Tisha B’ Av
From the beginning of the 17th of Tamuz (bayn hamitzarim), no one get’s married and there is less happiness than usual. No new clothes and not much shopping. The custom was to eat meat even when Av starts. Even before Tisha B’Av, they eat meat. The Seudah mafsechath (meal before the fast), they do not eat meat al pi halacha. On Shabbath Tisha B’ Av, there is no cutting hair or washing clothes to prepare for the Shabbath (preparation).
Site Admin. comments: According to the RMb"M, in the Mishneh Torah - Hilkhoth Ta'anith, it is the minchag to not cut hair from the Shabbath before Tisha B'Av, until after Tisha B'Av. This is just a minchag, though, so there may be varying customs... but this is what most Teimani do...and it's what the RMb"M says.
(According to Chaim, the entire fast is moved to the next day when Tisha B’Av falls on a Shabbath). Everyone fasts –even nursing and pregnant women. (This is very serious). Not everyone dresses for Shabbath as nice (when Tisha B'Av falls out on the Shabbath). During Minha, everyone davens at home. After Minha, they eat the Seudah mafsachath (they don't eat the Seudah mafsachath if it falls out on the Sabbath). For this Seudah, they bake lecham matzoth (but it looks like a pita). It is supposed to take a long time to digest. They put it in balls and put butter and broken eggs and warm it on fire and add honey and sugar and eat it. (Chaim said that rugag he ate as a child was similar to it). This Seudah, they eat it sitting on the floor—not on the table. They don’t eat in a room, they eat in the kitchen –between the stove and where the fire is. (They want to make it poor and sad). They really wanted to separate it from other days. If someone wants to eat more, he can eat more pieces of bread with Hilbeh… but the Hilbeh must not be cooked. Why? Because your not allowed to eat two different cooked meals al pi halacha. For dessert, they eat fruit (usually grapes) and a lot of coffee. They change shoes into black cloth shoes—other wise they went bare foot.
After dark, they go to the Bet Knesset in black and silently. They wore a black talith (shamlay) and sat on it in the dark. Everyone is crying and sighing. After silent sighs, they continue for ½ hour and then the Rav starts al hanaroth Bavl. They said it in a shaking and crying voice like he is morning over a dead person. All the congregation joins him in the same voice. Then they finish the mizmor to the end. In the mean time, the Shamash puts a small candle and they can barely read from the siddur. They say mizmor l’ Asaf. They also read it crying saying :" G-D.. the Gentiles came to take over our inheritence"… More tears and crying… Then they daven maariv in a soft voice without any music –sadly. They finish and sit on the ground in order to read Megillath Aicha. Before the reading, they said the (Kinah) Lamentations that starts "To whom I will cry" with screaming and crying voices. Aicha has two different melodies. One is for the first, second, and forth chapter. And the second is for chapter three and five (short pesuchim). They use the same melody is used that they read for the book of Job. The Tsibur starts the first pasuk and the kehila repeats and they all continue to the end. The tsibur repeats the last Pasuk and reads the first one by himself out loud. Then everyone repeats the first one and continue loudly until the end. On and on. The third and fifth chapter, the Tsibur repeats the last 3 pesukim at the end of the perek. They finish Aichah and say Kinot by Rabbi Yehudah Halevy and Ibn Ezrah and many other Rabbonim. The Temanim are counting from the Khorban Bayith from the time of Ezrah and from the Bayith rishon. Then they finish with some pasuchim of comfort and finish up and go home.
In the morning, they get up earlier than usual. In the Zimiroth, they say shiriath Haazinu instead of shiriath Ha yam. After shacharith and saying Kinnoth for about 3 hours, they dress up the Torah in Black and the Tzibbur starts screaming and crying the Kinnah loud (koomi vsifdi Torah) and all the congregation is crying. They read from the Torah and the haftarah from the Prophets in a special sad melody. Again they read eichah exactly like the night before and finish with another kinah and start reading sefer JOB (iyov). Sefer Iyov has two melodies. Some people stay at the Beth Knesseth and some people stay and rest. Some shop for the night meal. Yemenites don’t work until noon on the Tisha b’Av. Many women and simple people used to visit and assess graves in order to make repairs. They will send someone later if necessary.
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Site Admin.: No tefillin on Tisha Ba'Av during Shacharith. A talith is worn during the morning service (preferably a black one).
Rasabi (Mahar"s) on Tisha B'Av