What Are the Special Laws of Tisha B'av?

The “3 Weeks” Are Coming: What Do I Do?

Will The Temple Be Built This Year?

Every year at this time, we mourn the destruction of the Temple and pray for its rebuilding. Does this mean that the Temple will actually be built this year?

Unleash the Torah's Shackles!

...It is interesting that one particular deficiency humbly hid itself for many generations among the other things we lacked, finding its expression chiefly in allusions of the Sages of the Kabbalah. However, in our times, it appears to be peeking out and budding forth, gradually becoming a bitter, silent, but great cry...

Returning to the Torah of the Land of Israel

...There is a tremendous difference between the Torah of Eretz Yisrael and that of the Diaspora. In the Land of Israel, the abundance of Holy Spirit bursts out upon every Torah scholar who wishes to study Torah for its own sake – and all the more so upon a group of Torah scholars… The very source of the Exile and humiliation in the world is simply the fact that no one declares aloud the value and wisdom of the Land of Israel, and that the Sin of the Spies who spoke ill of the Land is not being corrected. There must be an appropriate response to this Sin...

The Day Our Heart Stopped

It's time to end 2,000 years of "electric shock."

Explaining the Laws of the Three Weeks

The three-week period between Shiva Asar B’Tammuz and Tisha B’Av is kept by Klal Yisrael as a time of mourning. In this article, we will review and explain the halachos that apply during the Three Weeks.

What's Fasting Got to Do With It?

A day of fasting in the Jewish calendar – such as this Sunday's Fast of Tammuz – is not one of dieting, but rather a day of introspection and teshuva (contrition and remorse). We are not fasting for something far-removed from ourselves, but rather for our situation this very day.

Sad to Die in the Middle of Tamuz?

At first glance, it seems that the purpose of the month of Tamuz is to make us depressed. How should we relate too this month?

21. Minors

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

It is a mitzva to educate our children to observe the mitzvot relating to Tisha Be-Av and mourning over the destruction of the Temple, just as we teach them about all other mitzvot.

20. When Tisha Be-Av Falls Out on Shabbat and is Postponed

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

When the ninth of Av falls out on Shabbat, the fast is postponed to Sunday. On that Shabbat, we show no signs of mourning.

18. Torah Verses in the Prayers and in the Berakha of She-asa Li Kol Tzorki

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

Most of the passages recited in the Korbanot section were included in the regular prayer service. On Tisha Be-Av, when one may not study Torah, the question arises: May one recite these passages?

19. The Laws of the Tenth of Av

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

The Babylonians conquered the Temple on the seventh of Av and set it ablaze toward evening on the ninth of the month, and it continued burning throughout the tenth. The Jewish people refrained from eating meat and drinking wine on that date.

17. Removing the Curtain from the Ark; Talit and Tefilin

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

We remove the curtain from the synagogue’s ark prior to Ma’ariv. Many have a custom not to wear a talit or tefilin at Shaĥarit.

14. Working

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

The Sages state: “Anyone who works on Tisha Be-Av will never see any sign of blessing from it”.

16. Aneinu, Nahem, Birkat Kohanim, and Tahanun

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

The laws of reciting Aneinu on Tisha Be-Av are the same as on the other fast days. The Sages instituted that one should add the Naĥem prayer to the berakha of Boneh Yerushalayim in the Amida whenever Aneinu is recited.

15. Reading Eikha and Dimming the Lights

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

We read Eikha after praying Ma’ariv. It is customary to darken the synagogue on the night of Tisha Be-Av. Many people have a custom to read it again during the day, after reciting the Kinot.

12. Going on Trips and Visiting the Western Wall

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

It is clear that one should not refrain from going to the Kotel (the Western Wall) out of concern that he might meet friends there and become happy.

13. Sitting and Lying on the Ground

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

Technically, there is no obligation to sleep or lie on the ground on Tisha Be-Av. Some people sleep on the ground on Tisha Be-Av; others sleep without a pillow. It is customary to sit on the ground like mourners on Tisha Be-Av.

11. Greeting One Another

Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av

Just as mourners may not greet others, so too, one may not greet others on Tisha Be-Av.