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The Torah Learning Library of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah

3 Week/9 Days/Tisha B’Av

Why Do We Fast?

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 26, 2023

As we enter into Tisha b’Av, our minds and hearts are directed towards the current turmoil that is roiling Israel and tearing at the very fabric of Israeli society. Whatever one thinks about the substantive issues relating to the changes in the judicial system, and wherever one is tempted to point the blame, we should all be able to recognize the tragic disunity and deep damage—in terms of the society, economy, military preparedness, and international relations—that recent weeks and months have brought about.…

Picture of Auschwitz

Remembering the Holocaust on Tisha B’Av

by Rabbi Zachary Truboff
Posted on July 24, 2023

Since World War Two, Jews have long struggled with how to best commemorate the Holocaust. The state of Israel would eventually establish Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but many religious Jews did not initially embrace it.…

animation of the temple burning and the hebrew words for tisha b'av

Should Children Mourn the Loss of the Temple?

Anyone who has spent time at a Jewish summer camp has inevitably confronted questions regarding what children should or shouldn’t do in the weeks preceding Tisha B’Av and on Tisha B’Av itself. From the 17th of Tammuz, many Ashkenazim have the custom not to shave or conduct weddings, and beginning with Rosh Chodesh Av, there are additional customs such as refraining from bathing, laundering one’s clothes, and listening to live music.…

Tisha B’Av in the Time of Cholera

Rabbi Moshe Schick (1807-1879) was a major Hungarian halakhic authority during the second half of the 19th century. He was also a close pupil of the Chatam Sofer (Rav Moshe Sofer, Hungary, 1762-1839), with whom he studied in the Pressburg Yeshiva.…

Go Easy on the Kids? Children and Tisha B’Av

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l (1895-1986) was the preeminent posek for North American Jewry for most of the 20th century, both for the yeshivish and Modern Orthodox communities. Rav Moshe was born in Russia in 1895, where he served as rabbi making great personal sacrifices on behalf of his community until he emigrated to the U.S.…

The Beloved Who Became the Widow Between Shir Hashirim and Eikhah (Hebrew)

by Dr. Orit Avnery
Posted on June 30, 2020

Tisha B’Av – Aseh Lecha Rav

Rabbi Hayyim David HaLevi was the chief rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yafo from 1973 until his death in 1998. Born and raised in Jerusalem, he studied at Yeshivat Porat Yosef under Rav Ezra Attiyah and Rav Ben Zion Meir Hai Uziel, author of Mishpetei Uziel and Chief Rabbi at the time of Israel’s founding.…

Fasting for Pregnant and Nursing Women – a teshuvah by Rabbi Nahum Rabbinovitch

Shulkhan Arukh (OH 554:5) states simply that pregnant and nursing women must fast on Tishah b’Av. Is this indeed the case?  What if she is concerned about her health, or the health of the baby? Is it permitted only if she is first feeling weak?…

Not Wearing Shoes Doesn’t Mean Going Barefoot

Should We Regret Making the Right Decision?

by Rabbi Haggai Resnikoff
Posted on July 31, 2017

  Much of the regret that we express on Tisha B’Av and the teshuva that we do is for sins of the past or for שנאת חנם which, though it still continues doesn’t indicate any specific moment or act. I have identified another theme in the Tisha B’Av story, which I feel may give us one more opportunity to do real teshuva on that day and in our lives.…

The Proper Practice of Repentance in the Haftarot of the Three Weeks

by Dr. Michelle Levine
Posted on October 21, 2016

Responses to the Churban: Crying, Laughing and Taking Action

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on August 10, 2016

The most immediate response to the destruction of the Temple was crying, sorrow and lamentations – a response that we try to relive on Tisha b’Av.  But it is not possible, certainly on a national level, for the sense of tragedy and loss to dominate and define our religious life.  …