The Ninth of 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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.