(19) ’Thus saith the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful seasons; therefore love ye truth and peace.
There were five events that happened to our ancestors on the seventeenth of Tammuz and five on the ninth of Av.On the seventeenth of Tammuz: The tablets were shattered; The tamid (daily) offering was cancelled; The [walls] of the city were breached; And Apostomos burned the Torah, and placed an idol in the Temple. On the ninth of Av It was decreed that our ancestors should not enter the land, The Temple was destroyed the first And the second time, Betar was captured, And the city was plowed up. When Av enters, they limit their rejoicing.
דַּרְכֵ֨י צִיּ֜וֹן אֲבֵל֗וֹת מִבְּלִי֙ בָּאֵ֣י מוֹעֵ֔ד כָּל־שְׁעָרֶ֙יהָ֙ שֽׁוֹמֵמִ֔ין כֹּהֲנֶ֖יהָ נֶאֱנָחִ֑ים בְּתוּלֹתֶ֥יהָ נּוּג֖וֹת וְהִ֥יא מַר־לָֽהּ׃ (ס)
Zion’s roads are in mourning, Empty of festival pilgrims; All her gates are deserted. Her priests sigh, Her maidens are unhappy— She is utterly disconsolate!
It is taught in another baraita that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: Whoever eats and drinks on the Ninth of Av, although the prohibition was instituted by the Prophets, it is as though he eats and drinks on Yom Kippur. Rabbi Akiva says: Whoever performs labor on the Ninth of Av never sees a sign of a blessing from that work. And the Sages say: Whoever performs labor on the Ninth of Av and does not mourn for Jerusalem will not see her future joy, as it is stated: “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad with her, all who love her; rejoice for joy with her, all who mourn for her” (Isaiah 66:10). From here it is stated: Whoever mourns for Jerusalem will merit and see her future joy, and whoever does not mourn for Jerusalem will not see her future joy. This is also taught in a baraita: Whoever eats meat or drinks wine in the meal before the Ninth of Av, about him the verse states: “And whose iniquities are upon their bones, because the terror of the mighty was in the land of the living” (Ezekiel 32:27).
שוב פעם אחת היו עולין לירושלים כיון שהגיעו להר הצופים קרעו בגדיהם כיון שהגיעו להר הבית ראו שועל שיצא מבית קדשי הקדשים התחילו הן בוכין ור"ע מצחק אמרו לו מפני מה אתה מצחק אמר להם מפני מה אתם בוכים אמרו לו מקום שכתוב בו (במדבר א, נא) והזר הקרב יומת ועכשיו שועלים הלכו בו ולא נבכה אמר להן לכך אני מצחק דכתיב (ישעיהו ח, ב) ואעידה לי עדים נאמנים את אוריה הכהן ואת זכריה בן יברכיהו וכי מה ענין אוריה אצל זכריה אוריה במקדש ראשון וזכריה במקדש שני אלא תלה הכתוב נבואתו של זכריה בנבואתו של אוריה באוריה כתיב (מיכה ג, יב) לכן בגללכם ציון שדה תחרש [וגו'] בזכריה כתיב (זכריה ח, ד) עוד ישבו זקנים וזקנות ברחובות ירושלם עד שלא נתקיימה נבואתו של אוריה הייתי מתיירא שלא תתקיים נבואתו של זכריה עכשיו שנתקיימה נבואתו של אוריה בידוע שנבואתו של זכריה מתקיימת בלשון הזה אמרו לו עקיבא ניחמתנו עקיבא ניחמתנו:
For these things do I weep, My eyes flow with tears: Far from me is any comforter Who might revive my spirit; My children are forlorn, For the foe has prevailed.
Maharsha Sanhedrin 98b
משיח נקרא ע"ש של הקב"ה שנאמר זה שמו אשר יקראו ה' צדקנו וחנינה שמו וגם בשם זה יש בו שם ד'בחילוף נ' אחד בה' באי"ק בכ"ר ויהיה באותיותיו חן ה' ומנחם בן חזקיה שמו שנאמר כי רחק ממני מנחם גו' ירמיה אמרו בשעת חורבן שאז נולד משיח ונתרחק מבני אדם לג"ע כדאיתא במדרשים ובן חזקיה לאו מקרא משתמע אלא קבלה בידם הוא ורבנן דאמרי חיורא
Eicha Rabba 1:51
The following story supports what Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Aibu: A man was plowing his field when his ox lowed. An Arab passed by and asked "What are you?" And he answered "I am a Jew." The Arab man said to him, "Untie your ox and unharness your plough" [as a sign of mourning]. "Why?" he asked. "Because the Temple of the Jews is destroyed," said the Arab. "From where do you know that?" asked the Jew. "I know it because your ox lowed," answered the Arab. While they were talked the ox lowed again. "Harness your ox and tie up the plough again, because the deliverer (moshiach) of the Jews has been born" said the Arab. "What is his name?" asked the Jew. "Menachem (comforter)," answered the Arab.
....Rabbi Abun asks: Why do I need to be taught of this from the Arab man? I have the two pesukim 'And the Lebanon shall fall my a mighty one' which is closely followed by [and therefor connected to] 'And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall grow forth from his roots.'
How were the cherubs standing? Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Elazar disagree about this. One says: Their faces were turned one toward the other. And one says: Their faces were turned toward the House, i.e., the Sanctuary. The Gemara asks: But according to the one who says that their faces were turned one toward the other, isn’t it written: “And their faces were toward the House” (II Chronicles 3:13)? How does he explain the meaning of this verse? The Gemara answers: This is not difficult, as their faces miraculously changed directions in reflection of the Jewish people’s relationship to God. Here, when it states that the cherubs faced each other, it was when the Jewish people do the will of God. There, the verse that describes that the cherubs faced the Sanctuary and not toward each other, was when the Jewish people do not do the will of God.
The Gemara asks: And according to the one who says they stood as described in the verse: “And their faces were toward the House,” isn’t it written: “With their faces one toward the other” (Exodus 25:20). How does he explain the meaning of this verse? The Gemara answers: They were angled sideways so that they turned both to each other and toward the Sanctuary, as it is taught in a baraita: Onkelos the Convert said that the cherubs were of the form of children, as the verse states: “And in the Holy of Holies he made two cherubim of the form of children; and they overlaid them with gold” (II Chronicles 3:10), and their faces were angled sideways toward the Ark of the Covenant, like a student taking leave of his teacher.
Rav Ketina said: When the Jewish people would ascend for one of the pilgrimage Festivals, the priests would roll up the curtain for them and show them the cherubs, which were clinging to one another, and say to them: See how you are beloved before God, like the love of a male and female. The two cherubs symbolize the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the Jewish people...
וכתיב (מלכים א ז, לו) כמער איש ולויות מאי כמער איש ולויות אמר רבה בר רב שילא
And it is written: “According to the space of each with loyot” (I Kings 7:36). The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of: “According to the space of each with loyot”? Rabba bar Rav Sheila said:
(54b)It means like a man joined and clinging to his livaya, his partner, i.e., his wife. In other words, the cherubs appeared to be embracing one another.
Reish Lakish said: When gentiles destroyed the Second Temple and entered the Sanctuary, they saw these drawings of cherubs clinging to one another. They peeled them from the wall, took them out to the market, and said: These Jews, whose blessing is a blessing and whose curse is a curse, due to their great fear of God, should they be occupied with such matters, making images of this kind? They immediately debased and destroyed them, as it is stated: “All who honored her debase her because they have seen her nakedness” (Lamentations 1:8). §
. Rava bar Ulla said: One who does not have a wife is left without peace, as it is written: “And you shall know that your tent is in peace; and you shall visit your habitation and shall miss nothing” (Job 5:24). This indicates that a man has peace only when he has a tent, i.e., a wife....And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A man is obligated to visit his wife for the purpose of having intercourse when he is about to depart on a journey, as it is stated: “And you shall know that your tent is in peace, etc.” The Gemara asks: Is this last statement derived from here? It is derived from there: “And your desire shall be to your husband” (Genesis 3:16), which teaches that a wife desires her husband when he is about to depart on a journey. ....The Sages taught: One who loves his wife as he loves himself, and who honors her more than himself, and who instructs his sons and daughters in an upright path, and who marries them off near the time when they reach maturity, about him the verse states: And you shall know that your tent is in peace. As a result of his actions, there will be peace in his home, as it will be devoid of quarrel and sin.
(א) מִזְמ֗וֹר לְאָ֫סָ֥ף אֱֽלֹהִ֡ים בָּ֤אוּ גוֹיִ֨ם ׀ בְּֽנַחֲלָתֶ֗ךָ טִ֭מְּאוּ אֶת־הֵיכַ֣ל קָדְשֶׁ֑ךָ שָׂ֖מוּ אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֣ם לְעִיִּֽים׃ (ב) נָֽתְנ֡וּ אֶת־נִבְלַ֬ת עֲבָדֶ֗יךָ מַ֭אֲכָל לְע֣וֹף הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם בְּשַׂ֥ר חֲ֝סִידֶ֗יךָ לְחַיְתוֹ־אָֽרֶץ׃ (ג) שָׁפְכ֬וּ דָמָ֨ם ׀ כַּמַּ֗יִם סְֽבִ֘יב֤וֹת יְֽרוּשָׁלִָ֗ם וְאֵ֣ין קוֹבֵֽר׃ (ד) הָיִ֣ינוּ חֶ֭רְפָּה לִשְׁכֵנֵ֑ינוּ לַ֥עַג וָ֝קֶ֗לֶס לִסְבִיבוֹתֵֽינוּ׃ (ה) עַד־מָ֣ה יְ֭הוָה תֶּאֱנַ֣ף לָנֶ֑צַח תִּבְעַ֥ר כְּמוֹ־אֵ֝֗שׁ קִנְאָתֶֽךָ׃ (ו) שְׁפֹ֤ךְ חֲמָתְךָ֨ אֶֽל־הַגּוֹיִם֮ אֲשֶׁ֪ר לֹא־יְדָ֫ע֥וּךָ וְעַ֥ל מַמְלָכ֑וֹת אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּ֝שִׁמְךָ֗ לֹ֣א קָרָֽאוּ׃ (ז) כִּ֭י אָכַ֣ל אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹ֑ב וְֽאֶת־נָוֵ֥הוּ הֵשַֽׁמּוּ׃ (ח) אַֽל־תִּזְכָּר־לָנוּ֮ עֲוֺנֹ֪ת רִאשֹׁ֫נִ֥ים מַ֭הֵר יְקַדְּמ֣וּנוּ רַחֲמֶ֑יךָ כִּ֖י דַלּ֣וֹנוּ מְאֹֽד׃ (ט) עָזְרֵ֤נוּ ׀ אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤י יִשְׁעֵ֗נוּ עַל־דְּבַ֥ר כְּבֽוֹד־שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וְהַצִּילֵ֥נוּ וְכַפֵּ֥ר עַל־חַ֝טֹּאתֵ֗ינוּ לְמַ֣עַן שְׁמֶֽךָ׃ (י) לָ֤מָּה ׀ יֹאמְר֣וּ הַגּוֹיִם֮ אַיֵּ֪ה אֱֽלֹהֵ֫יהֶ֥ם יִוָּדַ֣ע בגיים [בַּגּוֹיִ֣ם] לְעֵינֵ֑ינוּ נִ֝קְמַ֗ת דַּֽם־עֲבָדֶ֥יךָ הַשָּׁפֽוּךְ׃ (יא) תָּ֤ב֣וֹא לְפָנֶיךָ֮ אֶנְקַ֪ת אָ֫סִ֥יר כְּגֹ֥דֶל זְרוֹעֲךָ֑ ה֝וֹתֵ֗ר בְּנֵ֣י תְמוּתָֽה׃ (יב) וְהָ֘שֵׁ֤ב לִשְׁכֵנֵ֣ינוּ שִׁ֭בְעָתַיִם אֶל־חֵיקָ֑ם חֶרְפָּ֘תָ֤ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר חֵרְפ֣וּךָ אֲדֹנָֽי׃ (יג) וַאֲנַ֤חְנוּ עַמְּךָ֨ ׀ וְצֹ֥אן מַרְעִיתֶךָ֮ נ֤וֹדֶ֥ה לְּךָ֗ לְע֫וֹלָ֥ם לְדֹ֥ר וָדֹ֑ר נְ֝סַפֵּ֗ר תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃
(1) A song of Asaph. O God, heathens have entered Your domain, defiled Your holy temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins. (2) They have left Your servants’ corpses as food for the fowl of heaven, and the flesh of Your faithful for the wild beasts. (3) Their blood was shed like water around Jerusalem, with none to bury them. (4) We have become the butt of our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. (5) How long, O LORD, will You be angry forever, will Your indignation blaze like fire? (6) Pour out Your fury on the nations that do not know You, upon the kingdoms that do not invoke Your name, (7) for they have devoured Jacob and desolated his home. (8) Do not hold our former iniquities against us; let Your compassion come swiftly toward us, for we have sunk very low. (9) Help us, O God, our deliverer, for the sake of the glory of Your name. Save us and forgive our sin, for the sake of Your name. (10) Let the nations not say, “Where is their God?” Before our eyes let it be known among the nations that You avenge the spilled blood of Your servants. (11) Let the groans of the prisoners reach You; reprieve those condemned to death, as befits Your great strength. (12) Pay back our neighbors sevenfold for the abuse they have flung at You, O Lord. (13) Then we, Your people, the flock You shepherd, shall glorify You forever; for all time we shall tell Your praises.
(Midrash Rabbah on Lamentations 4:15).
Should not the verse have said "A weeping to Asaf," "A wail to Asaf," "A lament to Asaf"? Why does it say "A song to Asaf"?
But this is analogous to a king who built a nuptial home for his son, and had it beautifully plastered, inlaid and decorated. Then this son strayed off to an evil life. So the king came to the nuptial canopy, tore down the tapestries and broke the rails. Upon which the prince's tutor took a flute and began to play. Those who saw him asked: "The king is overturning the nuptial canopy of his son, and you sit and sing?" Said he to them: "I am singing because the king overturned his son's nuptial canopy, and did not vent his wrath upon his son."
So, too, was asked of Asaf: "G‑d destroyed the Temple and Sanctuary, and you sit and sing?" Replied he: "I am singing because G‑d vented His wrath upon wood and stone, and did not vent his wrath upon Israel"
The Shulchan Aruch (559:4) writes: We do not recite Tachanun on Tisha B'Av and we do not fall on our faces because it is considered a festival. Shulchan Aruch 559:4
One does not recite Kiddush Levana prior to Tisha B’av. It is rather to be recited on Motzei Tisha B’av. Custom of Arizal
The reason: The reason for saying Kiddush Levana specifically on Motzei Tisha B’av is because that is the time Moshiach was born and the renewal of the moon represents that the Jewish people will return to a renewed state. [Kaf Hachaim Kaf Hachaim 551:117; &426:29 in name of Rav Chaim Vital]
Sefer Kol Bo 62 It is a long standing custom that women wash their hair on Tisha B’Av beginning with the earliest time to recite Mincha and our first elders looked upon the practice favorably. They based their approval on what we learned in Aggadita that the Moshiach was born on Tisha B’Av. That means that just as we spent time on Tisha B’Av mourning the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and sitting on the floor so too we must spend time looking forward to the coming of the Moshiach so that we do not abandon all hope for his coming. This act was necessary only for women who are weak but we men are believers and confident that the prophecies of comfort and redemption will be fulfilled but women who have not studied those prophecies need to undertake a concrete act to strengthen their beliefs.
It is also explained in the Meiri (Taanis 30A )that in Narbona it was the custom among the women to wash their heads from Mincha time forward on Tisha B’Av and we heard that the elders and Rabbinic leaders directed them to do so based on a Midrash that relates that the Moshiach was born on Tisha B’Av and that following the custom demonstrated accepting comfort and faith in the coming of the redemption and the Meiri himself expressed no objection to the practice even though there may be halachic problems with it.
Birkei Yosef Aruch Chaim
It is the practice among many to recite verses of comfort on Tisha B’Av during Mincha. The Rabbi Shayarei Knesses Ha’Gedola in the name of Rabbi Tzeidah L’Derech questioned the practice based on the rule that we are not to learn Torah during any part of Tisha B’Av. He further wrote that since the practice is not referred to in the Tur or the Beis Yossef he did not recite those verses but did not stop others from doing so. The Rav Yad Aharon found support for the practice from the words of the Hegos Maiymon that were quoted by the Beis Yossef. I will add to his words that since in the days of Rav Yossef Karo there were already printed Siddurim and Machzorim that included the practice, if he objected to it, he would have said so. His silence supports the view that he approved of the practice.
Ashkenazim Recite After Reciting Kinos verses of comfort both In the evening and morning
Show compassion to Tzion as You said. Re-reestablish Tzion as You declared. Hasten the rescue and speed along the redemption. Return to Yerushalayim with abundant compassion.
As it is written among the words of the prophets: Therefore, so says G-d, I will return to Yerushalayim with abundant compassion, My home will be rebuilt there, that is the declaration of G-d, lord of Hosts and a measuring string will be strung across Yerushalayim.
And in another work of prophecy it is said: So said G-d Lord of Hosts, My cities shall again overflow with good and G-d will once again comfort Tzion and G-d will choose Yerushalayim as His place of residence.
And it is written: That G-d will comfort Tzion; comforts its ruins and will turn its deserts into Eden and its desolate areas into the gardens of G-d, the sound of joy and happiness will be found there; thanksgiving and the sound of song.
Birkei Yosef Aruch Chaim
I further saw in the book of Kavanos of the AR”I (p. 89, side three) who referred to the practice and supported it based on what our Sages said that when the Jewish people saw that on Tisha B’Av in the evening, the Beis Hamikdash was set on fire, they recited a chapter of Tehillim, acknowledging that G-d had cast His anger on the wood and stone that comprised the Beis Hamikdash and not on them, and they were happy, because if not, the Jewish People would have ceased to exist , so they were comforted, therefore we should recite verses of comfort as well. Rabbi Chayim Vital wrote there that he heard another reason from his teacher: that at Mincha time on Tisha B’Abv the Moshiach was born who is known as Menachem (comforter) . I further found written that for this reason, or Sages did not interfere with the practice among women who with all their strength clean the house and arrange the beds, and other chores around the house which is an ancient custom among the Jewish women of Italy and because their intelligence is below average and their faith is weak, undertook these activities to strengthen their faith that the redemption will come and will not abandon all hope.
The customary given to the Shabbos before Tisha B’Av is Shabbos Cha’Zone because of the first word of the Haftorah read that day (Chazone Yishayahu) and already many who are experts on Jewish customs expressed surprise and asked: We understand why the Shabbos after Tisha B’Av is called Shabbos Nachamu, because of the words of comfort contained therein but why is the Shabbos before Tisha B’Av known as Shabbos Chazone (prophecy)?
So they answered that it is based on the verse in Zechariya letting us know that one day the fasts during the year will become days of celebration. Therefore it is named
Shabbos Cha’Zone-a prophecy about Tisha B’Av, a day of mourning, becoming a day of celebration. Those who study acronyms said the word Chazone is an acronym: i.e. half of it is a day of anger and half the day is a day to take comfort; or partly a day of anger and partly a day of comfort because during the week that follows reciting the Chazone Haftorah, Tisha B’Av will be commemorated after which we will begin to read Haftorah that provide us comfort.
North African Jewish Customs
The Candle Of Moshiach -On Tisha B’Av in the afternoon, they put the house into a festive atmosphere; they decorate the house with rugs and flowers. They sprinkle around the house gold dust. Women wash their hair and dress in festive clothes-in honor of the Moshiach who was born on Tisha B’Av. At the same time, many enter into synagogues to grill what is known as the offering of Tisha B’Av, a bull to act as a sin offering that is purchased with communal funds and its meat is then divided among the poor. And in honor of the birth of the Moshiach, they light a candle in synagogue for the third time, the same candle they lit at the onset of the fast but this time for a festive reason out of expectation that the ultimate redemption will take place in fulfillment of the words of the prophet of comfort: To appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. (Yeshayahu 61, 3).
Midrash tanchumah Buber Shemos
G-d said to the Jewish People: my children, in this world you are responsible to provide light in the Beis Hamikdash and for that purpose you light candles within it but in the future, in the merit of the candles that you would light, I will redeem you through the acts of the Moshiach who is compared to a candle as it is written (Tehillim 132, 17): There I will make the horn of David to sprout; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.