Erev Shabbat, Friday August 9, 2024 (5 Av)
Candle Lighting at 7:43pm
Shabbat, August 10, 2024 (6 Av)
Services will begin promptly at 9:30 and will be followed by a Kiddush open to all at 12pm.
Havdalah at 8:44pm
Kiddush this week is sponsored by the house. If you'd like to sponsor Kiddush in the future, please reach out to info@stantonstshul.com.
Holiday Alert: Tisha Ba'av (Evening of August 12 - Nightfall of August 13)
Join Us for Tisha Ba'av Services @ Stanton
Tisha b'av this year falls out Monday, August 12 at sundown and ends at nightfall on Tuesday, August 13. Joined by Rabbi Birkeland, we will be holding services at the Shul and would love for you to join us! Please see below for schedule details:
Monday, August 12
Mincha, followed by Ma’ariv, Eicha & Explanatory Kinot - 7:40pm
Fast begins - 7:57pm
Tuesday, August 13
Shacharit Services, followed by learning & kinot - 8am
Fast ends - 8:40pm (8:32 for those who find fasting difficult)
For a quick primer/reminder about the laws and customs of Tisha b'av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, please click here.
Important Info About Observing Tisha Ba'av:
In addition to the practices that many of us have been observing during the Three Weeks and the Nine Days, the following are the core practices and prohibitions of Tisha B’Av itself.
The basic laws of Tisha B’Av parallel the core laws of Yom Kippur.
- Major fast: Tisha B’Av is a ~25 hour fast starting at sundown and ending at night when three stars come out.
- Like with all fast days, there are people who cannot fast for medical or mental health reasons. Please feel free to reach out if this might apply to you.
- We refrain from bathing for pleasure and from washing our hands.
- Ritual washing upon waking up may be done up to the knuckles where the fingers meet the hand.
- Areas of the body, including hands, that are tangibly dirty, may be washed even with soap.
- Washing in preparation for cooking and for medical reasons is permitted.
- We refrain from anointing for pleasure (lotions, creams, etc.)
- Applying deodorant and medical creams is permitted.
- We refrain from marital relations.
- We refrain from wearing leather shoes (even shoes that are only partially leather).
Additional laws include:
Though the fast ends at night, the broader laws of the Nine Days apply through halachic mid-day of the 10th of Av (1:00pm) because much of the destruction occurred or continued on the 10th. After mid-day, we can get a haircut, eat meat, etc.
All of these practices are designed to help us connect to the unimaginable loss of the Temple and the succeeding expulsion. Tisha B’Av is a time to reflect on the many tragedies that have befallen us and activities that help to facilitate such reflection are encouraged and proper. Through connecting with the darkness, we hope to better appreciate the many joys and miracles of Jewish life and we look forward to the day promised by the Prophet Zecharia, when all fast days will be turned into days of joy and celebration.
On the day before Tisha B’Av, after eating a big meal in the afternoon, there is a custom to eat a small meal called a Seudah HaMafseket, just before the fast. This meal traditionally consists of a piece of bread and a hard boiled egg dipped in ashes. This is generally done after mincha. For logistical reasons, we have called mincha for just before the fast so I think it is best to eat the seudah hamafseket before coming to shul (or feel free to bring it to shul and eat there before the fast starts).
On Tisha B’Av, we refrain from normal Torah learning - learning Torah is supposed to bring us joy, and so on Tisha B’Av we only learn topics which are relevant to Tisha B’Av and to mourning (the book of Lamentations and its commentary, sections of Talmud and halacha pertaining to mourning, passages in the Prophets that relate to destruction and expulsion).
Like mourners, we sit on the ground or on low stools. This applies to the night of Tisha B’Av as well as the day of Tisha B’Av until halachic mid-day (1:00pm this year).
It is proper to do something to deprive us of some comfort while sleeping (for example, many will sleep without a pillow). This does not apply to the elderly or those who are pregnant, as well as those who need to sleep normally for medical reasons.
We refrain from greeting people on Tisha B’Av.
Ashkenazim do not put on tefillin in the morning but instead put them on at mincha.
As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Birkeland
