What is Tish'a B'Av

Tish’a B’Av means the ninth day of the month of Av, and is the day on which Jews commemorate the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.

The destruction of the First Temple, which was originally built by King Solomon in the 10th century BCE, and the start of the exile of Jews by the Babylonians, took place in 597 BCE. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Jerusalem, deported the Jewish King Jehoiachin of Judah, his family and about 10,000 captives to Babylon. Deportations continues in 586 and 583 BCE. In 539 BCE, the Persian King, Cyrus the Greek allowed the return of the Jews. After their return, led by Zerubabel, Ezra and Nechemiah, the Jews rebuilt the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem.

The Second Temple was burned and destroyed by the Roman army, who conquered Judea, exiled the Jews and renamed the area Syria Palestina. After the Romans the region of Israel was occupied successively by the Byzantine Empire, the Rashidun Caliphate, the Umayyads (who built the Dome of the Rock) Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Fatimid, the Selujik Turks, the Crusaders, the Mamaluk Sultanate, the Ottoman Empire and lastly the British, until 1948, when the modern State of Israel was born.

It should be noted that during both exiles there was always a Jewish presence, albeit small.

Other tragedies are associated with Tish’a B’Av, including expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492, as well as the outbreak of Word War I on August 1, which fell out on Tish’a B’Av.

Mourning begins three weeks before Tish’a B’Av, when Jews refrain from joyous events, such as weddings. The nine days leading up to Tish’a B’Av are more restrictive, where Jews refrain from eating meat and drinking wine. This Saturday night, which is the start of the Fast of Tisha’a B’Av, Jews around the world will gather in synagogues and homes to recite and hear the Book of Eicha (Lamentations), which is a series of laments expressing grief over the destruction of the Temples, the sorrow that occurred during that period and the exile of the Jewish people. It is customary to be as mourners, and to sit on the floor during the reading of Eicha, refrain from wearing leather and refrain from food and water from sundown on the eve of Tish’a B’Av until sunset.

Napolean, upon learning of the Fast of Tish’a B’Av reportedly claimed, “any nation that still cries after 1,500 years, is guaranteed to return.”