New-York tribune., 1903-07-26
THE JEWISH NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING
COIMEMOR4TES THE FALL OF JERUSALEJI- SEP
VICES TO M4RK IT'S OBSERVANCE

Throughout the whole world next Sunday
August ,, will be observed. as day of mourn
ing the saddest day in the whole Jewish year
the anniversary of the fall of Jerusalem and the
destruction of the Temple by the Roman sol
diers of Titus. To the Jew this anniversary
means the beginning of the misfortunes of his
race for from that Gay, 1888 years ago the
Jews have been world wanderers. the prosecuted
among nations Other nations have cherished
national days of mourning The Romans rene'n-
bered for centuries the day at Ala when the
flower of their troops were destroyed and their
capital sacked: the Servians still wear in their
hats a black band in memory of the fatal bat
tie Of Kossova, when the freedom OF SerVia
ended; even the French remember with sad
ness akin to national mourning the anniversary
of Sedan but it is the Jewish race, with their
wonderful continuity of history, that chnSs
most closely to it's ancient sorrow. for all the
eighteen centuries that have elapsed have not
changed the lot of the Hebrew.
It is in itself a striking fact that over the
East Side hundreds of thousands of persons
many of them citizens of this great young re-
public will this week observe an anniversary
stretching back over almost the entire Christian
era But they will not merely observe it; it is
more than mere ceremony. Go over into
synagogue in the ghetto and listen to the cere-
mony. On the floor one will see the people
without shoes, some of them with ashes on
their heads weeping and sobbing as they listen
to the story of the fall of Jerusalem To them
it is still catastrophe of yesterday, present
pain and this vivid sense of personal bereaVe-
ment is the most striking phase of the whole
day.
The exercises that attend this event are inter
esting beyond those of almost any national hoH-
day, they are strange in character The
holiday is known as Tisha B'Ab; that is. the
ninth day of the Jewish month of Alb This Is
most important Jewish date. On this same
day. the popular belief is, Nebuchadnezzar
sacked Jerusalem for the first time. On this day
the Iegionarfes of Titus finally reduced Jerusa-
lem, and this day also, 1t is believed, the
decree expeIling the Jews from Spain became
operative in 1892: and this momentous day. so
the legend goes also saw Columbus weigh an
chor for the new Western world destined to be
the refuge and haven of the Jewish race.
On the day preceding the holiday the actual
observances begin, although they will not thus
take place this year. since the day preceding is
the Jewish Sabbath which cannot be day Of
mourning. Ordinarily, the last meal before the
holiday consists of one course, after which an
egg dipped in ashes is eaten. and with the
setting Of the sun begins the fast of twenty-four
hours. But for three weeks previous the ap-
proach of the day Of mourning has been OBJ
served in the ghettOs Of the world On the
seventeenth day Of the Jewish month OF Tamuz.
which fell July Il this year, there is a fast
day, and the three weeks that follow give name
to the whole period in Hebrew, since the period
is known as 1.-THE Three Weeks" This marks
the date when the hordes of Nebuchadnezzar
invested Jerusalem and began the siege which
is recorded in the Book of Kings. During the
Of yiuor fhara iS no
social life: weddings, festivals. even new clothes
and baths are prohibited, and the orthodox Jew
will not bathe during this long interval. In
countries where fruit ripens in this time 1T
will not be eaten by the orthodox. since there
must be a benediction over it. and this cannot
be said in the period.
AS the three weeks advance the lines tighten
Meat is forbidden after the first day of the
Jewish month of Ab-that is. eight days before
the final holiday. Wine may not be taken.
Only on the Sabbath are these rules relaxed.
Finally, when the day itself comes, there is alb
solute fast, and even the books OF the law
may not be read, since this is considered
pleasure. In the synagogues the phylacteries
may not be worn. since they are ornaments.
The very ark containing the law is laid bare
of all adornment.
These the laws observed by the orthodox
among the Jews. bathing being looked
upon violation of the sacred law by them.
A few years ago some East Side boys were
camping during THE Three Weeks and went in
bathing. Three drowned, and this has
become matter of warning the children of
the orthodox.
Those boys drowned because they dis
obeyed the law and bathed," say the orthodox
When, as it happens in this season of the year,
the number drowned is large, then the East
Side shakes its head wisely and points to the
law and interprets the fate of the victims as d
direct judgment upon them.
Interesting as are these customs and laws, they
are only minor phases Of the celebration. The
foundation of all Jewish holidays is the Bible
each holiday is a religious festival. and from
the Bible and the Jewish history come the main
springs of the ceremony. Each holiday has as
ats supreme observance the reading from the
Jewish annals. Whether it be the crossing of
the Red Sea any other festival the final
celebration is the same. and it is thus that the
Jew maintains his continuity Of race and re-
ligious history and life. On this day the read
ing will be from the Book of Lamentations"
evening and morning the synagogues will be
crowded with people, who sit the floor bare
footed and chant after the cantor in slow and
mournful tones the ancient grief of their people
Besides the Book of Lamentations" there is
another book that contains a history Of the
later prosecutions of the Jews after the fall of
their capital city. This is the Book of Kinoth'
and most noteworthy in this volume is a series
of poems by the poet prophet Of Zionism. Jehuda
Halevi Written in Toledo. in Spain, in the
twelfth century. these poems record the strange
conflict of religion and race that confronted the
author. Mahometans, Christians and Jews met
in that ancient city of Spain. and these poems.