Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6-7: Days of National Mourning

Greco-Roman Period
The Mishnah fixes the days on which the tragedies which befell the Jewish people were to be commemorated, the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av. Each of these days commemorates a series of occasions connected primarily with the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

4-6 Five things happened to our fathers on the Seventeenth of Tammuz and five on the
Ninth of Av. On the Seventeenth of Tammuz- the tablets [of the Ten Commandments]
were broken, 116 the daily offering ceased, 117 the city [walls of Jerusalem] were breached,
Apostomus 118 burned the Torah, and he set up an image in the sanctuary. On the Ninth of
Av- it was decreed that our fathers would not enter the Land of Israel, 119 the Temple was
destroyed the first and second time, 120 Betar was captured, 121 and the City [of Jerusalem]
was ploughed up. When Av comes in, we minimize gladness.

7 In the week in which the Ninth of Av falls, hair-cutting and clothes-washing are
prohibited, but they are permitted on Thursday in honor of the Sabbath. On the eve of the
Ninth of Av one may not eat two cooked dishes, eat meat, or drink wine. Rabban Simeon
ben Gamliel says- “One must simply make some change.” Rabbi Judah requires turning
over one’s bed, 122 but the Sages do not agree with him.

115. Trans. S. Berrin.

116. By Moses after the incident of the Golden Calf (Ex. 32-19).

117. Most probably a reference to the destruction of the First Temple.

118. Apostomus cannot be identified with certainty.

119. After the negative report of the spies sent by Moses (Num. 14-1-25).

120. The First Temple in 586 B.C.E. and the Second Temple in 70 C.E.

121. At the end of the Bar Kokhba rebellion (135 C.E.).

122. So as to sleep uncomfortably as a sign of mourning.