Some thoughts on tisha ba-av from the book <br>"The Lord is Rightwous in All his Ways" (RYBS)<br clear="all">The introduction is over 100 pages and so I will give a VERY<br>short synopsis (with my own additions)<br>
<br>Questions:<br>Many things are missing from the Tisha Ba'ac tefila:<br>Tachanun, Avinu Malkenu, Titkabel (in the morning), Neilah <br>(unlike a taanit tzibur over rain)<br>We dont sit on chairs only until noon unlike other dinei aveilut
<br>that apply the whole day. Nahem only in the afternoon.<br>A mourner is prohibited in all work while on Tisha Ba'av only<br>work that disturbs ones concentration. One should cry on<br>tisha ba'av but there is nothing equivalent for a mourner.
<br>The kinot do not stress the absence of korbanot and other<br>avodah in the Temple unlike musaf of Yom Kippur.<br>"Moed" in the Eichah has nothing to do with happiness. How<br>can Tisha Ba'av be considered a happy day.
<br><br>Answer: The essence of Tisha Ba'av is "Sattom Tefillati"<br>On Tisha Ba'av we mourn not the destruction of the Temple but rather<br>the result that we are distant from Hashem. While between Rosh Hashana
<br>and Yom Kippur we are close to Hashem on Tisha Ba'av we are at the<br>other extreme. Hence, it is not appropriate to add requests like<br>Neilah, Tachanun, Avinu Malkenu or Titkabal. RYBS refused to<br>say a request for a sick person on Tisha Ba'av. As opposed to RDE
<br>it is a day far away from approaching G-d with Teshuva. RYBS interpreted<br>Moed in the original sense. Tisha Ba'av is an appointed time - for<br>destruction and removal from this time. Thus we dont say Tachanun because
<br>it is a holiday but rather because of our distance from Hashem.<br>We mention other tragedies like the crusades since the essence is<br>not the Temple but what can happen when G-d is distant.<br><br>A mourner is not required from the din to not sit on chairs. Hence the
<br>requirement on Tisha Ba'av is not because of aveilut which in fact would<br>last the whole day and similarly for work. Rather we dont sit on chairs<br>because we are banned from Hashem and working would disturb are
<br>kinot. A mourner's main obligation is "aveilut be-lev". Inward and not<br>crying. On Tisha Ba'av the mourning is not natural and so we force ourselves<br>to cry. Similarly the 3 weeks build up to the highest level slowly as we
<br>learn intellectually about our distance from G-d. A mourner is emotional<br>and begins with the worst and slowly acclimates to the world. Kinot and<br>Eichah are central to Tisha Ba'av but not to a mourner because
<br>we must cause ourselves to feel the loss of the Templw while for a mourner<br>it is natural.<br><br>After Mincha we begin Nechama. Paradoxically this occurs when the<br>fire was set to the Temple. Hence we are comforted that G-d chose
<br>to destroy wood and stone rather than the nation. In the morning it<br>was not clear what the punishment would be. So the afternoon changes<br>from stressing our distance from G-d to a more "normal" aveiult of
<br>other fast days though the 5 "iyunim" of a taanit tzibur continue<br>but not sitting on the floor or titkabel and now we can say nachem.<br><br>-- <br>Eli Turkel