Tisha B’av

Explore our resources about a major Jewish mourning holiday.

Tisha B’av begins at sundown on Saturday, August 10, 2019 and ends at sundown on Sunday, August 11, 2019.

Tisha B’av is a major day of mourning in Judaism. According to Jewish history, on this day the first and second temples in Jerusalem were destroyed.

The rituals and practices of Tisha B’av are similar to the practices of Yom Kippur – fasting, refraining from washing, etc. At Jewish services, the Book of Lamentations (Eicha) is recited.

A Talmud story, animated below, teaches us that as a result of the incident involving Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, Jerusalem was destroyed. Think twice about who you kick out of your next party!

What is Tisha B’av?

Tisha B’av is the day of mourning in Judaism. On this day, the ninth of Av, a series of major tragedies of the Jewish people occurred including the destruction of the first and second temples in Jerusalem.

It’s a day of mourning for getting kicked out of Israel, for the destruction of Jerusalem, the Medieval expulsions from various lands. Watch our video to learn more about the significance and meaning behind this day.

The Rise of Yavneh from Gittin 55b-57a

By Becca Grumet and Sam Grinberg

A new perspective to the famous beginning of Gittin 55-56, in which Jerusalem is destroyed due to the confusion of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza.

Artists’ statement: As a comedy writer and a cartoonist, we approached the piece with a contemporary voice and used humor to focus on the positive outcomes of the story. While most might view the tale as “the destruction of Jerusalem,” we like to think of it as “the rise of Yavneh.” We were inspired by each other’s similar comedic styles and had a ton of fun seeing the jokes on the page come to life with flash animation.

Created in chevruta, or partnership, between a visual artist and a writer as part of a 2012-3 program called Studio G-dcast.