Jerusalem is thriving. Why on Tisha Be’av do we mourn its destruction?
While they agreed that the “major” fast day of Tisha Be'av (the fast of the fifth month) remained compulsory, the Sages were more emboldened about the minor ones.
An ultra-Orthodox jew prays at the Westen Wall July 17, 2002 on Tisha B'Av(photo credit: LASZLO BALOGH/REUTERS)ByADINA LEWITTES/JTA