Ready? K, so here goes. If you read all six articles and comment on them (click on them to read) and you fast, following the guidelines to the best of your ability, (the first 2 articles need to be read before Tisha B'Av -Monday, and the last 4 can be read on Tisha B'Av - Monday nite/Tuesday) you receive 6 Bonus Points!!! Wait! That's not all! If you earn the above 6 points, you are eligible to earn an additional 6 points! Here's how: For every person you read an article to, you receive an additional 1/2 Bonus Point!!! For every inspiring event you attend on Tisha B'Av, you receive an additional 3 Bonus Points!!!(Maximum 12 Bonus Points per person, excluding attending an inspiring event - those are limitless). Times for when the fast begins and ends, as well as events that will be taking place on Tisha B'Av will be posted tom. iy"H. Any ?'s about Tisha B'Av that are not answered through these articles, or any ?'s about the bonus points, please feel free to comment right here on our spot... Aren't we lucky to have this?p.s. try to eat fiber and protien and drink lots of water before the fast. try not to have any caffiene or salt. watermelon and grapes are also supposed to be good to eat before a fast.
p.p.s. nothing secular at all should be done during this day... nothing at all. we don't want to miss the boat... remember, Hashem wants our heart, our feelings, and our teshuva.
39 comments:
hey morah,
I read them all last night when you put them up. Thank you so much for putting up all the guidlines and everything we need to know about Tisha-bav. I really enjoyed the articles, they would really really good...and i think im going to read them again on Tisha-bav.
Thanks again morah!
This is a tad confusing, but I think I'll get it. OK, let's see - 6 points for reading the articles. 6 points for reading an article to 6 different people. Then, 3 points for each event I go to. That right? Although where I'll find 6 people, I don't know...My friends? I'm guessing my gerbils don't count. (Rhetorical statement.)
hi everyone! countdown's beginning... thanks shosh, for your heartwearming comment, loved it! so glad u enjoyed! they are really good, no? tova - it is a tad confusing! but u just about got it! except you get a half point (not a point) for every person you read an article to.
now, i just got a call from one of my delicious students, asking me some ?'s on what she read here. it touched my heart to hear her really wanting to understand and know so that she can keep the fast properly - a real inspiration! so here were some of her ?'s: can she do all the things you're not allowed to do on Shabbos, like use electricity, go in a car, write etc. the answer is yes. you can do all those things on tisha b'av. another ? was - can she watch tv? the answer is that technically she can use the electricity, but i would very strongly advise you all not to watch tv AT ALL on tisha b'av. it would go against e/t the day stands for which is mourning the closeness and purity we once had. remember - those who properly mourn are promised to merit seeing the rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash. you want to be a part of that. also, as u read, one should not sit on a chair or couch over a foot tall until tomorrow at a little after 1pm. also, one should not say hi or greet someone on tisha b'av, instead, one can nod, or when picking up the phone should say, yes? and one should not wear leather shoes or wash their hands past the knuckles. the fast begins at 8:19 tonite (that's soon!) and ends tom. at 9:03 pm. let us know how ur doing and comment with ANY ?'s you have - chances are, a lot more ppl are thinking of ur ? and posting it here will help them too. events will get posted here tom. iy"H. if u know of any in ur community or of any at all, let us know. in the meantime, have an easy and meaningful fast... may we celebrate next tisha b'av in yerushalayim.
hey everyone.. just wisshing everyone a good fast.
if ur able to go to shul tonite to listen to Aicha being read (the megillah of mourning over what happened in the times of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash) it is highly recommended.
Just got back from hearing Aicha... for those of u in lkwd, 107.9 has wonderful things on, tune in whenever u can.
also, idk if it was clear or strong enuf in the articles posted, but it is absolutely forbidden to take a shower of any kind on tisha b'av. even to wash ur hands until ur knuckles is only permitted when absolutely necessary. also, yom kippur and tisha b'av are the 2 most serious and impotant fasts of the year.
The fast hath started. Have an easy one, peoples.
Morah - Can I READ? I have got to be able to do SOMETHING. I'll go insane! And you said not to wash your hands (yes, I know, up to your knuckles) unless absolutely necessary. PLEASE tell me the bathroom counts as absolutely necessary.
Also, some questions about Aicha:
1. Perek 2, sentence 5: "The L-rd became like an enemy." Who would have the guts to call HASHEM, of all things, an enemy, why would they do it, and how could He allow it?
2. Perek 2, sentence 10: "They sit on the ground, they are silent, the elders of the daughter of Zion..." Why just the elders? Why not the younger daughters? What, exactly, does "elders" mean?
3. Perek 2, sentence 11: "...my liver spills on the ground on the ruination of the daughter of my people..." What does it mean, liver? Cities and states and whatever else you'd call geography doesn't HAVE a liver. Why does it even mention intestines? ("...my innards burn...")
4. Perek 2, sentence 12: "They [babes and sucklings] say to their mothers, "Where is grain and wine?" Babies don't drink wine, and sucklings don't even have teeth to eat [grain]. What does THAT mean?
5. Perek 2, sentence 20: "...Should women eat their own offspring, the babes of their care?" Why in the world and HOW in the world would mothers eat their kids? Anyway, you're not allowed to eat another human, so what does that mean?
It [the Tanach] doesn't explain this stuff.
Good questions you have there, tova. yes, the bathroom counts. and yes you can read, but it should be Jewish and meaningful, like ur doing now. and there are so many incredible websites that u can go on and watch incredibly inspiring speakers. here's 3 of them for starters: aish.com, hineni.org, ou.org. as far as your ?'s on aichah, i'm impressed that ur reading it and that u want to understand. that's for starters. secondly, when we talk about the Torah, we have to be super careful the way we talk abt it. we can only use words that refer to it with the utmost reverence and respect. u should try to get an aicha that has commentaries on the pesukim, such as artscroll. since all ur ?'s are good ones, u'll find it very interesting. i don't have all the answers to those ?'s and so learning up on it through artscroll is ur best bet.
Kay, thanks...Thing is, I was using a Tanach, and I'm pretty sure it was ArtScroll... It didn't give commentaries on the stuff I questioned. So should I ask a rabbi or something? Except I'd feel weird.
Here are a couple things going on during Tishabav in Twin Riversat the shul..
1. A Chofetz Chiam video is being shown at 10:30am
2. A holoucaust video will be shown at 7:40 pm
..sorry everyone i made a mistake with the times..
The chofetz chiam one will be at 11:30 am
Anybody know about any events in Lakewood?
thanks shosh. how's the fasting going so far?
for starters, there's the world-wide tisha bav video put out by the chofetz chaim heritage foundation (which is what shoshi was talking about) in bais faiga at 2;30, (program a), 4:30 (program b) and 6:45 (program a again for a/o who couldn't make it at 2:30.)program a is speakers rav dunner and rabbi frand and program b is speakers rabbi rietti and rabbi twerski.
I just read the four articles...I really like those, and the story about the guy who's father, brother, and sister-in-law (or was it the other way around?) died really helped me see. Those articles are really good.
so glad to hear tova. they really do give perspective and understanding... they're from aish.com. u might wanna go on their site and see if there are any other articles there that u might enjoy.
it's officially after chatzos (midday) now so one can sit on a regular chair.
heyy morah even though i e-mailed u back ill comment on the blog =] lol...so my fast is goin really bad lol...how is urs?
First of all: stay out of the kitchen!!!!
Second of all – maybe u can take a lil nap? Do u think u’d be able to fall asleep?
Thirdly – u must find something to do. I would say a good place to start after you’ve had a good nap would be to watch the video I sent u, then to read those 4 articles, you’ll see, u’ll really enjoy them, they’re amazing true stories. After that, there’s www.kiruv.com where u can watch an incredible film…
yea i deff will stay out of the kitchen lol.... and i dont wanna sleep bc then i cant sleep 2night 4 school so not so good lol and ill watch the film on that website i it works because last night i tried 2 watch stuff u sent but they didnt work
great. let us know how it is. also, on aish.com, u should be able to click on that video i sent u last nite and on www.ou.org there are supposed to be great things to watch. let us know.
kay ill check it out in a little bit =]
hey morah, my fast is goin pretty good. i woke uup at 2:30 said mincha, and cam eup here to check th ewebsite well im going to get cornbraids done today by yocheved abrahams (4 free)i'm rll gettin it done 4 camp on tursday only so my hair dsnt get all nasty in camp well i'm hoping it wnt look that bad cause i'm opnly getting the top of my haed done so it kinda looks like a headband but notrlly. well ..........ttyl
(o0o still tryin 2 find out wat time the half hour presentations gonna be 4 teh people in lakewood dnt wrry didn't forget)
omg im upstairs in the office usin teh computer an di just opened the door to go dowwnstairs whoooooooooo
you have no clu etheir baking cookies and mafletah (isreali thing we eat after the fast) it smells soooooo good and fatning
helpppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp !!!!
..my fast is going ok.. my stomache justt hurts =[
..morah- how is your fast going
- oh by the way- i saw the chofetz chiam vidoe and it was really inspiring, i really enjoyed it. Everyone should go see it if they are able to.
naomi - hang in there! u'll make it! it's almost over! did u get a chance to read the articles yet? and yes, pls do let us know abt that presentation. it sounds like it should be really interesting. shosh - sorry bout ur stomach. i'm so impressed and happy that u went to the c.c. presentation and that u liked it so much and that u recommend e/o else who's able to to go. which speakers did u hear? i will iy"H be going to the 6:45 one here in lkwd. i'm fasting very well, thanks so much for asking.
girls, imp. points to remember in mincha:
*a special prayer "nacheim" is added in the bracha of v'liyerushalayim
*the bracha "aneinu" is added in the bracha of shma koleinu
*sim shalom is said instead of shalom rav.
*a special prayer is inserted before the end of shemoneh esrei before y'hiyu l'ratzon. the prayer begins: "ribon kol ha'olamim, galui v'yaduah l'fanecha..." and is found at the bottom of the siddur on that page.
may Hashem accept all our tefillos for the very best and may He bring mashiach with the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash quickly and in our days.
My fast is going pretty good; just a few stomach rumblings and a feeling of I WANT TO EAT!!!!! Mega emptiness. I am so glad I had a good meal last night.
Hope everyone's fast is going well.
2 HOURS AND 49 MINUTES LEFT!!!!
Dude, I want water...and pizza...and juice...and chocolate..and ice cream...and other nosh...and watermelon...and HONEYDEW.... :(
LESS THEN AN HOUR TO GO!!!! I am ECSTATIC.
LESS THEN A HALF HOUR. I am so preparing food.
almost finshed with the fast and i actually made it thank G-D! the articles were so good and inspirationall i liked the one with the ethopiens....it made me think thats exactly how we shud be feeling right now. also wen i saw the web cam of the kotel,i showed my mom and we were looking at it for hours Beazratt Hashem nxt yr we will be therr rebuilding it!
thanks for ur amazing comment, sarah! amen!
CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!!! U RLLY DID IT!!!
i was in touch with most of u throughout the day (or at least tried to be) either through our blog, through email or through the phone and i want to tell u HOW PROUD i am of all of u for sticking it out even tho it was hard. remember - "l'fum tzaara agra" - the harder the work is to do...
also, i want to point out that a/t u were not allowed to do during the 9 days, you can not do until 1:03 tom. afternoon. this includes listening to music, swimming, doing laundry, eating meat and taking haircuts.
MAY WE SPEND NEXT TISHA B'AV AS A HOLIDAY IN YERUSHALAYIM!!!!
But...We won't have Tisha B'av when Mashiach comes. Will we? I asked my mom and she said no....
And I MADE IT!!! Yay go me!!! Actually it was a pretty easy fast, but I avoided eating or drinking ANYTHING until 9:15 (in order to make sure the fast was over). Oh, and I made a song about the fast (goes along the tune of "Shabbos", you know, that song you sang in Pre-K: "Shabbos is coming, we're so happy..."):
Tisha B'av is over, we're so happy, (something something), and shout OUT LOUD!! 25 hours we wait for the end, dadadadada, dadada!
I don't know all the words to Shabbos, so that's why there's "something something" and the da's. I think you can figure it out, though. :P
ur so funny, tova! i'm impressed with the 9:15 thing! wow! i respect u for that! and ur mom's right (aren't moms always right?) tisha b'av will be transformed into a yom tov when moshiach comes.
Hi Tova, My husband and I came accross your questions on Aicha and my husband tried his best to answer them for you.
1. Perek 2, sentence 5: "The L-rd became like an enemy." Who would have the guts to call HASHEM, of all things, an enemy, why would they do it, and how could He allow it?
IT DOESNT SAY HASHEM WAS AN ENEMY IT SAYS "LIKE AN ENEMY" IT COMES TO TEACH US THE MERCY OF HASHEM THAT EVEN THOUGH THE JEWS DID NOT DO TESHUVA AND HE SHOUL'VE BEEN LIKE AND "ENEMY" AND TAKE REVENGE FOR THEIR SINS, INSTEAD HE PUT THE REVENGE "ON WOODS AND STONES" MEANING THE BAIS HAMIKDASH.
2. Perek 2, sentence 10: "They sit on the ground, they are silent, the elders of the daughter of Zion..." Why just the elders? Why not the younger daughters? What, exactly, does "elders" mean?
ELDER MEANS THE SAGES (MOST OF THE TIME WHERE THERE TORAH MENTIONS ELDERS THE TORAH IS REFFERING TO SAGES)
BASICALLY THIS IS SHOWING THAT EVEN THE SAGES, WHO DID NOT SIN, THEY TOO SAT ALONG WITH THE OTHERS (SINNERS) ON THE FLOOR CRYING.
3. Perek 2, sentence 11: "...my liver spills on the ground on the ruination of the daughter of my people..." What does it mean, liver? Cities and states and whatever else you'd call geography doesn't HAVE a liver. Why does it even mention intestines? ("...my innards burn...")
THE DESCRIPTION IN THIS POSSUK IS REFFERING TO THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY. THE SOURCE OF TEARS ARE FROM "INNARDS" THE POSSUK IS SAYING THAT THE TEARS WHERE USED UP AND THE INNARDS WHERE DRIED OUT FROM THE CRYING OF THE PEOPLE.
4. Perek 2, sentence 12: "They [babes and sucklings] say to their mothers, "Where is grain and wine?" Babies don't drink wine, and sucklings don't even have teeth to eat [grain]. What does THAT mean?
IT SAYS THAT "THEY WOULD SAY TO THEIR MOTHERS....HOW CAN A NEWBORN TALK? WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT OTHER PEOPLE THAT SAW THE BABIES WOULD SAY TO THE MOTHER WHERE IS GRAIN AND WINE....THEY MEANT TO SAY THAT IF THE MOTHER WOULD EAT THE GRAIN AND WINE SHE WOULD HAVE ENOUGH FOOD TO FEED HER SUCKLINGS AND BABIES.
THEY WERE LOOKING SPECIFICALLY FOR GRAIN AND WINE, SINCE IT WAS A CHEAP SOURCE OF FOOD.
5. Perek 2, sentence 20: "...Should women eat their own offspring, the babes of their care?" Why in the world and HOW in the world would mothers eat their kids? Anyway, you're not allowed to eat another human, so what does that mean?
It [the Tanach] doesn't explain this stuff.
YOUR RIGHT, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO EAT ANOTHER HUMAN, HOWEVER RASHI SAYS THAT THERE WAS A MOTHER THAT USED TO WEIGH HER CHILD EVERYDAY AND THEN DONATE MONEY FOR EVEY POUND(INCHES) THE CHILD GREW....AND IN THE END THE MOTHER ATE THE CHILD.
THE AUTHOR OF AICHA, SEEING THIS IS CRYING, AS HE IS COMPOSING THIS PASSAGE HE IS CRYING AND ASKING HASHEM...."IS IT POSSIBLE THAT A MOTHER WOULD EAT HER OWN CHILD?
THE AUTHOR (YERMIYAHU) WAS CRYING YO HASHEM SAYING NOONE EVER HEAR OF SUCH A THING ...WHY DO THEY DESRVE SUCH A BIG PUNISHMENT...
THE OTHER HALF OF THAT SAME POSSUK ANSWERS THE QUESTION. THE ANSWER IS THAT THE JEWS KILLED A KOHEN AND A NAVI. THAT PARTICULAR NAVI KEPT TELLING THE JEWS TO DO TESHUVA OR ELSE THE BAIS HAMIKDASH WILL BURN...HOWEVER THE JEWS GOT ANNOYED AND KILLED THIS NAVI... THEY KILLED HIM IN THE BAIS HAMIKDASH.
SO HASHEM IS ANSWERING YERMIYAHU (THE AUTHOR OF AICHA....I KNOW IT IS UNHEARD OF FOR A MOTHER TO EAT HER CHILD, HOWEVER THE JEWS SINNED WITH JUST AS MUCH OF AN UNHEARD OF SIN.
okay so i didnt understand the point of the stories in the beginning.. but now i get it. these stories are really sad.. so the same way the kid felt with his family.. and the other family felt with their dad dying.. it's as bad as the beit hamikdash feeling destroyed. so that's how we're supposed to feel.
am i right? .. im not sure =/
u got it vick! instead of feeling like all those laws are restrictive, we're supposed to feel the way we'd feel if chas v'shalom s/o close to us passed away - like, how could we listen to music, wear fresh clothing etc ? it's supposed to be a deep sense of pain and loss we feel, that we don't WANT to do a/t pleasureable... instead of just keeping the laws, we're supposed to feel them.
Naomi and Tova... Can't believe you're really leaving already! i think it's safe to say that i say this on behalf of e/o here on our blog: WE'LL MISS U!!!! have loads of fun!!! drop a line here once in a while if shayna doesn't mind... We'll be thinking about u! make me proud, ok? =)
i cnt belive i'm goin all packed and ready............... i'm gonna miss the blog soooooooooooooooooooo much theres no words to explaini got my cornbraids the day of the fast it came out succfull !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you SO MUCH Rabbi (?) and Mrs. Menzer! Your answers really explain it well.
I'm going to miss the blog (and a few people) so much! Give us good luck that we don't get stuck on rocks on the Delaware. :P Although that IS slightly fun....
See y'all! Bye!
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