At sundown, in another two hours, it will be Tish`a b’av – the ninth of the month of Av. Tish`a b’av is a day of mourning. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both the first and second Temples, and the symbolic end of the first and second Jewish commonwealths. (The actual end, at least of the second commonwealth, was a bit later.) While primarily mourning the loss of Jewish sovereignty, Jews also mourn all tragedies which have befallen them, such as the Spanish inquisition (which also began on Tish`a b’av).
On Tish`a b’av, Jews read the book of Lamentations, say qinot – hymns of mourning, fast (don’t eat or drink) and don’t start new ventures. (One of the pieces of evidence that Columbus was Jewish is that he was scheduled to sail on Tish`a B’av, but delayed sailing for one day. On the other hand, his translator, who is known to have been Jewish, might have told him that it was an inauspicious day to begin his venture. Knowing how people relate to bad luck, that alone could have been enough to delay him.)
I don’t know if I’ll be blogging on Tish`a b’av. If I do, it’ll be late in the day.
UPDATE: More here.
Posted by David Boxenhorn at July 26, 2004 05:04 PM