What is Tisha B'Av?
Tisha B'Av (the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av) is the major Jewish fast day of mourning, commemorating the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem — along with other tragedies traditionally associated with the date. Jews mark it with a 25-hour fast and the reading of the Book of Lamentations (Eicha), in an atmosphere of grief and reflection. It's the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, the low point that the year's hope builds back from.
What are the Three Weeks?
Tisha B'Av is the culmination of a mourning period called the Three Weeks, which begins on the seventeenth of Tammuz (a minor fast marking the breach of Jerusalem's walls). The intensity grows as the period progresses, with customs of mourning increasing in the final Nine Days before Tisha B'Av itself.
How do people observe and learn on Tisha B'Av?
- A complete fast for about 25 hours.
- Reading Eicha (Lamentations) and kinot (elegies).
- Learning that fits the day — many study topics connected to the destruction, exile, and the causes the tradition identifies (such as baseless hatred), turning mourning into reflection and repair.
In short: Tisha B'Av is the fast day mourning the destruction of both Temples, the climax of the Three Weeks — a day of grief, Lamentations, and reflection.
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