If you were expecting a joke today, we're sorry to disappoint you. Today is Tisha B'Av,
an annual fast day in Judaism which commemorates the destruction of the
First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of the
Jews from the Land of Israel.
The day also commemorates other tragedies which occurred on the same
day, including the Roman massacre of over 100,000 Jews at Betar in 132 CE. Instituted by the rabbis of 2nd-century Palestine, Tisha B'Av
is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, a day in which
all pleasurable activity is forbidden, and is marked by synagogue
attendance the night before and during the day. But that doesn't mean
there's no singing, or more accurately, chanting.
The highlight of the day's service is the chanting of the megillah of Eicha (Lamentations), written by the prophet Jeremiah. Eicha is read in synagogues and in groups meeting indoors and outdoors.
If
Eicha's dirge-like melody and mournful lyrics don't speak to you,
there's another musical way to get into the mood. In 1975 Don McLean performed his hit song Babylon in front of a live audience in Dublin and had them singing along with him. The lyrics are just perfect for Tisha B'Av, adapted from Psalm 137 in Tehilim (The Book of Psalms).
שָׁ֣ם יָ֭שַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִ֑ינוּ
בְּ֝זׇכְרֵ֗נוּ
אֶת־צִיּֽוֹן׃
there we sat and also wept,
as we remembered Zion.
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