wine. If necessary, grape juice is allowed, and wine only if no other option exists. The sick person may make Havdalah right after Shabbat if they expect to eat during the fast. The blessing over fire is said only if not already done Saturday night. No besamim or introductory verses are included.
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Omer Shem Tov, Eli-Ha Cohen and Omer Wenkert conducting a Havdalah ceremony at Beilinson Hospital
(Photo: Haim Zach, GPO)
If needed, a healthy person may recite Havdalah for the sick, and a child or the patient drinks.
Children who eat on Tisha B’Av do not require Havdalah.
Ma’ariv (evening prayers) and Eicha (Lamentations)
At Ma’ariv, Atah Chonantanu is said. V’yehi Noam is omitted because it relates to the building of the Mishkan — inappropriate for a night commemorating the Temple’s destruction. Special kinot (dirges) for Saturday night are added.
Havdalah on Sunday night
On Sunday night, Havdalah is said over a cup of wine or juice without besamim or the fire blessing, and without the introductory verses.
While some suggest giving the drink to a child, or using beer instead, the Mishnah Berurah allows adults to drink the cup, with a slight preference for grape juice.
If a woman cannot wait for her husband to return from synagogue, she may make Havdalah herself. Alternatively, she may drink water before Havdalah but should wait for food until it is recited.
The actual fast
The five prohibited activities on Tisha B’Av are eating and drinking, washing, anointing, donning leather shoes and marital relations (Taanit 30).
Washing: One is not allowed to wash one’s hands. When one awakens in the morning, one should wash one’s hands only up to the knuckles. The same should be done after one uses the bathroom. One may rinse dirt off with water, and if needed with soap.
Anointing: Medical ointments, Vaseline and odorless deodorant are permissible, as the purpose is not pleasurable. Other lotions and creams are not permitted.
Shoes: One may not wear any shoe that is made of leather; if the shoe has a leather decoration and such that does not hold the foot – one may be more lenient.
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Religious people pray on Tisha B'Av in Dizengoff Square, Tel Aviv
(Photo: Shmulik Davidpur)
It is allowed to wear shoes that are not leather even if they are comfortable, but if there are less comfortable shoes (or slippers) it is considered better to use them.
Performance of activities known as 'melacha': In the Talmud (Ta’anit 30), it is indicated that whoever performs a melacha – the thirty-nine categories of activity which Jewish law identifies as prohibited by biblical law on Shabbat – on Tisha B’Av, does not see blessing from it ever. However, there is no actual prohibition, but rather it is dependent on the custom of each place. The usual custom is to avoid doing any form of melacha until midday.
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After midday, one may perform such activities if it involves an important need, and if refraining from such an activity will result in a significant and irretrievable loss, it is permissible to do melacha all day long.
The reason for forbidding melacha is to avoid distraction from mourning. Therefore, there is no prohibition on non-distracting activities, such as turning on a light or driving a car, which are prohibited on Shabbat. It is also permissible to write things related to Tisha B’Av or mourning.
In addition, it is customary to start preparing food after midday toward the end of the fast. It is permitted to prepare food for children or for sick people during the fast.
Greeting:One may not greet another person with a verbal greeting such as “Hello” or “Good Morning."
Torah study: Study is prohibited because it causes the heart to rejoice, but passages that are related to the destruction or other sad matters, such as the Book of Job, are permitted.
Sitting: One may not sit on a chair, but on the floor or a low chair (whose height is less than 24 cm, and if needed, less than 30 cm).
Charity: It is good to donate to charity on a fast, and there is no problem giving a gift.
Illness: Someone who is ill, even if his life is not in danger but whose body is weak, is exempt from fasting and does not need to eat shiurin, a method of eating less than one ounce at s time at regular intervals during a fast.
A woman up to 30 days after childbirth may eat on Tisha B’Av. A woman who has passed 30 days after childbirth is legally required to fast, but practically this varies depending on her strength, if she is breastfeeding, the age of the baby and more, and she must consult a rabbi.
A pregnant woman must fast according to the law, but, in fact, in many cases, there are leniencies, because of fear for the well-being of the fetus and her own health and, therefore, it is recommended that she ask a rabbi.
Children: According to Jewish law, children are exempt from fasting. It is customary to educate them to fast for part of the day, from the age at which they understand the mourning of destruction. However, since this is only a matter of education and not law, their fast should not be prolonged.
There are those children for whom the fast will mean they will not eat or drink during the night, and others who will continue the fast until 10 a.m. or shortly after. In any case, it is proper to give the young ones only simple foods so they will feel the mourning of the destruction.
Brit milah:If there is a ritual circumcision, it is performed after the recitation of kinot (elegies). The prevalent custom is to perform the brit toward the end of the day, toward a time of comfort. Blessing over wine is performed and the new mother will drink, and if she cannot, the newborn is given a taste of the wine.
Conclusion
We aim to carry the sanctity of Shabbat into Tisha B’Av and engage in mourning filled with spiritual depth. May our sincere mourning for Jerusalem’s destruction merit us to see its rebuilding, and may our national challenges transform into joy and redemption.
- Rabbi Rimon is the Rabbinic Head of the Jerusalem College of Technology and the Head of its Batei Midrash and serves as the rabbi of the Gush Etzion Regional Council
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