Tisha Be'Av 2015

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Tisha Be'Av or the 9th day of Av, is the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. Tisha Be'Av commemorates a list of catastrophes that have occurred to the Jewish people on this day:
- The destruction of the First Temple, in 423 BCE
- The destruction of the Second Temple, in 69 CE
- The slaughter of Jewish rebels, led by Simon bar Kochba, in 133 CE
- The expulsion of Jews from England, in 1290 CE
- The date set by the Spanish King and Queen, when Jews were to be gone from Spain, in 1492 CE
- World War I began, in 1914 CE

Tisha Be'Av is a fast day and is observed as a day of mourning.

Observances include:
- Restricted from learning Torah, other than passages discussing the destruction of the Temples
- A symbolic meal of bread and a hard-boiled egg is consumed before the fast starts
- The book of Eichah (Lamentations) is read on the eve of the holiday
- Work is permitted, but discouraged
- Leather shoes should not be worn