Tisha Be'av

Jewish men (and women) think about the Roman Empire all the time. We can’t avoid it

The most obvious reason why a good Jew thinks often about the Roman Empire is, of course, historical trauma.

 The Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem by Francesco Hayez
 FROM LEFT: Anat Heifetz and Shahar Avnet bring Israeli fashion to China.

Grapevine August 2, 2023: Reviving Odesa

 WORSHIPERS SIT on the ground at the Little Western Wall, mourning on Tisha Be’av, last Thursday. ‘On Tisha Be’av I contemplate whether we, as Jews, were responsible through our actions or inactions for our own fate,’ says the writer.

Tisha Be’av and the current political crisis - opinion

 GOLDA MEIR, 1964.

Judicial reform, Tisha Be'av, Yom Kippur War: Time to haste or hesitate? - opinion


Ben-Gvir visits Temple Mount amid security tensions

Israel Police conducted a situation assessment on Sunday morning, headed by Israel Police Chief Kobi Shabtai, and said it was prepared for the influx.

 Itamar Ben Gvir ascends to the Temple Mount on Tisha B'av

When destruction is necessary for rebuilding - opinion

The Temple was destroyed by the decision of God, who could no longer bear what was going on under its roof and thus made the decision to demolish it.

 Second Temple Model

Tisha Be’av and the war in Ukraine - is there a connection? - opinion

When we see entire ethnic groups and minorities being discriminated against, we must take action. This is one of the important lessons of Tisha Be’av.

 A VOLUNTEER helps a man as people arrive on a train from war-affected areas of eastern Ukraine, earlier this week.

Tisha Be'av: The day the lights went out

Imagine waking up to a bizarre world, in which everything was unfamiliar: no sovereignty, no prophecy, no army, no Temple and, of course, no homeland

 DAY OF universal tragedy: The world goes dark.

Tisha Be'av: Another view of the fast day from the 20th century

Come with me to the end of World War II and what Tisha Be’av offered us then, as our souls were wracked in fasting, pierced with sorrow and then uplifted with a tiny glimmer of hope.

 ‘SKYSCRAPER EXPLODES into Flames as Midtown New York Rocks in Blast’ was the July 1945 headline.

Tisha Be'av: Israel needs less hate, more humility and restraint - opinion

We are repeating too many of the mistakes made by our ancestors in the First and Second Jewish Commonwealth periods which brought about social decay, moral decline and political disintegration.

 READING Megillat Eicha in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Tisha Be’av: The bittersweet, most tragic day - opinion

However, on that Tisha Be’av night at the Western Wall which my family experienced on our visit from the Diaspora, both themes resonated: the Holocaust, but also the destruction of the Temples.

Ultra-Orthodox worshippers pray on Tisha Be’Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, at the Western Wall on July 18, 2021.

Tisha Be'av: Mourning for the Temple in the modern era

How can we mourn on Tisha Be’av in the modern State of Israel? Without updating our mourning, Tisha Be’av can become emotionally hollow.

 WHAT WOULD Napoleon say: 2015 reenactment of the emperor’s return to Paris after nine months of exile on Elba.

A reflection of Jewish dissent in the month of Av

"The hope Tu Be'av instills in us helps to ensure that the future of our country moves past those who wish our destruction."

The walls of the city of Jerusalem in the days of the First Temple.

Bill authorizing egalitarian prayer at Kotel proposed by coalition MK

The bill would implement a resolution creating a state-recognized egalitarian prayer section at the southern end of the Western Wall.

MK Kariv reads Torah scroll at Western Wall plaza