Tisha B’Av

This holiday falls on the ninth day of Av (mid-July to early August) and commemorates the fall of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and the fall of the Second Temple in A.D. 70. From the seventeenth day of Tammuz, observant Jews enter a three-week period of mourning until Tisha B’Av. During this time, weddings are not performed, music is not played, and no new clothing may be worn. Beginning with the first day of Av, people refrain from eating meat except on the Sabbath. Vegetarian and dairy menus are served. Tisha B’Av is a fast day among the Orthodox. Symbolic foods of mourning, such as lentil soup and h’rira, are served. They are often accompanied with small cheese pastries such as besteh de fromage.