Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Jewish holiday of Tish’a B’av, which commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem’s ancient temple (the Second Temple) by the Romans in the year 70, and other historic tragedies.
Tisha B’Av
The Latest
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Fast Forward Opponents of Israel’s judicial overhaul see parallels in Tisha B’Av, this week’s Jewish day of mourning
As Tisha B’Av approaches, some protesters of the recent law weakening the judiciary fear that it could lead to another catastrophe
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Opinion I’m devastated by Israel’s judicial overhaul, but I’m still moving there
Israel needs us now more than ever
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Opinion The Israel we know has fallen
The battle over the future of Israel — can it be both democratic and religious — goes on
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Opinion How to be sad on Tisha B’av
Here are nine strategies to get in the right headspace on the saddest day of the Jewish calendar.
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Community This Tisha B’Av, the Hagia Sophia teaches us about reclaiming sacred spaces
When the Roman Emperor, Justinian I, dedicated Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia as a cathedral, he is said to have proclaimed, “Solomon, I have surpassed thee.” Indeed, the church-turned mosque-turned museum is an architectural wonder of the world, a gem that inspires devotion. Understandably, therefore, faithful Muslims were distraught when in 1934 Ataturk secularized the mosque. How…
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Community Why do we commemorate times of destruction?
All of this heaviness that we, as Americans, have been feeling in recent months is exacerbated by where we, as Jews, find ourselves in the calendar year. As we enter the heat of summer, we land in the scorching energy of two Jewish commemorations: The Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av)….
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Community This Tisha B’Av, remember John Lewis
It’s Tisha B’av – the darkest day in the Jewish calendar. We remember the destruction. We mourn the loss of the First and Second Temples. We recall Crusades and pogroms that happened on this same day in years gone by. And each year, after the fasting and the mourning of Tisha B’av, comes Shabbat. This…
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Life A holiday marking one societal rupture, Tisha B’Av spurs Jewish creativity amid another
(JTA) — For many observant Jews, the mourning over the destruction of the two ancient Temples in Jerusalem on the fast of Tisha B’Av actually begins three weeks earlier with the onset of a period of mourning during which it’s customary to avoid joyful activities like weddings and music. But with much of the world…
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