("Ninth of [the month of] Av"). Fast day commemorating the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE and the destruction of the Second Temple by the Roman legions of Titus in 70 CE. Although Tishah be-Av is usually bracketed with the other minor fasts which recall the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem, its associations and mode of observance are uniquely significant. Whereas the other historical fasts commence at sunrise on the day itself, the Fast of Av (like the Day of Atonement) commences at sunset on the previous night and lasts for over 24 hours. It is governed by various restrictions (see Fasting and Fast Days); should the Ninth of Av fall on a Sabbath, the fast is observed from Saturday night. Unlike the other minor fasts that commemorate the period of the destruction of the First Temple, Tishah be-Av was not discontinued after the return from Babylonia, remaining in force throughout the period of the Second Temple.
Associating the destruction of both Temples with the Ninth of Av raises a question of dating. The Bible mentions both the seventh and the tenth of the month as the date on which the First Temple was destroyed (II Kings 25:8-9; Jer. 52:12-13); there is no mention of the ninth. As far as the Second Temple is concerned, ancient opinion was unanimous in fixing the tenth of the month as the day on which the calamity occurred, and there was an apparent eagerness to mark the same date as the anniversary of the First Temple's destruction. Josephus, the chief non-rabbinic source for the history of the Second Temple, makes this point when he writes: "And now that fatal day was come according to the revolution of the ages; it was the tenth of the month of Av, upon which [the Temple] was previously burned by the king of Babylon" (War VI, 248-50). The weight of rabbinic evidence is likewise for the tenth as the date of the destruction. The Talmud (Ta'an. 29a) resolves the difficulty by suggesting that, in the last days of the First Temple, the enemy entered the holy precincts on the seventh of Av, attacked the building on the eighth, started the conflagration on the ninth, and the Temple burned to the ground on the tenth. In view of the fact that the fire was actually started on the ninth, that day seemed appropriate for commemoration by fasting and prayer. Later, when the Second Temple was likewise destroyed, the original fast day observed on the Ninth of Av served to commemorate both disasters, in accordance with a rabbinic dictum that later sorrowful events may be ascribed to a date saddened by an earlier calamity.
The Ninth of Av has associations with many dark chapters in Jewish history. Traditionally, in 135 CE, Bar Kokhba's last surviving fortress, Bethar, fell to Hadrian's legions on Tishah be-Av. On 18 July 1290 (coinciding with the Fast of Av), Edward I signed the edict banishing all Jews from England. Similar associations were made with the expulsion from Spain, the last professing Jew having left Spain four days earlier. Thus, by coincidence or design, Tishah be-Av became the gloomiest date in the Jewish calendar, synonymous with oppression and exile.
In the course of time, Jewish law and custom evolved several degrees of public mourning from Shivah Asar Be-Tammuz. The subsequent Three Weeks culminate in the Nine Days beginning on the New Moon of Av and reach a climax on the eve of Tishah be-Av, when the last meal is frugal, an egg symbolizing the mourner's traditional fare (some Oriental communities dip the food in ashes as a sign of mourning). Thereafter, eating and drinking are forbidden during the fast day; other prohibitions ban shaving, bathing, and marital relations; wearing leather shoes, engaging in work, or even indulging in normal Torah study. The appearance of the synagogue during Tishah be-Av bears witness to the melancholy historical associations of this date. At nightfall, the curtain is removed from the Holy Ark (in many Sephardi congregations which have no Ark drape a black curtain is hung for Tishah be-Av), the cloth is taken away from the bimah (reading desk), and the lights are dimmed. Congregants, in cloth or rubber footwear, sit on low stools or on the floor and do not greet one another. The synagogue's whole atmosphere is in fact transformed, the joyous house of prayer having become a place of mourning.As if to banish the last vestige of joyous ceremonial, the Tallit (prayer shawl) and Tefillin are not worn at the Morning Service, these being considered religious "ornaments" inappropriate to so mournful an occasion (although Syrian Jews don them at home before going to the synagogue). On this one day in the year, however, they are worn later at the Afternoon Service and then removed before evening prayers. Normal seats are occupied in the afternoon; an abbreviated Havdalah is recited at the end of the fast if Tishah be-Av occurs on Sunday; and no meat meals are eaten until the following day.
The special scroll reading for Tishah be-Av is the Book of Lamentations (Megillat Ékhah), which describes the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in poetic and moving terms. The scroll and all but the last two verses of the morning haftarah are chanted to a plaintive melody. Ékhah is read in all synagogues on the night of the fast; some congregations also include it in the Morning Service after the Torah reading. Also unique to Tishah be-Av are the Kinot (elegies), a collection of religious poems which, in the Ashkenazi rite, include a series of "Odes to Zion" by Judah Halevi. They evoke the Jewish people's constant yearning for Zion and conclude with Eli Tsiyyon Ve-Areha, sung by worshipers to a more lively tune. Other poems in this collection were inspired by the horrors of the Crusades and other tragic episodes in medieval Jewish history. A few kinot are recited at the end of the Evening Service, but most are read the next morning.
Despite the gloomy atmosphere prevailing throughout the Ninth of Av, hope for Israel's redemption has never been absent from this day. It is held that, like the other fasts, Tishah be-Av will eventually become an occasion for rejoicing (Zech. 8:19), the rabbis identifying it with the birthday of the Messiah.
The observance of this fast day was abandoned by Reform Judaism as an anachronism. Latterly, however, Reform congregations have often changed their attitude, seeking contemporary relevance in Tishah be-Av even if they do not keep it as a fast.
In the State of Israel, thousands attend services at the Western Wall below the Temple Mount and Tishah be-Av is observed as a day of public mourning. All restaurants and places of entertainment are closed, while radio and television programs emphasize various aspects of the occasion.
