Fast of Tisha B’Av 258 articles

Jewish Holidays

Tisha B’Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, not just because it is the day on with both temples were destroyed but also because many other tragedies have occurred on that day as well. We focus on these historical events as part of the kinot we say on Tisha B’Av night and during the day.

Kinah 21: The Death Knell of Israeli Jewry
Kinah 21: The Death Knell of Israeli Jewry
The Aftermath of the Roman Genocide and the Hadrianic Decrees: We haven’t corrected the flaw of intra-Jewish animosity. Even under the Roman siege, we weren’t united. An Analysis of The 21st Kinah,...
Jul 29, 2012
By Rabbi Steven Weil
Tisha B’av 5772: Hearing and Seeing
Tisha B’av 5772: Hearing and Seeing
What is exile? What does the Ramchal mean when he says all events that occur to the Jews as a nation are experienced by each individual in their own life?
Jul 26, 2012
By Esther Wein
Two Infamous Medieval Disputations
Two Infamous Medieval Disputations
Presented by Rabbi Steven Weil as part of the World of Western Mediterranean Jewry Series.
Jul 24, 2012
By Rabbi Steven Weil
Tisha B’Av: Holiday of Distance
Tisha B’Av: Holiday of Distance
According to Rav Wolbe the theme of Tisha B’Av is the concept of “Po” – here. God should exist here in this world. However, this is something we can’t comprehend without...
Jul 23, 2012
By Shira Smiles
Parashat Devarim & Tisha B’Av: Torah and the Land of Israel
Parashat Devarim & Tisha B’Av: Torah and the Land...
Torah and the Land of Israel These are the words that Moshe spoke to all Yisrael, on the far-side of the Jordan, in the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suf, between...
Jul 21, 2012
By Rabbi Bernie Fox
Seudah Hamafseket on Shabbat-Erev Tisha b’Av
Seudah Hamafseket on Shabbat-Erev Tisha b’Av
Normally, the last meal eaten before the Tish’ b’Av fast is supposed to be a spare meal eaten in solitude, since the mourning of Tish’a b’Av begins already the day before....
Jul 21, 2012
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir
The Power of Tisha B’Av: An Analysis of Kinot 11, 21 and 23
The Power of Tisha B’Av: An Analysis of Kinot...
The personal losses of the churban – The Death of the Righteous: The Tragedy of the Deaths of Yoshiyahu HaMelech, The Children of Rabbi Yishmael, and the Ten Martyrs – Presented...
Jul 20, 2012
By Rabbi Steven Weil
The Event That Irrevocably Changed the Destiny of Ashkenazic Jewry
The Event That Irrevocably Changed the Destiny of Ashkenazic...
In Tisha B’Av Kinah 25 we mourn the loss of the Jews of the Rhineland, the center of Judaism, including Speyer, Worms, & Mainz in the First Crusade. OU Tisha B’Av...
Jul 12, 2012
By Rabbi Steven Weil
A Fair Maiden or a Demon? The 26th and 27th Kinot
A Fair Maiden or a Demon? The 26th and...
Jeremiah encounters a being, symbolic of the Jewish nation, she appears to be both a fair maiden and a demon: An explanation of the 26th and 27th Kinot.
Jul 11, 2012
By Rabbi Steven Weil
The 10th Kinnah: Mishmaros Kehunah & The Valley of the Communities
The 10th Kinnah: Mishmaros Kehunah & The Valley of...
The Impact and Loss of Each Distinct Kehillah Rabbi Weil discusses the 10th Kinah which discusses the loss of the mishmarot kehunah and it’s parallel to Yad VaShem’s Valley of Communities.
Jul 11, 2012
By Rabbi Steven Weil

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