The Ninth of Av — the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, a full fast day mourning the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, along with a long chain of calamities that tradition associates with this date.
On one date, tradition says, catastrophe fell again and again — so on the ninth of Av the people sit low to the ground and grieve.
Tisha B'Av commemorates the destruction of the First Temple by Babylon (586 BCE) and the Second Temple by Rome (70 CE), both said to have fallen on the ninth of Av. Over the centuries the day gathered other tragedies — the crushing of the Bar Kokhba revolt and the expulsion from Spain in 1492 among them — making it a vessel for collective Jewish grief and a meditation on exile, loss, and the hope for restoration.
The day is observed with a 25-hour fast from food and drink, beginning at sundown. The Book of Lamentations (Eicha) is chanted in a mournful tone, often by candlelight, with worshippers seated on the floor or low stools. Leather shoes, bathing, and other comforts are set aside, and mourning customs are kept until midday. It closes a three-week period of mourning that begins with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz.
Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning and fasting — festive greetings are not used, and people do not wish one another joy on this day.
“How lonely sits the city that once was full of people! She that was great among the nations has become like a widow; the princess among the provinces has become a vassal.”— Lamentations 1:1
Tisha B'Av 2027 begins at sundown on Wednesday, August 11 and ends at nightfall on Thursday, August 12.
The ninth day of the month of Av, a fast day mourning the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem and other tragedies in Jewish history.
With a 25-hour fast, the chanting of Lamentations, sitting low to the ground, and refraining from comforts and festivities.
Jewish tradition holds that many disasters befell the Jewish people on this same date across the centuries, making it a focal point of collective mourning.
Sundown, Wed Aug 11 – nightfall, Thu Aug 12, 2027
Tisha B'Av is a full 25-hour fast, beginning at sundown and ending at nightfall the next day — the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.