Today is Tisha B'Av -- We Sing Eli Tzion on a Day of Mourning for the Holy Temples

Eli Tzion is the last piyut of the Ashkenazi collection of kinot and is customarily sung in a recitative style on Tisha B'Av by the entire community. In this kina, the poet turns to Zion, comparing her to a woman who has suffered both destructive and redemptive pain: the pain of a young woman who is widowed, and the pain of a mother bringing new life into the world.  

Taken as a whole, the poem is a mournful call to Zion to mourn her tragic destruction. Only in the final verses do we come to understand that this kina is also a call to G‑d to hear the cry of the Jewish people. 

In this video, Eli Tzion is sung by Cantor Ari Litvak, Hazzan of the Bet El Community in Mexico since 2003. He was trained mainly in his native Buenos Aires and has been a community musical director since he was 13 years old.

We wish you an easy and meaningful fast.