There is another important difference between the observances of aveilut yeshana and those of aveilut chadasha. The rabbis never placed any limitation on how much a person is allowed to mourn for the Beit HaMikdash. To the contrary, one who mourns the loss of the Beit HaMikdash incessantly is praised.
In fact, the very last kina we recite on Tisha B’Av is Eli Tzion V’areha, in which we ask Jerusalem and her surrounding cities to continue to cry for the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Ta’anit 4:6) records that some Amoraim (sages of the Talmud) fasted on both the ninth and the tenth days of Av because the Beit HaMikdash was set on fire on the ninth day of Av but it continued to burn on the tenth. How was it permissible for these rabbis to add an extra fast day; aren’t we prohibited from adding to any mitzvot (commandments)?
The Ramban (Torat Ha’Adam, p. 242) answers that mourning for the Beit HaMikdash is different. Not only is one allowed to add to the mourning, but such behavior is praiseworthy. An avel who cries or mourns too much for his relative is criticized. As the Talmud says (Moed Katan 27b), “Anyone who grieves excessively over his dead will ultimately weep over another deceased.”
But one who weeps bitterly for the Beit HaMikdash is rewarded. What is the difference between these two types of aveilut?
