Tisha B’Av & Minor Fast Days

A single lit candle glowing softly in a dark room.

During the hottest time of the summer, when the land of Israel is parched and dry, we pause for the holiday of Tisha B’Av. It commemorates the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem and provides the opportunity to mourn for the suffering of our people and suffering throughout the world. Other minor fast days remind us of additional events from our shared history, and provide opportunities for reflection in our hectic lives.

Latest Rituals

“Only when you stand alone will you know who you truly are…”
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“We will weep through as many nights as we must…”
tents camped in the desert
“I will teach you the melody of my Echa, together we will sit on the ground and mourn for the peace of Jerusalem.”
a person sits on a rock in the desert
“Did they praise / the G-d that brought about their / most brutal response to devastation? / Or did they lament?”
a woman in a devastated field crouched down and holding her hands in fists
“For every grain of salt, a thousand tears…”
In sepia tones, trees reflected in a lake
“There are ashes sunken within us / in places that feel too deep to touch…”
a field with clouds waving across the sky above it
“May the cries of every neshama / Be rendered into / Notes of comfort…”
seagull flying over beach
A poem about the contradictions in the month of Av.
twine tied in the shape of a heart
A poem for Tisha b’Av.
woman in dark behind window with raindrops
“All that remains to me / of my family’s life in Ukraine… / are four silver kiddush cups…”
a lit candle glows against a dark background

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