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Three Weeks: July 20-August 10, 2008

17th of Tammuz: July 20, 2008

Nine Days: eve of August 1 to August 10, 2008

9 of Av: eve of August 9 to August 10, 2008

Out of Sorrow Can Come Joy: The Message of Tisha B'Av

Ozzie Nogg

The eve of the 9th of Av -- Tisha B'Av -- is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. The day the rabbis called "a day set for misfortune." more

Naming the Fast: A Tisha b'Av Reflection

Douglas Aronin

Of the four public fasts that we observe to commemorate the events surrounding the destruction of the Temple, three are known only by their dates. Even the name of Tisha b'Av, which is by far the saddest and most important of those fasts, means simply the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. Jewish tradition has never given it a name. more

A Tale for Tisha B'Av

Ozzie Nogg

Once, long ago, the Ark with the Ten Commandments rested at Shiloh. King David brought the Ark to Jerusalem, his city, where he longed to build a proper house for it. But God did not approve. "You are man of bloodshed and war," God said to David. "You shall not build a house in My name." So it was that David's son, King Solomon, came to build the House of the Lord. Tens of thousands of men worked for many years to build the Temple. It was built from blocks of the choicest stone and glowed with copper, silver, brass and gold. more
Weekly Torah Portion

Weekly Torah Portion

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Parashat Terumah

The ark is the first article of furniture in the Tabernacle.
This point is the theme of the following Midrash:

quot;They shall make an ark of shittim-woodquot;.
What is written above? quot;Bring me an offeringquot;. Forthwith: quot;They shall make an ark of shittim-woodquot;.
Just as the Torah came first before everything else, so in the making of the Tabernacle the Ark came first before all the other article of furniture.
Just as the light came first before all other objects of creation, as it is written (Gen. 1, 3): quot;Then God said, Let there be lightquot;, so too in ...more

Tisha B'Av Under the Arch of Titus

Rabbi Mayer Abramowitz

The very idea of observing the fast of Tisha B'Av amid the ruins of the Roman Empire conjures up a mystical, almost esoteric feeling. This is exactly what I did on August 9, 1948. I had begun my three-year stint as Chief Emigration Officer of the AJDC (American Joint Distribution Committee) in Rome. I was no longer an army chaplain. No one referred to me as "rabbi." more

Poll

The national Jewish mourning that take place between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av is:
Results:
64%
Still completely relevant today.
12%
Still somewhat relevant today.
12%
Not relevant at all today.
12%
What national Jewish mourning?

Jewish Holidays Calendar

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Import Denver holiday and candlelighting times into your PDA or Outlook calendar

Now you can import Denver holiday and candlelighting times into your PDA or Outlook calendar. Thanks to HebCal. Download these useful files now! more

We Must Confront the Darkness of Tisha B'Av to Find its Meaning

in the blazing heat of mid-summer, with its long, light-filled days and leisurely pace, we confront the darkest day on the jewish calendar, tisha b'av.

this holiday marks the destruction of both holy temples in jerusalem, the fall of the betar fortress to the romans, the expulsion of jews from spain and other tragedies that have befallen the jewish people throughout history.

in many ways, tisha b'av is the inverse of chanukah, a holiday of lights that occurs during the darkest days of winter.

"at the moment of light, we have to remember darkness, and at the moment of darkness, we have to remember light," says sharon brous, rabbi of ikar, a new spiritual community in los angeles that is both traditional and progressive.

more