Tisha B'Av 2025: The Day of Mourning
Festival guide · 2025
Tisha B'Av (תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב — the 9th of Av) is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, a 25-hour fast commemorating the destruction of the First Temple (586 BCE) and the Second Temple (70 CE) — both of which fell on the same date.
Jewish tradition records five national catastrophes that occurred on 9 Av: the decree that the Israelites would wander the desert for 40 years, the destruction of both Temples, the fall of Beitar (Bar Kokhba revolt, 135 CE), and the ploughing over of Jerusalem by the Romans.
2025 Dates
| Date | Tuesday, August 12, 2025 |
Dates are calculated automatically and may vary by ±1 day. Always confirm with your local religious authority.
Traditions & Observance
The Fast and Restrictions
Tisha B'Av is a full 25-hour fast from sunset to nightfall the following day — no food or water. Like Yom Kippur, additional restrictions apply: no bathing, no leather shoes, no cosmetics, and no marital relations. Unlike Yom Kippur, the mood is one of mourning rather than atonement — worshippers sit on low chairs or the floor.
Book of Lamentations (Eicha)
The Book of Lamentations (Eicha) is chanted in the synagogue on the night of Tisha B'Av, to a haunting traditional melody. The five chapters of Eicha describe the destruction of Jerusalem with raw grief and theological reflection — concluding with a plea for God's restoration: 'Return us to You, O Lord, and we shall return.'
Kinot — Poems of Mourning
The morning service includes kinot — elegies lamenting the Temple's destruction, the Crusader massacres, the expulsion from Spain, and the Holocaust. Some communities add modern kinot for 20th-century tragedies. The recitation can last several hours and is considered one of the most emotionally intense services in the Jewish year.
The Three Weeks
Tisha B'Av is the culmination of 'The Three Weeks' — a period of mourning beginning on 17 Tammuz (when the walls of Jerusalem were breached). The final nine days are especially intense, with prohibitions on meat, wine, bathing for pleasure, and celebrations. Tisha B'Av ends with the anticipation of consolation and redemption.
Other Years
If 9 Av falls on Shabbat, Tisha B'Av is postponed to 10 Av. Dates vary each year. Confirm with your local synagogue.