The Heart-Rending Cry-Tisha B'Av

The Heart-Rending Cry: How to Mourn for Something that Happened 2000 Years Ago
Aug 3, 2019  |  by Keren Gottleib

Tisha B'Av - The Ninth of Av
Overview and laws of the Jewish national day of mourning.

View an excellent overview video: “Crash Course on Tisha B'Av”

What Happened on the Ninth of Av?

On Tisha B'Av, five national calamities occurred:

During the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the 10 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel. (1312 BCE)
The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. 100,000 Jews were slaughtered and millions more exiled. (586 BCE)
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus. Some two million Jews died, and another one million were exiled. (70 CE)
The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar – the Jews' last stand against the Romans – was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered. (135 CE)
The Temple area and its surroundings were plowed under by the Roman general Turnus Rufus. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city – renamed Aelia Capitolina – and access was forbidden to Jews.
Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history occurred on the Ninth of Av, including:

The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B'Av in 1492.
World War One broke out on the eve of Tisha B'Av in 1914 when Germany declared war on Russia. German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust.
On the eve of Tisha B'Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.
Aspects of Mourning: The Afternoon Before Tisha B'Av

During the afternoon prior to Tisha B'Av, it is customary to eat a full meal in preparation for the fast.

At the end of the afternoon, we eat the Seudah Hamaf-seket – a meal consisting only of bread, water, and a hard-boiled egg.

The egg has two symbols: The round shape reminds us of a sign of the cycle of life. Also, the egg is the only food which gets harder the more it is cooked – a symbol of the Jewish people's ability to withstand persecution.

Food eaten at the Seudah Hamaf-seket is dipped in ashes, symbolic of mourning. The meal should preferably be eaten alone, while seated on the ground in mourner's fashion.

When the afternoon prior to Tisha B'Av occurs on Shabbat, there is no Seudah Hamaf-seket with eggs and ashes. Rather, the regular Shabbat "third meal" is eaten, albeit without guests and fanfare.

Restrictions on Tisha B'Av

Upon sundown, the laws of Tisha B'Av commence – consisting of the following expressions of mourning:

1. No eating or drinking until nightfall the following evening.

Pregnant and nursing women are also required to fast. If one suspects it could be harmful to the baby or mother, a rabbi should be consulted.
A woman within 30 days after birth need not fast.
Others who are old, weak, or ill should consult with a rabbi. (MB 554:11)
Medicine may be taken on Tisha B'Av, preferably without water.
In case of great discomfort, the mouth may be rinsed with water. Great care should be taken not to swallow anything. (MB 567:11)
2. Other prohibitions include:

Any bathing or washing, except for removing specific dirt – e.g. gook in the eyes (OC 554:9, 11). (Upon rising in the morning, before prayers, or after using the bathroom, one washes only the fingers. See OC 554:10, OC 613:3, MB 554:26)
Anointing oneself for pleasure. (Deodorant is permitted.)
Having marital relations.
Wearing leather shoes. (Leather belts may be worn.)(see: Laws of Shoes and Chairs)
Learning Torah, since this is a joyful activity. It is permitted to learn texts relevant to Tisha B'Av and mourning – e.g. the Book of Lamentations, Book of Job, parts of Tractate Moed Katan, Gittin 56-58, Sanhedrin 104, Yerushalmi end of Ta'anis, and the Laws of Mourning. In-depth study should be avoided. (MB 554:4)
3. Other mourning practices include:

Sitting no higher than a foot off the ground. After midday, one may sit on a chair. (OC 559:3)(see: Laws of Shoes and Chairs)
Not engaging in business or other distracting labors, unless it will result in a substantial loss. (OC 554:23)
Refraining from greeting others or offering gifts. (OC 554:20)
Avoiding idle chatter or leisure activities.
4. Following Tisha B'Av, all normal activities may be resumed, except for the following which are delayed until midday of the 10th of Av, because the burning of the Temple continued through the 10th of Av:

Haircuts and washing clothes. (When Tisha B'Av falls out on Thursday, these are permitted immediately following Tisha B'Av, in honor of the coming Shabbat.)
Bathing. (When Tisha B'Av falls out on Thursday, bathing is permitted on Friday morning.)
Eating meat and wine.
Music and swimming.
Prayer on Tisha B'Av

Lights in the synagogue are dimmed, candles are lit, and the curtain is removed from the Ark. The cantor leads the prayers in a low, mournful voice. This reminds us of the Divine Presence which departed from the Holy Temple.
The Book of Eicha (Lamentations), Jeremiah's poetic lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple, is read both at night and during the day.
Following both the night and day service, special "Kinot" (elegies) are recited.
In the morning, the Torah portion of Deuteronomy 4:25-40 is read, containing the prophecy regarding Israel's future iniquity and exile. This is followed by the Haftorah from Jeremiah (8:13, 9:1-23) describing the desolation of Zion.
In the afternoon, Exodus 32:11-14 is read. This is followed by the Haftorah from Isaiah 55-56.
Since Tallis and Tefillin represent glory and decoration, they are not worn at Shacharit. Rather, they are worn at Mincha, as certain mourning restrictions are lifted.
Birkat Kohanim is said only at Mincha, not at Shacharit.
Prayers for comforting Zion and "Aneinu" are inserted into the Amidah prayer at Mincha.
Shortly after the fast is broken, it is customary to say Kiddush Lavana. 
When Tisha B'Av Falls on Shabbat

For a full treatment of this topic, see: When Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat or Sunday. Here is a brief overview of the special conditions that apply:

The fast is pushed off until Saturday night/Sunday.
All other prohibitions of Tisha B'Av (washing, learning Torah, leather shoes, etc.) are permitted on Shabbat itself, except for marital relations. (Of course, regular Shabbat restrictions apply, such as anointing with cream and showering.)
Seudah Shlishit has none of the restrictions of Seudah Hamaf-seket, and may include meat and wine. However, the mood should be somber, should not include invited guests, and eating must stop before sundown.
Ma'ariv on Saturday night is delayed, so that everyone can say "Boruch Hamavdil bein kodesh li'chol," then remove their leather shoes and come to synagogue.
Havdallah on Saturday night is recited only over a candle, without wine or spices. On Sunday night, Havdallah is then said over wine.
Regarding the various prohibitions, some are lifted immediately upon completion of the fast (e.g. bathing, laundry and haircuts), while others remain prohibited until the following morning (meat, wine and music).
with thanks to Rabbi Moshe Lazerus


Tisha B'Av - The Ninth of Av
Jun 19, 2002  |  by Rabbi Shraga Simmons
https://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/48944076.html?s=mpw
Tisha B'Av - The Ninth of Av
Overview and laws of the Jewish national day of mourning.

View an excellent overview video: “Crash Course on Tisha B'Av”

What Happened on the Ninth of Av?
On Tisha B'Av, five national calamities occurred:
https://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/48944076.html?s=mpw
During the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the 10 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel. (1312 BCE)
The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. 100,000 Jews were slaughtered and millions more exiled. (586 BCE)
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus. Some two million Jews died, and another one million were exiled. (70 CE)
The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar – the Jews' last stand against the Romans – was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered. (135 CE)
The Temple area and its surroundings were plowed under by the Roman general Turnus Rufus. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city – renamed Aelia Capitolina – and access was forbidden to Jews.
Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history occurred on the Ninth of Av, including:

The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B'Av in 1492.
World War One broke out on the eve of Tisha B'Av in 1914 when Germany declared war on Russia. German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust.
On the eve of Tisha B'Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.
Aspects of Mourning: The Afternoon Before Tisha B'Av

During the afternoon prior to Tisha B'Av, it is customary to eat a full meal in preparation for the fast.

At the end of the afternoon, we eat the Seudah Hamaf-seket – a meal consisting only of bread, water, and a hard-boiled egg.

The egg has two symbols: The round shape reminds us of a sign of the cycle of life. Also, the egg is the only food which gets harder the more it is cooked – a symbol of the Jewish people's ability to withstand persecution.

Food eaten at the Seudah Hamaf-seket is dipped in ashes, symbolic of mourning. The meal should preferably be eaten alone, while seated on the ground in mourner's fashion.

When the afternoon prior to Tisha B'Av occurs on Shabbat, there is no Seudah Hamaf-seket with eggs and ashes. Rather, the regular Shabbat "third meal" is eaten, albeit without guests and fanfare.

Restrictions on Tisha B'Av

Upon sundown, the laws of Tisha B'Av commence – consisting of the following expressions of mourning:

1. No eating or drinking until nightfall the following evening.

Pregnant and nursing women are also required to fast. If one suspects it could be harmful to the baby or mother, a rabbi should be consulted.
A woman within 30 days after birth need not fast.
Others who are old, weak, or ill should consult with a rabbi. (MB 554:11)
Medicine may be taken on Tisha B'Av, preferably without water.
In case of great discomfort, the mouth may be rinsed with water. Great care should be taken not to swallow anything. (MB 567:11)
2. Other prohibitions include:

Any bathing or washing, except for removing specific dirt – e.g. gook in the eyes (OC 554:9, 11). (Upon rising in the morning, before prayers, or after using the bathroom, one washes only the fingers. See OC 554:10, OC 613:3, MB 554:26)
Anointing oneself for pleasure. (Deodorant is permitted.)
Having marital relations.
Wearing leather shoes. (Leather belts may be worn.)(see: Laws of Shoes and Chairs)
Learning Torah, since this is a joyful activity. It is permitted to learn texts relevant to Tisha B'Av and mourning – e.g. the Book of Lamentations, Book of Job, parts of Tractate Moed Katan, Gittin 56-58, Sanhedrin 104, Yerushalmi end of Ta'anis, and the Laws of Mourning. In-depth study should be avoided. (MB 554:4)
3. Other mourning practices include:

Sitting no higher than a foot off the ground. After midday, one may sit on a chair. (OC 559:3)(see: Laws of Shoes and Chairs)
Not engaging in business or other distracting labors, unless it will result in a substantial loss. (OC 554:23)
Refraining from greeting others or offering gifts. (OC 554:20)
Avoiding idle chatter or leisure activities.
4. Following Tisha B'Av, all normal activities may be resumed, except for the following which are delayed until midday of the 10th of Av, because the burning of the Temple continued through the 10th of Av:

Haircuts and washing clothes. (When Tisha B'Av falls out on Thursday, these are permitted immediately following Tisha B'Av, in honor of the coming Shabbat.)
Bathing. (When Tisha B'Av falls out on Thursday, bathing is permitted on Friday morning.)
Eating meat and wine.
Music and swimming.
Prayer on Tisha B'Av

Lights in the synagogue are dimmed, candles are lit, and the curtain is removed from the Ark. The cantor leads the prayers in a low, mournful voice. This reminds us of the Divine Presence which departed from the Holy Temple.
The Book of Eicha (Lamentations), Jeremiah's poetic lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple, is read both at night and during the day.
Following both the night and day service, special "Kinot" (elegies) are recited.
In the morning, the Torah portion of Deuteronomy 4:25-40 is read, containing the prophecy regarding Israel's future iniquity and exile. This is followed by the Haftorah from Jeremiah (8:13, 9:1-23) describing the desolation of Zion.
In the afternoon, Exodus 32:11-14 is read. This is followed by the Haftorah from Isaiah 55-56.
Since Tallis and Tefillin represent glory and decoration, they are not worn at Shacharit. Rather, they are worn at Mincha, as certain mourning restrictions are lifted.
Birkat Kohanim is said only at Mincha, not at Shacharit.
Prayers for comforting Zion and "Aneinu" are inserted into the Amidah prayer at Mincha.
Shortly after the fast is broken, it is customary to say Kiddush Lavana. 
When Tisha B'Av Falls on Shabbat

For a full treatment of this topic, see: When Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat or Sunday. Here is a brief overview of the special conditions that apply:

The fast is pushed off until Saturday night/Sunday.
All other prohibitions of Tisha B'Av (washing, learning Torah, leather shoes, etc.) are permitted on Shabbat itself, except for marital relations. (Of course, regular Shabbat restrictions apply, such as anointing with cream and showering.)
Seudah Shlishit has none of the restrictions of Seudah Hamaf-seket, and may include meat and wine. However, the mood should be somber, should not include invited guests, and eating must stop before sundown.
Ma'ariv on Saturday night is delayed, so that everyone can say "Boruch Hamavdil bein kodesh li'chol," then remove their leather shoes and come to synagogue.
Havdallah on Saturday night is recited only over a candle, without wine or spices. On Sunday night, Havdallah is then said over wine.
Regarding the various prohibitions, some are lifted immediately upon completion of the fast (e.g. bathing, laundry and haircuts), while others remain prohibited until the following morning (meat, wine and music).
with thanks to Rabbi Moshe Lazerus



Tisha B'Av: Waking Up to a World without God's Presence
https://www.aish.com/h/9av/ju/48936167.html?s=mm
Jul 7, 2005  |  by Sara Yoheved Rigler
237
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Tisha B'Av: Waking Up to a World without God's Presence
How to bring God's palpable presence back into our world.

I remember with perfect clarity the sensation of waking up on the morning of March 9, 1990. In those first few fuzzy moments of consciousness, I oriented myself to where I was – in the spare bedroom of my parents' New Jersey apartment, and what day it was – two days after my father's death. As soon as I realized that I had woken up into a world without my father, my heart plunged into a fathomless grief, like waking up into a nightmare that will never end.

The world without my father was not simply the same world minus one; it was a totally different world. This altered, diminished world lacked the stability and goodness that was my father. This world wobbled on its axis; its gravitational pull was heavier.

It took me a year to adapt to this new world, to learn to navigate its emotional byways. Now, more than fifteen years later, I've become proficient at maneuvering in this World-Without-My-Father, but it is not and will never be the same world in which he was so benevolently and lovingly present.

The destruction of the Temple was a loss as real and as searing as death.
The ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av – called Tisha B'Av – is to the Jewish people what March 9 was to me. We misrepresent the tragedy of the day by describing it as the destruction of the two Holy Temples, as if the catastrophe is the loss of a building. The American people do not mourn on 9/11 because of the destruction of the Twin Towers; they mourn the thousands of lives lost in the conflagration. Contrast a person who mourns the absence of the majestic towers to the New York skyline with a person who mourns the loss of his/her parents caught on the 98th floor.

Tisha B'Av is more like a death than a destruction, because on that day the world changed irrevocably.

The world without the Holy Temple is not the same world minus one magnificent structure. The world without the Holy Temple is a totally different world. The Holy Temple was the mystical vortex between the higher, spiritual worlds and this gross, physical world. The Temple service was an elaborate mystical procedure that kept the aperture between the worlds open and functioning. The Divine Presence manifested itself in the Temple and through the Temple. When the Temple was destroyed, that palpable Divine Presence removed itself from our world. It was a loss as real and as searing as death.

My son was born into a world without my father. He will never know how the room lit up when my father entered, how secure and supported dozens of people felt because of the bedrock that was my father.

In the same way, we who were born into a world without the Divine Presence have never experienced the spiritual luminosity that radiated through the aperture of the Holy Temple. We live in a dimmer, coarser world, where physical reality seems like ultimate truth while spiritual reality seems like a vague phantasm. We navigate in the nightmare without even knowing we're in it.

Divine Immanence

In the first Holy Temple, ten miracles were constant for all to see. Among them were that no matter how the wind was blowing, the smoke from the altar always went straight up and that no matter how packed the crowds of people were, at the point of the service that required everyone to prostrate, there was always sufficient room. Anyone who visited the Temple could see these miracles, these deviations in the laws of physics, simply by entering the Temple precincts.

While the First Temple (and the Tabernacle before it) stood, prophecy (hearing the voice of God within oneself) was commonplace. The Talmud testifies that in ancient Israel, some 3,000,000 Jews were privy to the highest spiritual level possible. Schools of prophets abounded. So rampant was Divine revelation that the Talmud could assert that all Jews were either prophets or the children of prophets.

We are like amnesiacs who experience fleeting memories of a different life, but the grasping of it eludes us.
The immanence of the Divine Presence during Temple times did not mean that everyone chose spiritual elevation. Even when God is present, humans can – and did – choose to go against Him. The Talmud recounts the story of Yerovoam ben Navat, who, after the death of King Solomon, split the Kingdom, usurped the throne of the northern half, and set up two golden calves for worship. God appeared to Yerovoam and said, "Repent, and I and you and Ben Yishai [King David] will walk together in Paradise." Yerovoam had the gall to respond: "Who will go first?" When he heard that David would precede him, Yerovoam rejected the Divine offer. The most remarkable aspect of this conversation is that God appeared even to someone as wicked as Yerovoam. The Divine Presence during the Temple era was so pervasive and apparent that anyone who bothered to open his eyes could perceive it.

How different is the world we live in! When the Temple was destroyed, the dogged illusion of Divine absence settled over our world like a perpetual fog. In this world where Divine hiddenness has replaced Divine revelation, we grope for proofs of God's existence, like fish debating about the existence of water. We are relegated to "believing" when once we simply knew. We struggle, through prayer and meditation, to experience a momentary inkling of the Divine Presence when once we simply basked in it. We are like amnesiacs who experience vague and fleeting memories of a different life, a truer identity, but the actual grasping of it eludes us.

Tisha B'Av made orphans of us all.

Achieving The Impossible

In one essential way Tisha B'Av differs from death: the catastrophe is reversible. As Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook declared: "The Temple was destroyed because of causeless hatred [among Jews]; it can be rebuilt only by causeless love."

"Causeless love" means loving every single Jew, no matter how much s/he differs in political or religious persuasion.
"Causeless love" means loving every single Jew, no matter how much s/he differs in political or religious persuasion. It means loving Jews at the other end of the ideological spectrum. It means abortion-rights activists loving Hasidic Jews and vice versa. It means Zionists loving anti-Zionists and post-Zionists and vice versa. It means Gush Katif settlers loving the security forces who are going to evict them from their homes and vice versa. Given that the Talmud characterizes the Jews as "the most fractious of peoples" and the daily news corroborates that description, causeless love seems like an impossible achievement.

But if someone had told me on March 9, 1990, or any day thereafter, that I could bring my father back to life by doing X, is there anything, anything, I would not have done?

If we yearn enough to bring the Divine Presence back into our world, is there anything beyond our capacity to achieve it?

A few years ago I learned how to harness the seemingly impossible to the power of yearning, and fly. It was during the peak of the Arab war of terror against Israel. I had undertaken to visit terror victims in hospital and to distribute teddy bears on behalf of Kids for Kids. A couple days after a lethal bus bombing in Haifa, my 14-year-old daughter and I visited the Mt. Carmel hospital where most of the injured – teenagers on their way home from school – were hospitalized.

I had never been to that hospital before. Clutching my list of terror victims in one hand and my bulging bag of teddy bears in the other, I accidentally stumbled into the intensive care unit. I asked a nurse, "Where is Daniel K.?" She pointed to the bed beside me. Lying prone on the bed was a thin, unmoving figure. I grabbed my daughter's hand and quickly exited, but the specter of that boy, the only patient I had ever seen lying face-down, haunted me.

In the waiting room, I sat with Daniel's desperate parents. They had made aliyah from Uzbekistan a few years before. They explained that 17-year-old Daniel's lungs had been punctured in the terror attack. The doctors were not hopeful.

I promised them I would pray for "Daniel Chai" (when a person's life is in danger, a name expressing life or recovery is often added), but it was clear to all of us that nothing less than a miracle would save the boy.

There is a spiritual law in Judaism called, "mida k'neged mida," measure for measure. This means that whatever humans do, God responds to them in kind. When we want God to go beyond the laws of nature, we must go beyond our own nature. Therefore, tapping into this spiritual law, I suggested to Daniel's mother that she take on a mitzvah she had not previously done to help save her son's life, and I left the hospital planning to do similarly.

When my children started to bicker in the car on the long ride home, I told them that they could contribute to saving Daniel's life by overcoming their urge to fight. To my amazement, they acted like angels all the way home.

The next day, I had an argument with my husband. I walked away from him feeling hurt and rejected. I fled to my room, wanting only to distance myself from him. As I sat on the edge of my bed, I rehearsed to myself everything I had learned about life's essential choice: choosing between estrangement and oneness. I knew that the higher road would be to reconcile with my husband, or at least be open to whatever conciliatory steps he took, but my whole nature wanted to withdraw. I sat there for some ten minutes warring with myself. I knew exactly what I should do, but was as incapable of doing it as a paraplegic trying to pole-vault. Suddenly I was startled to hear myself say out loud: "I can't do it."

I answered my own voice, "Can you do it for Daniel Chai? Can you do it for that boy's life?"

"Yes!" came my resounding reply. "To save Daniel's life, I can overcome my own nature."

When my husband came in a few minutes later, I battled my instinct to push him away, and lovingly accepted his apology. I felt like a heroine. I knew that I couldn't do it, but for Daniel's life, I did it.

[Postscript: Daniel's mother took on lighting Shabbat candles. Despite a dangerous infection that beset him that week, Daniel had a miraculous recovery.]

When I consider the prospect of all Jews truly loving each other, I hear the voice of realism saying, "We can't do it." Then I ask: Can we do it to bring the Divine Presence back into the world? Can we do it to dispel the choking fog of Divine absence? Can we do it to end all the national and personal catastrophes that ensue in a world where God is not evident?

To reverse the cataclysm of Tisha B'Av, is there anything we can't do?


What Are Tisha B'Av & the Three Weeks?
https://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/96779149.html?s=mpw
Jun 20, 2010  |  by Rabbi Shraga Simmons
854
SHARES
What Are Tisha B'Av & the Three Weeks?
The Jewish national period of mourning.

View overview video: Crash Course on Tisha B'Av

The "Three Weeks" between the 17th of Tammuz and the Tisha B'Av have historically been days of misfortune and calamity for the Jewish people. During this time, both the First and Second Temples were destroyed, amongst other tragedies.

These days are referred to as the period "within the straits" (bein hametzarim), in accordance with the verse: "All her oppressors have overtaken her within the straits" (Lamentations 1:3).

During this time, various aspects of mourning are observed by the entire nation. We minimize joy and celebration – no weddings are held, we do not listen to music, nor are there haircuts or shaving. The expressions of mourning take on greater intensity as we approach the day of Tisha B’Av.

Since the attribute of Divine judgment ("din") is acutely felt, we avoid potentially dangerous or risky endeavors.

On Shabbat during the Three Weeks, the Haftorahs are taken from chapters in Isaiah and Jeremiah dealing with the Temple's destruction and the exile of the Jewish people.

Agonizing over these events is meant to help us conquer those spiritual deficiencies which brought about these tragic events. Through the process of "teshuva" – self-introspection and a commitment to improve – we have the power to transform tragedy into joy. In fact, the Talmud says that after the future redemption of Israel and the rebuilding of the Temple, these days will be re-dedicated as days of rejoicing and festivity.

The story is told of Napoleon walking through the streets of Paris one Tisha B'Av. As his passed a synagogue he heard the sounds of mourning and crying. "What’s this all about?" Napoleon asked. An aide explained that the Jews were in mourning the loss of their Temple. "When did this happen?" Napoleon asked. The aide replied, "About 1700 years ago." Napoleon said, "Certainly a people which has mourned the loss of their Temple for so long, will merit to see it rebuilt!"

Seventeenth of Tammuz

The beginning of a 3-week period of mourning is the 17th of Tammuz, a fast day commemorating the fall of Jerusalem, prior to the destruction of the Holy Temple.

On the 17th of Tammuz, no eating or drinking is permitted from the break of dawn until dusk. (Should the day coincide with Shabbat, the fast is delayed until Sunday.)

Five great catastrophes occurred in Jewish history on the 17th of Tammuz:

Moses broke the tablets at Mount Sinai – in response to the sin of the Golden Calf.
 
The daily offerings in the First Temple were suspended during the siege of Jerusalem, after the Kohanim could no longer obtain animals.
 
Jerusalem's walls were breached, prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
 
Prior to the Great Revolt, the Roman general Apostamos burned a Torah scroll – setting a precedent for the horrifying burning of Jewish books throughout the centuries.
 
An idolatrous image was placed in the Sanctuary of the Holy Temple – a brazen act of blasphemy and desecration.
The Nine Days

The period commencing with Rosh Chodesh Av is called the "Nine Days." During this time, a stricter level of mourning is observed, in accordance with the Talmudic dictum (Ta'anit 26): "When the month of Av begins, we reduce our joy."

During this time the additional "signs of mourning" include abstaining from meat and wine (except on Shabbat) and from doing laundry or wearing freshly laundered clothes (except on Shabbat). We also do not bathe for pleasure, though it is permitted to bathe in cool water in order to remove dirt or perspiration. For more details, see “The Three Weeks.”

Tisha B'Av – Ninth of Av
https://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/48944076.html



The intensity of mourning reaches a peak on Tisha B'Av, five national calamities occurred:

During the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the 12 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel. (1312 BCE)
 
The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar. (586 BCE)
 
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. (70 CE)
 
The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. (135 CE)
The Temple Mount was plowed under, and Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city.
Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history coincided with the Ninth of Av, including the expulsion from Spain in 1492, the outbreak of World War One in 1914, and the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942.

During the late afternoon prior to Tisha B'Av, it is customary to eat Seudah Hamaf-seket – a meal consisting only of bread, water and a hard-boiled egg. The food is dipped in ashes, symbolic of mourning, and eaten while seated on the ground. (The rules are somewhat different when Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbat or Sunday.)

Sundown marks the commencement of Tisha B'Av, where no eating or drinking is permitted until nightfall the following evening. It is also forbidden to bathe or wash, wear leather shoes, or engage in marital relations. We also do not learn Torah, except for texts relevant to Tisha B'Av and mourning – e.g. the book of Lamentations and Job, and certain sections of the Talmud (including the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza).

The Book of Eicha (Lamentations), Jeremiah's poetic lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple, is read in the synagogue as part of the evening service. Special “Kinot” (elegies) are also recited, both at night and during the day.

Other mourning practices include sitting on a low chair (after midday, a regular chair permitted; see “Laws of Shoes and Chairs”). We also minimize business and leisure activities.

Following Tisha B'Av, all normal activities may be resumed, except for the following which are delayed until midday of the 10th of Av, because the burning of the Temple continued through the 10th of Av: haircuts, washing clothes, bathing, listening to music, and eating meat and wine.

For more details, see "Tisha B’Av" https://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/48944076.html