Tisha B'Av 2022

Halachic Framework

Tisha B'Av is a rabbinic fast day. Core rules:

• Duration: The fast runs from dawn (alot haShachar) to nightfall (tzait haKochavim) — a shorter span than Yom Kippur's sunset-to-nightfall fast.
• Exemptions: The ill, pregnant and nursing women, and young children are exempt. Anyone whose health would be at risk must not fast.
• Liturgy: The Amidah includes the fast-day blessing "Aneinu," and Slichot (penitential prayers) are added. Tachanun is not said on the fast itself but is omitted afterward as well.

Customs & Observances

• 25-hour fast from evening to nightfall
• Reading the Book of Lamentations (Eichah)
• Sitting on low stools or the floor in mourning
• Prohibitions on washing, anointing, leather shoes, and Torah study
• Reciting Kinot (elegies)

Greetings & Blessings for Tisha B'Av

Traditional greetings used before, during, and after Tisha B'Av:

• No festive greetings are exchanged on Tisha B'Av, as it is a day of mourning. Some say "May we merit the rebuilding of the Temple" (Yibaneh HaMikdash).

בעברית:

• בתשעה באב לא נהוג להחליף ברכות חג, שכן זהו יום אבל. יש שאומרים "יבנה המקדש".

About Tisha B'Av

Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. It commemorates the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, as well as other tragedies in Jewish history.

Also known as: Tish'a B'Av, Ninth of Av

Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the evening before the date shown and conclude at nightfall (when three medium stars are visible) on the final day. In the Diaspora, major Torah festivals are observed for two days (Yom Tov Sheni shel Galuyot), while in Israel they are observed for one day.