About the month of Av: Important facts and figures


Tish'ah be-Av (Ninth of Av): A day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple


A dirge for Tish'ah be-Av: The signs of the zodiac bewail the fate of Jerusalem
Anonymous


By the rivers of Babylon ( * audio recording * )
Music by Salomone Rossi (17th cent.) / performed by the Zamir Chorale of Boston


Collective memory and archetypal thinking: How Jewish group memory was preserved through the ages
David G. Roskies


Tu be-Av (Fifteenth of Av): A day for love and rejoicing

This month is often called by the expanded name "Menahem Av" instead of the simpler "Av." . The Hebrew word "Menahem" means the Comforter and "Av" means "father." Therefore, the name "Menachem Av" could mean "the comforting father" a reference to God who is visualized as comforting the Jewish people after the tragedies suffered in this month.

The Jewish calendar: How it is calculated and when it was established The Jewish calendar: Solar/lunar structure The zodiac in Jewish tradition