Tisha B'Av 5778

Seudah Hamafseket

The experience of Tisha B'Av actually begins before Tisha B'Av. Unique in all of Jewish life is the special meal we eat before the fast begins, the Seudah Hamafseket. There is no meal, not even a meal eaten in a shiva house that is designed to be more miserable than the Seudah Hamafseket. Neither meat nor wine, nor more than even one cooked food, may be consumed. (Traditionally, we eat bread & a hard-boiled egg.) The meal is not only to be eaten while sitting on the floor, it is to be eaten in isolation. The benching afterward is specifically not to be preceded by a zimmun. It is the meal through which we imagine the meal of someone who is sitting at the lowest point of the circle of history. There is even a custom to dip the food in ashes.

The Seudah Hamafseket is also the subject of a whole historical back-&-forth that plays out on the pages of the Shulchan Aruch. This is because the Shulchan Aruch insists that this meal is intended to be a real meal, not merely a symbolic or ritual PS to the dinner we will have eaten before the fast. Which is to say, there should be a meaningful lapse of time between our last meal, & the Seudah Hamafseket so that we are actually hungry again when we sit to eat the Seudah Hamafseket just like we would be when we would sit down to eat any regular meal. But it's clear that historically this was a struggle, as people wanted to eat their "real" meal as close to the beginning of the fast as possible, for obvious reasons.  

Rama writes that the minhag in his land was to eat a regular meal, go & daven Mincha, & then eat the Seudah Hamafseket. Others object that this is too short an interval between the two meals. Eliyahu Raba attempts to justify the popular practice by pointing out that people are in any case acting for the sake of heaven, i.e. are eating their "regular meal" late in the day because they want to insure that their fast can be about reflection & prayer, rather than hunger. But Eliyahu Raba cautions that, at very least, a person should not be full when sitting down to eat the Seudah Hamafseket. Eating when full is not recognized as “eating” at all in the eyes of Halacha.

Bottom line: The Seudah Hamafseket is a vital part of the overall experience of Tisha B'Av. We should plan to stagger Seudat Shlishit & the subsequent Seudah Hamafseket to the greatest degree that is feasible.

the Book of Eicha

As we do each year, we’ll be reading the book of Eicha during the first hour of Tisha B’Av, this Saturday night. The book’s name is taken from its first (& recurring) word, which means, “How could it be?” The book is comprised of five chapters, each of which is its own self-standing dirge (“kinah”) concerning the destruction of Judea & Jerusalem in 586 BCE, & the exile to Babylonia that followed. The Talmud actually refers to the book not as “Eicha,” rather as “Kinot” (dirges). According to rabbinic tradition, these five dirges were composed by Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) himself, the prophet who warned about, & then ultimately experienced the destruction & exile.

The first chapter vividly describes Jerusalem (Zion’s) utter desolation, abandonment, & shame. Jerusalem personifies the people of Judea as well in this “kinah.” Especially striking is Jerusalem’s plaint over the lack of any comforters. She & we are alone in our time of shock & suffering.

The second & fourth chapters each focus on God’s wrath, which is the only plausible explanation we have for the destruction of God’s city & the exiling of His people. We acknowledge that God’s wrath was not unjustified, & that we did not heed the warnings that were offered to us by our prophets. Our acknowledgement that this was God’s decision leads directly to the call that we now address Him, cry before Him, & call out to Him, as our post-destruction future is similarly in His hands. At B’nai David it is our custom that following the reading of Chapter Two, we sing one line from the chapter together, “Pour out your hearts like water, before the face of God.”

The third chapter is strikingly composed in the first person. Many interpret the chapter as one person giving voice of to the dismay & bewilderment that each & every individual in the city must have been experiencing. Others suggest that Yirmiyahu is reflecting on his unique personal experience of being the prophet who was charged with delivering the highly unpopular message of doom, a charge that brought him great personal difficulty & grief.

The Halachot of TISHA B'AV

1) Tisha B'Av is similar in many ways to Yom Kippur. The fast is a full "24+" hours, and the restrictions of the day include not washing one's body (except for hand-washing in the morning), not wearing leather shoes, and refraining from marital relations, in addition to not eating and drinking. Additionally, on Tisha B'Av, all those who are physically able to do so sit on the floor or on low stools rather than chairs. [This last custom extends only until midday] All of this is included to help generate a shiva-like feeling of loss & grief. This feeling can then serve as the framework for the prayers & kinot of the day. Tisha B'Av does not have the status of Shabbat. Nonetheless, the less time we can spend at "work" work, the better. Also, if going to work can be delayed until midday, that option should be pursued. Perhaps the most awkward custom of Tisha B'Av is that of not exchanging greetings throughout the fast. This too is borrowed from the laws of shiva. Though it feels odd to not say "hello" to the people we see in Shul, the pointed avoidance of exchanging pleasantries helps to create the atmosphere of sad reflection.

2) Neither tallit nor tefillin are worn on the morning of Tisha B'Av. Both are symbols of Israel's glory & neither is appropriate as we sit on the floor in the depths of dismay. Tallit & tefillin are worn at Mincha, as the gloom of the day slowly begins to lift.

3) Chatzot (Midday) - As was mentioned above, the custom of sitting on the floor ends at midday. Solar midday this year will be at 12:59 PM.