Erev Tisha BeAv

Monday afternoon, August 12/Menachem Av 8

• One may not study Torah from noon on Erev Tisha Be’Av (Monday) until Tisha Be’Av is over (Tuesday night). This is because Torah study gladdens the heart. If one studies in the hours before Tisha Be’Av, this gladness may carry over until Tisha Be’Av. Some permit Torah study on Erev Tisha Be’Av.
• One may study the parts of the Torah which are sad and/or relate to the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Several examples:
  • Megillat Eicha and the Midrash on Eicha
  • The sad parts of the Book of Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) and the Book of Iyov (Job)
  • The last chapter of Tractate Mo’ed Kattan
  • The story of the second destruction as recorded in Gittin 55b – 58a, or of the first destruction as recorded in Sanhedrin 96b and 97
  • The Book of Josephus (Wars of the Jews)
  • The laws of mourning and of Tisha Be’Av may also be studied.

Tachnun (prayers of supplication) is not recited at Mincha since Tisha Be’Av is referred to as a mo’ed (holiday).