The Ninth of Av is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. According to the Talmud, God marked the Ninth of Av as a day of calamity because of the incident of the spies, recounted in Numbers 13-14, which took place on that day. The Mishnah enumerates the following: On the Ninth of Av it was decreed against our fathers that they should not enter the Land of Israel (Num. 14:29), the Temple was destroyed both the first and the second times, Bethar was captured, and Jerusalem was ploughed up M. Ta’an 4:6).
It is a tragic coincidence that since the time of the Mishnah, many other calamitous events in Jewish history have occurred on the Ninth of Av. On Tisha B’av in 1290, King Edward I signed the edict compelling his Jewish subjects to leave in England. The expulsion from Spain occurred on the same day in 1492. Tisha B’av also marked the outbreak of World War I, beginning a long period of suffering for the Jewish people. Not only did this period witness the pogroms and massacres perpetrated against the Jews of Russia, Poland, and other countries of Eastern Europe, but it was also the prelude to World War II and the savage destruction of six million Jews.
The fast of Tisha B’av begins the night before, as does the fast of Yom Kippur, and therefore, the last meal before the fast must be eaten before sunset. This meal, called the seudah mafseket because it marks the boundary between the periods of eating and fasting, was characterized by certain mourning customs. As at the meal served to mourners after a funeral, it was customary to eat special foods that were signs of mourning, such as eggs and lentils. Today, we try to retain the mood by keeping the meal modest and simple.
At the Ma’ariv service, as a sign of mourning, the congregants remove their shoes if they are made of leather. It was once customary not to wear leather shoes during the whole of Tisha B’av, but some now limit the practice to the time and place of the service.
Ma’ariv is recited in a subdued voice and a mournful tone. The Full Kaddish follows the Amidah.
After Kaddish the worshippers sit on the ground or on stools for the reading of Eicha –the Book of Lamentations. It is chanted in a special plaintive cantillation. The chanting of Eicha is followed by Kinnot, sorrowful hymns that emphasize the importance of Tisha B’av and lament the tragic events associated with it
Tisha B’Av is subject to the same limitations as Yom Kippur, and thus one should refrain from food, bathing, wearing leather shoes, and conjugal relations. In addition, because of the joy it affords, the Sages forbade all study of sacred literature with the exception of books that fit the mood of the day (such as the Book of Job and parts of the Book of Jeremiah and of the Talmud and midrash that tell of the destruction of Jerusalem). A mourner who is sitting shivah may go to the synagogue both evening and morning.
