Tisha B’Av is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar
Nomi Kaltmann
The Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, is considered the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. Each year, the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem more than 2,000 years ago is commemorated.
In the Middle East, the month of Av falls during the peak summer months when temperatures are at their highest. The destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem during this period further increased the suffering of the Jewish people. The city was under siege, entry and exit were restricted, and many people died of hunger and thirst.
On Tisha B’Av, Jews fast for 25 hours, with both food and water prohibited. On Tisha B’Av, we sit on low stools and encourage physical discomfort. The day is spent in serious reflection and prayer, and until noon it is forbidden to study Torah or do anything that brings comfort or pleasure, such as wearing perfume or leather shoes.
But Tisha B’Av was never just about ancient history. It remained a day of Jewish suffering for centuries. During World War II, on Tisha B’Av in 1942, the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp began. Tragically, throughout history the weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av have often been marked by mass tragedy and disaster for the Jewish people, including the expulsion of the Jewish community from Spain in 1492.
Jewish communities celebrate the three weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av, which begins at sunset this Wednesday and ends 24 hours later; he stops listening to music, gets a haircut or throws parties, including weddings, and does not eat meat or drink wine except on Shabbat.
As a child, I remember marking Tisha B’Av by fasting and watching Holocaust movies. As an adult, I often try to get through the fast, albeit with a slightly more manageable experience than those who observe the fast in the northern hemisphere, due to the winter weather in Australia.
As I spend the day fasting, I think about the exile of the Jewish people following the destruction of the Temples. I think about the generations before me and their suffering, including my relatives who did not survive the Holocaust. But I also think about the importance of remembering history itself.
Maybe that’s why I continue to find Tisha B’Av so resonant. This is not only a day to mourn those lost, but also a reminder of what we must preserve as a Jewish people.
Jewish history contains many extraordinary examples of tragedy and destruction, but it also includes the eternal will of the Jews to survive and renew after destruction. While we remember the worst moments of our past, we also remember the extraordinary resilience that carries us into the future.
Nomi Kaltmann is an Orthodox rabbi.
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