Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av (תשעה באב, “the Ninth of Av” 9 Av ) is an annual Jewish fast and day of mourning. It commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Batei Mikdash in Jerusalem and the exile and national tragedies associated with that loss. The fast begins at sunset on 8 Av and concludes after nightfall on 9 Av; when 9 Av falls on Shabbat, the fast is postponed. The day is marked by fasting, the reading of Eicha and kinot, and other practices of mourning.
Dates and times
[edit | edit source]For the yearly Hebrew and Gregorian dates, see Hebcal’s Tish’a B’Av calendar. Because the fast’s beginning and ending times vary by location, use Chabad’s location-based halachic times (zmanim) for exact local times.
Step 4 classes
[edit | edit source]| Article | Focus |
|---|---|
| Tisha B'Av: From Bilbul to Chassidus — Reframing Aveilus | Reframes aveilus as a disruption that can reset our daas: moving beyond self-focus toward Hashem’s honor, responsibility for Klal Yisrael, and longing for Yerushalayim and the Beis HaMikdash. |
| Tisha B'Av: From Humiliation to Churban — Kamtza and Bar Kamtza | Studies the Kamtza and Bar Kamtza narrative and its chain of humiliation, silence, and inflexible leadership, calling for foresight, moral courage, communal unity, and practical responsibility. |
| The Nine Days: Why Doesn’t Our Torah Seem to Create Shalom? | Explores how the fiery opposition of Torah debate can become אהבה בסופה: through חבורה, rigorous truth-seeking, Maharal’s unity of שכל, and Rav Yisrael Salanter’s demand for לשמה and mussar. |
| Tisha B'Av: We Only Go Up in Kedusha | Explores the Midrash of Mashiach's birth at the moment of the Churban, and how Tisha B'Av calls us to break old patterns, ascend me'chayil el chayil, and move toward the third Beis HaMikdash. |
Each article includes a concise summary, the shiur’s sources, and a link to the full transcript.