Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
On Tisha BâAv we mourn the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temples. The Talmud in Tractate
Taanit (30) states that all
mitzvot that apply to a mourner during the
shiva also apply to the entire Jewish people on Tisha BâAv.
In other words, according to
halacha we are all sitting
shiva on Tisha BâAv. But how can this be? For the
halacha states that if a close relative has died and we did not know about it until after 30 days, there will be no formal
shiva. We would sit
shiva symbolically for only an hour, and then get up and go about our regular routine. How, then, can we sit