10 Facts You Should Know About Kinot

10 Facts You Should Know About Kinot
Kinot are Hebrew poetic compositions recited on the fast of Tisha B’Av, lamenting the destruction of the Holy Temples in Jerusalem.
By Yehuda Altein
Kinot (“elegies,” sing. “kinah”) are Hebrew poetic compositions recited on the fast of Tisha B’Av, lamenting the destruction of the Holy Temples in Jerusalem and the tragedies of the exile that ensued. Read on for 10 facts about the history and content of these mournful dirges, and how and when they are recited.

1. They Are Recited on Tisha B’Av
Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, is a fast day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temples by the Babylonians and Romans respectively.1 One of the day’s customs is to recite kinot, Hebrew elegies mourning these and other tragedies that occurred to our people throughout the ages. Several kinot are recited following the nighttime Maariv services, with the bulk said the next day after Shacharit.

Read: What Is Tisha B’Av?

2. Jeremiah Wrote the First Kinot
The term kinot is sometimes used to refer to the Book of Lamentations, composed by the prophet Jeremiah.2 This five-chapter scriptural book contains Jeremiah’s prophecies of the destruction of the First Temple and the subsequent slaughter and exile of Jerusalem’s Jews—events he ultimately witnessed firsthand. However, Lamentations is more commonly known in Hebrew by the appellation “Eichah,” the book’s opening word.

Read: About Jeremiah

3. At Night We Start With Lamentations
On the eve of Tisha B’Av following the Maariv prayer, we begin by reciting the Book of Lamentations. Typically, one congregant leads the recital with a mournful melody, intoning the verses aloud, while the congregation reads along in hushed tones. The reading of Lamentations is followed by a small selection of kinot.

Read the Book of Lamentations

4. We Sit Like Mourners
On Tisha B’Av, we are all mourners, lamenting the collective tragedies that befell our nation. As a sign of mourning, we refrain from sitting on regular chairs from the onset of the fast until midday.3 The kinot are therefore recited while sitting on a low chair, stool, or a mat—an unusual synagogue sight indeed.

Read: What to Expect at Tisha B’Av Services

5. They Were Composed by Multiple Authors
The kinot are the product of many paytanim (authors of classical liturgical poems). Some of these paytanim are well known, others are known by name only, and some are anonymous. Among the more famous composers are Rabbi Elazar Hakalir, whose kinot make up almost half of the elegies traditionally recited on Tisha B’Av; Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg; Rabbi Yehuda Halevi; and Rabbi Solomon ibn Gabirol.

Read: Who Authored the Kinot?

6. Some Commemorate Other Tragedies
Upwards of 45 kinot are traditionally recited on Tisha B’Av, many of which describe the destruction of the Holy Temples and the decimation of Jerusalem. However, a significant percentage commemorate other tragedies from later points in history.

Arzei Halevanon Adirei Torah (“Cedars of Lebanon, Giants of Torah”; kinah no. 21) is about the 10 Martyrs, 10 leading sages in the times of the Mishnah who were brutally executed by the Romans.
Mi Yiten Roshi Mayim (“O that my head would be a fountain of tears”; kinah no. 25), laments the destruction of the Jewish communities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz during the First Crusade in 1096.
Read: 11 Facts About the Crusades

Shaali Serufah B’aish (“O Torah Consumed by Fire”; kinah no. 41) mourns the burning of the Talmud in Paris in 1242.
In recent decades, many communities have added elegies focusing on the unprecedented horrors of the Holocaust.
Read: Some Facts About the Holocaust

7. Many Follow Complex Poetic Schemes
The first four chapters of the Book of Lamentations are acrostics set to the sequence of the Hebrew alphabet. Many kinot follow a similar structure, following the order—or reverse order—of the alphabet. Often, once the last letter has been reached, the acrostics continue with allusions to the author’s name. A collection of 7 kinot toward the end of the recital each begin with the word “Zion.”

Some of the kinot, especially those penned by Rabbi Elazar Hakalir, incorporate complex poetic schemes with intricacies that boggle the mind. Eichah Ashpato (“Alas, how his quiver is open!”; kinah no. 15), for example, is made up of no less than a tenfold alphabet, incorporating elements from each verse of Lamentations as well as the verses of rebuke in Parshat Bechukotai.

Study the Book of Lamentations in depth

8. There Are English Translations
The poetic Hebrew is often difficult to understand, even for native speakers. Fortunately, the kinot have been translated into English, making it easier to find meaning and identify with the text.

Download some highlights from Kinot in English, or purchase your own volume

9. Napoleon’s (Possible) Telling Message
Legend has it that as Napoleon was traveling through a conquered European city, he heard the sound of bitter cries. The curious emperor was surprised to find a group of Jews sitting on low stools, reciting elegies in an unfamiliar language while weeping copious tears. His inquiries revealed that they were mourning an event that took place thousands of years prior.

Impressed, Napoleon is said to have declared, “If a nation can mourn a structure so many years after it was destroyed, they can be assured they will merit to see it rebuilt!”

10. Some People Don’t Keep Their Copies
Some individuals have the custom not to hold onto their copy of kinot from year to year, instead discarding it honorably, as is done to well-used holy texts. After all, aren’t we certain this dark exile will soon end and the Ninth of Av will be transformed into a day of rejoicing?4 Regardless of whether or not you choose to keep your kinot, let us all hope that this year’s recital was the very last, as we will soon merit the coming of Moshiach and the rebuilding of the Third Holy Temple!

Read: Why Do We Need a Third Temple?
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2261/jewish/Why-On-Earth-Do-We-Need-a-Third-Temple.htm