tisha b'av

Kinot: Poems of Lament

These mournful poems are the central part of the liturgy of Tisha B'Av.

Tisha B’Av FAQ

Your questions about the Jewish day of mourning answered.

Get Your Tisha B’Av Questions Answered

Got questions about Tisha B'Av? My Jewish Learning has answers.

Why Tisha B’Av is Not Really About Mourning

The practices associated with this holiday are closer to the experience of being a refugee than to being a mourner.

By the Rivers of Babylon We Remember Zion

This famous psalm is read on the eve of Tisha B'Av and sets the tone for an emotionally challenging holiday.

When Prayer Fails Us

Tisha B'Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, is testament to the failure of prayer to avert national catastrophe.

The Prohibition Against Studying Torah on Tisha B’Av

Why would learning sacred Jewish texts be forbidden on this day of fasting and mourning?

The Spiritual Trauma of Taking a Life

How the kosher practice of waiting between meat and dairy reminds us of Moses' discomfort with violence.

What Is Sinat Chinam, or Baseless Hatred?

For Tisha B'Av, a look at the common explanation for the Temple's demise.

Tisha B’Av 2017

Tisha B'Av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av) begins at sunset on Monday, July 31, and continues until the evening of August 1.