When is Tisha B’Av?
Also known as the Fast of Ninth of Av, this public holiday in Israel takes place on the 9th day of the month of Av. In the western calendar, the date will fall between July 17th and August 14th.
On Tisha B’Av, Jews around the world mourn the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem and the pain and suffering that the Jewish people have experienced for generations.
Traditions of Tisha B'Av
Many Jews worldwide observe the religious holiday of Tisha B’Av by fasting, praying and reading Bible passages related to the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.
Religious Jews have kept Tisha B’Av for centuries as a day of communal mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans under Titus, who burned it down in 70 AD.
For Jews, the ninth day of the month of Av also commemorates multiple tragedies in Jewish history, ranging from God decreeing that the Israelites would wander in the desert for 40 years to Jews being expelled by decree from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492.
The Orthodox Jewish organization Chabad ranks Tisha B’Av as “the saddest day on the Jewish calendar,” even more sombre than Yom Kippur.
The Fast of Av begins at sunset the previous day and lasts for more than 24 hours.
Jewish law demands that during the three weeks preceding the day, Jews limit rejoicing: no weddings, no haircuts, no listening to music and swimming is prohibited. In the last nine days of the three weeks, no one is allowed to eat meat or drink wine except on Shabbat, or even wash clothes.
