By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

“Can we take those pre-fasting pills on Shabbos or is that considered hachanah?”

“Do I really bring my Tishah B’Av shoes to shul on Friday?”

“Is it true my cholent pot must remain unwashed until Sunday afternoon?”

“Is it really a two-part Havdallah where the al ha’eish is on motzaei Shabbos and the ha’gafen is on Sunday night?”

“Can we listen to music immediately on Sunday night?”

These questions and more are being posed to Rabbis throughout this entire week.

The reason is that the date of this upcoming Shabbos is the ninth of Av. Since it falls on Shabbos, the fast is delayed and only begins at sundown on Shabbos day. It is observed throughout Sunday, the 10th of Av.

Tishah B’Av falling on Shabbos presents a number of changes from the normal routine, hence the questions above.

Since Shabbos is a special gift, it is forbidden to show open signs of mourning. Therefore, there is no seudah ha’mafsekes, the meal of egg, bread, and ashes, on this Shabbos. And because of the fast, there is also no Havdallah on Saturday night—rather it is recited on Sunday night, except the blessing on the flame.

Changes In Davening

When we lein the Torah reading, we recite Moshe Rabbeinu’s lamentation of “How can I bear alone your burdens, troubles, and tasks,” to the tune of Eichah. We do not say Pirkei Avos this week, nor do we say the Tzidkascha Tzedek during Minchah.

Changes In Shul

What about sponsoring a Kiddush this Shabbos? While it may be too late, it is preferable to hold it on another date unless it is readily detectable that one is doing so. Shalosh seudos should be eaten at home and not in shul.

Since Havdallah is in two phases this week, some shuls recite the Borei Me’orei HaEish just before Eichah is read. Others have the custom of reciting the berachah at home.

It is a time to avoid excess socializing or going for walks, etc.
Zemiros, meat, and wine are permitted for all three meals.
Torah Learning

What about the daf yomi? One can learn Torah before chatzos on Shabbos but afterward it is a bit of a debate. One may, however, fulfill the mitzvah of reading the parashah twice in Hebrew and once in Targum.

One may also learn the Gemaras that are permitted to be learned on a regular Tishah B’Av.
Shalosh Seudos

One can drink wine, eat meat, and bentch with a mezuman. One must stop eating and drinking before shekiyah. Mayim acharonim should also be done before sundown.
After Sundown

It is still permitted to wear shoes and sit on chairs after sundown. But once the Borchu of Ma’ariv is recited, these two prohibitions begin as well. There is no melaveh malkah.
Sunday Night

If necessary, one may drink water before the Sunday-night Havdallah, but one may not eat. Meat, wine (except for Havdallah), and music are forbidden until Monday morning. Haircuts and laundry are permitted on Sunday night.
When Havdallah is recited on Sunday night, neither the spices nor the Havdallah candle is used. Only the berachah on wine is recited, followed by the berachah of “HaMavdil Bein Kodesh l’chol.”
General Practices Of Tishah B’Av

Because the loss of the Beis HaMikdash was a national tragedy, the halachos of Tishah B’Av combine the laws of Yom Kippur and the laws of mourning.

Thus, we apply the five inuyim of Yom Kippur:

• No eating or drinking
• No washing
• No anointing
• No wearing leather shoes
• No marital relations (nor on Shabbos Tishah B’Av)

In addition to the Yom Kippur inuyim:
• We are not permitted to study Torah except for the passages that bring us to sadness
• We do not extend greetings to others
• We do not work
• We do not sit on a chair
The latter two, however, may be performed after chatzos (halachic noon).
When one does need to wash hands, such as after going to the restroom, one washes just until the knuckles.
When sleeping at night, one should be less comfortable than one is accustomed to being (S.A. 555:2). Thus, if one generally sleeps with two pillows, one pillow should be removed. A pregnant woman, however, does not have to do this if she will be uncomfortable.
Customs in shul. In shul the custom is to dim the lights, based upon the verse in Eichah (3:6) “He placed me in darkness.” We also remove the curtain from the ark that covers the sefer Torah. This is on account of the Midrash that interprets the verse in Eichah (2:17) “He tore His royal garments.” After Ma’ariv, Eichah is read and then a number of Kinos are recited.
During the day, additional Kinos are recited. It is the custom to recite them until halachic noon, so that one will not come to do work before then (S.A. O.C. 559:3 M.B. 13).
Men do not put on the tallis and tefillin for Shacharis, but instead put them on in the afternoon for Minchah. This is based upon the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 6) that states “Betza imraso—He carried out His words (Eichah 2:17), He threw out His precious cloth: This refers to tallis. Hishlich mi’shamayim eretz tiferes Yisrael—He threw earthward from Heaven the glory of Israel (Eichah 2:1): This refers to tefillin.” 

The Kinah Of Eli Tzion

Most of the Kinos we recite on Tishah B’Av were written during the Crusades. “Eli Tzion” is a kinah that has a special impact on many people. Perhaps it is because the same mournful tune is used on Mussaf of yom tov when we say, “B’nei veischa k’vatchilah,” but it is this author’s feeling that it is the triple combination of the remarkable words, the slow dirge, and the rhyme.

If any of the three elements were missing, it would not have the same impact. Unfortunately, those who are not fluent in the Hebrew lose the impact, even if they were to simultaneously read it in English. To some, the translation provided below, in which an effort was made to keep the rhyme, may help bring across the powerful feeling that so many feel when hearing and reciting “Eli Tzion.”

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the palace abandoned and forlorn
Because of the sins of the flock she had borne
And for the arrival of the blasphemers that looms
Into the sanctuary of the Temple’s rooms

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the exile of the servants of G d
Who’d sing songs, praise and applaud
And for their blood, spilled in barrels
Bursting forth like waters of her channels

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the lyrics of her dances so grand
Now absent and silent throughout the land
And for the great hall in which it did stand
The glorious Sanhedrin, now unmanned

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the daily offering lost to the nation
And for the Pidyon Bechor’s negation
And for her vessel’s desecration
And for the incense altar’s salvation

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

For the children of her kings, let’s cry
The descendants of David, flying so high
And for their beauty, now entirely lost
When her royal crowns were tossed

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the Divine honor now in exile
At the destruction of temples erstwhile
And for the persecutor who did scorn
As she dons her garments torn

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the pounding and numerous blows
Her noblemen received from their foes
And for the smashing upon the stone
The skulls of infants and children not yet grown

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the joyous shouts of the enemy
Laughing at her misfortune and calamity
And upon the affliction of free men set apart
Noble in spirit and pure of heart.

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the sin that she had wrought
Diverting her from the straight path she had sought
And for the legions of congregations slackened
With faces now wrinkled and blackened

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry over the curses of those who abused her
Multiplying corpses as they pursued her
And for the sounds of those who blasphemed long and hard
Inside the tabernacle of her courtyard

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

Cry for the Name that was profaned
In the mouth of the tormentor so disdained
And for the prayer we cry out to You
Hear our cries, through and through!

Cry, O Zion, and cities around her!
Like a woman in labor whose birth pangs confound her
And like a mournful newly wed bride
Crying over her groom who died

The author can be reached at [email protected].

If you would like to subscribe to daily articles by Rabbi Yair Hoffman please send an email with the word “subscribe” in the subject line to [email protected].