Tisha B'Av

Tisha B'Av
Didier Descouens · Public domain · source
Name	Tisha B'Av
Observedby	Judaism
Significance	Day of mourning for destructions and calamities
Date	9th day of Av
Frequency	annual

Tisha B'Av is an annual fast day in Judaism marking historic calamities that affected the Jewish people, observed on the ninth day of Av. The day combines liturgical mourning, communal remembrance, and halakhic restrictions drawn from rabbinic sources such as the Mishnah and the Talmud. Observances connect biblical narratives, post-biblical tragedies, and modern events, engaging institutions like the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and communities from Sephardi Jews to Ashkenazi Jews.

Background and Origins

Origins are traced to biblical episodes associated with the siege and destruction of Solomon's Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, with midrashic and rabbinic elaborations in the Mishnah (Taanit) and the Jerusalem Talmud. Early sources attribute the ninth of Av to the date of the breach of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II and the later Roman destruction following the Great Jewish Revolt. Rabbinic figures such as Rabbi Akiva, Rabban Gamaliel II, and Rabbi Judah haNasi shaped liturgical and communal responses found in the Mishnah tractate Taanit. Medieval authorities including Rashi, Maimonides, and Nachmanides discuss prohibitions and penitential practices, while later codifiers like Joseph Caro in the Shulchan Aruch and commentators such as Moses Isserles standardized customs across Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities.

Religious Observances and Customs

Customs include a full fast like on Yom Kippur with additional mourning actions adapted from rabbinic precedent: refraining from bathing, anointing, wearing leather, and marital relations, as discussed by authorities including Rabbi Yosef Karo and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. Communal practices include sitting on low stools in synagogues echoing practices recorded by Rambam (Maimonides) and Sefer HaMachzor traditions preserved by communities such as Yemenite Jews, Moroccan Jews, and Polish Jews. Some groups observe a three-week period of diminished joy beginning with the Seventeenth of Tammuz, with additional restrictions instituted in works by Rabbi Isaac Luria and codified by critics like Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. Practices vary among congregations affiliated with institutions such as the Orthodox Union, Conservative Judaism, and Reform Judaism.

Liturgical Texts and Prayers

Liturgical material centers on kinnot (elegies) compiled across centuries, including compositions by poets like Rabbi Elazar Hakalir, Yehuda Halevi, and Rabbi Shlomo ibn Gabirol, and later collections preserved in machzorim such as the Machzor Vitry. Kinnot address destructions chronicled in texts like the Book of Lamentations (Eikhah) and incorporate biblical references from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Psalms (Tehillim). The liturgy includes recitation of the Kaddish variants and confessional prayers influenced by the Siddur traditions of Saadia Gaon and liturgists active in Cordoba, Tunis, and Prague. Contemporary composers and scholars—such as those associated with Hebrew Union College and The Jewish Theological Seminary of America—have edited and produced responsive kinnot collections reflecting modern tragedies.

Historical Events Commemorated

The day memorializes multiple calamities: the destruction of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonian Empire and the First Temple period fall, the destruction of the Second Temple during the First Jewish–Roman War led to events like the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), the subsequent failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt, and medieval persecutions including the expulsions of England (1290) and Spain (1492). Later tragedies associated with the date in communal memory include massacres during the Crusades, devastation in Rhineland communities during the First Crusade, forced conversions under rulers like Tomás de Torquemada of the Spanish Inquisition, and pogroms in Eastern Europe including events in Kishinev. Modern associations include commemorations of events related to the Holocaust and military calamities such as the fall of Gush Katif during the 2005 Israeli disengagement from Gaza and battles like those in the Yom Kippur War as remembered by some communities and institutions like the Israel Defense Forces.

Modern Observance and Variations

Contemporary observance ranges from strictly traditional practices in communities affiliated with Agudath Israel and Chabad-Lubavitch to modified commemorations in liberal movements such as Reconstructionist Judaism and Reform Judaism. Israeli public life reflects debates in bodies like the Knesset and organizations including The Jewish Agency for Israel over public memorials, national ceremonies, and museum exhibitions at institutions like the Israel Museum and Yad Vashem. Academic centers—Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Oxford, Harvard University—host symposia on the day’s history, while cultural producers at venues such as the Royal Opera House and press outlets like The Times of Israel and Haaretz publish reflective pieces. Diaspora communities in cities such as New York City, London, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Toronto observe varying liturgies and communal fasts coordinated by synagogues and organizations including the World Zionist Organization.

Cultural and Political Impact

The day has influenced literature, music, and political discourse: poets like Solomon ibn Gabirol and Hayyim Nahman Bialik wrote on themes of exile and loss, while composers and performers associated with ensembles such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and choirs at Temple Emanu-El (New York) have rendered kinnot-inspired works. Political debates about land, memory, and identity involve actors like Israeli Defense Minister (various) and NGOs such as B'Tselem and Peace Now in policy discussions linked to national mourning. Museums and archives—National Library of Israel, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Bibliothèque nationale de France—preserve manuscripts and responsa by figures such as Isaac Luria and Rabbi Jacob Emden, informing scholarship in journals produced by presses like Brill and Oxford University Press.

Category:Jewish holidays and observances