Tisha beAV

The 9th of Av (Hebrew: tisch'a beAv, Tisha B'Av or Tischa Beav תשעה באב) - is the ninth day of the month of Av - is a Jewish day of fasting and mourning on which the Jews commemorate the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. On this significant day, the First and Second Temples and Betar were destroyed in the Bar Kokhba War (132-135 AD). God is also said to have passed judgment on the Israeli people on this day after the sin of the Golden Calf. And it was on this exact day that Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.

On the 9th of Av, people begin fasting the evening before. The same rules apply to the 9th Av as to the Day of Atonement: you are not allowed to eat or drink, bathe or anoint your body, wear leather shoes or have sexual intercourse.

Apart from Yom Kippur, 9 Av is the only public fast day that lasts a full 25 hours, from sunset the previous evening until the stars come out the following day. Lamentations are sung in the synagogues on this occasion and special qinot are read.