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Tishah B'Av -
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Remembering the Loss of Zion
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Tishah B'Av (תשעה באב, the "ninth [day] of [the month of] Av") is an annual day of mourning that recalls the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people over the centuries, some of which coincidentally(?) have occurred on the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. In particular, the following tragedies are all said to have occurred on this day:
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- The LORD decreed that the original generation rescued from Egypt would die out in the desert and be deprived from entering the Promised Land because of the Sin of the Spies (Num. 13-14)
- The destruction of the First Temple (Babylonians, 586 B.C.)
- The destruction of the Second Temple (Romans, 70 A.D.)
- In 135 A.D. the Jews rebelled against Roman rule under the false Messiah Simon bar Kochba and were destroyed by Hadrian in the battle at Betar.
- The Gemara relates that Turnus Rufus, a Roman officer, plowed the area of the Temple under. Rambam (Maimonides) added that all the homes in Jerusalem were likewise ploughed under at this time.
- The expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290
- The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1496
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Tishah B'Av is the low point of a three week period of mourning, starting with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz (undertaken to recall the first breach in the walls of Jerusalem by the Babylonians before the First Temple was destroyed). During this three week period, weddings and parties are forbidden. It is a time for solemn reflection and mourning for Israel.
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Tishah B'Av resembles a shivah (mourning for the dead). On this 25-hour fast day (sundown to sundown), you cannot bathe, eat, drink, laugh, or adorn yourself. As a mourner you enter the synagogue and take off your shoes; you sit on low stools or on the floor. No greetings are exchanged. The parochet (the curtain over the Ark) is usually removed before the fast and a drape of black cloth is substituted for it. Services at the synagogue include the reciting of the acrostic portions of Lamentations and the singing of dirges called Kinnot (קִינוֹת).
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Torah Readings for Tishah B'Av
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Tishah B'Av allows us to express heartfelt grief over the loss of Zion and therefore over the fraility of our human condition. During this time it is appropriate to grieve over our sins and to shed tears that attest to lev nishbar v'nikdeh, a "broken and crushed heart" (Psalm 51:17). Indeed, during the entire "Three Weeks of Sorrow" we read selections from the prophets that forewarn of the coming destruction of the Temple (i.e., churban: חֻרְבָּן) and the subsequent exile of the Jewish people (i.e., galut: גָּלוּת). During this time of the year, we listen to the lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah crying out for our repentance...
During Tishah B'Av synagogue services, the lights are dimmed and the Aron Hakodesh (Holy Ark) is draped in black (in some synagogues the parochet (curtain) is removed as a sign of mourning). The crowns with tinkling bells are removed from Torah scrolls. Congregants remove their leather shoes and do not greet each other. The cantor leads the prayers readings in a low, mournful voice. The cantillation for the Scripture readings are set to elegiac, sorrowful melodies.
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In the morning service, the Torah portion of Deuteronomy 4:25-40 is read (Moses' prophecy regarding Israel's future iniquity and exile) followed by the Haftarah of Jeremiah 8:13-9:24 which describes the desolation of Zion. Note that if Tishah B'Av occurs on a Shabbat, the fast is postponed to the following Sunday.
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The Nadir of the Three Weeks of Sorrow
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The three week period from Tammuz 17 to the Tishah B'Av is called bein ha-Metzarim - "between the straights" (based on Lamentations 1:3), a period of time during which many calamities befell the Jewish people. Since both Temples were destroyed during this period (i.e., between the 4th and 5th months), the chaza'l (sages) established this extended period as a time of mourning for the Jewish people.
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Typically marriages are not held during this period, and many Jews deliberately refrain from ostensibly pleasurable activities, such as listening to music, dancing, taking vacations, and sometimes even shaving! In fact, most Orthodox Jews will refrain from any activity that might require the recitation of the Shehecheyanu blessing.
In short, the Three Weeks of Sorrow is a time for reflection and mourning over the destruction of the Temple and constitutes a time of corporate reflection intended to lead Israel to teshuvah.
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There are four fast days (tzomot) on the Jewish calendar, based on Zechariah 8:19. Each of these fast days is related to some aspect of the loss of the Jewish Temple. The sages reckoned the months based on Nisan as the first month, and therefore identified the four fasts as follows:
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The Darkest Day of the Calendar
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You might think that Yom Kippur is the darkest day of the Jewish year, since there is an extended period of teshuvah (repentance) during the preceding month of Elul that culminates in a prolonged fast with a lengthy confession of sins (viduy) at the synagogue. Actually, Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day of the year, but there is still the hope of obtaining forgiveness (selichah) through one's teshuvah. It is the day of atonement or forgiveness for the preceding year's sins, and it is also a time of judgment for the coming year... It is a sad time, of course, since it involves chesbon hanefesh (soul searching) about the sins you've committed, and this often involves feelings of regret and even shame. However Yom Kippur is not tragic like Tisha B'Av, since Tisha B'Av represents the judgment and punishment that God actually carried out....
We need to pray for the eyes of Jewish people to be open to the freedom and love of the Messiah Yeshua....the One who said, "destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19-22). Yeshua (Jesus) alone is the everlasting answer to our need for forgiveness, even in the light of the tragic.
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