Jews Mark Tisha B'Av at Western Wall | תשעה באב - כותל המערבי - תשע"ט

Description

Religious Jews marked the beginning of the annual fast Tisha B'Av at Jerusalem's Western Wall on Saturday night. Crowds of believers engaged in prayer recitations, rocking back and forth, and 'wailing' at the destruction of the Jewish Temples. Tisha B'Av is considered the 'saddest' day in the Jewish calendar, mourning the destruction of both the First and the Second Jerusalem Temple in 586 BCE and 70 CE. Beginning on Saturday night and continuing into Sunday, Jews observe mourning practices including fasting, sitting on the floor or low chairs and reciting the Book of Lamentations, in which the prophet Jeremiah laments the destruction of the city and the subsequent exile of the Jews. This year, the end of Tisha Be' Av coincides with the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the "festival of sacrifice."