Tisha B’Av is the saddest day of the Jewish calendar. It takes place on the 9th of Av, usually in summertime. It is a day of communal mourning to commemorate many tragic historical events in Jewish history.
This is a really heavy topic for young children! You will know what will work best for how much to share with your family. For my family, we introduce the holiday with our Tisha B’Av 3 Part Cards, then supplement this learning with a craft or activity or two. Our synagogue does not host family programs for this holiday so we stay home and do short teachings on it in ways that feel developmentally appropriate and meaningful.
My Learning Goals for this Holiday
My learning goals for this holiday are for my kiddos to know that there is a holiday on the Jewish calendar that asks us to feel and remember our sadness about sad events in Jewish history. For my older children, and for my younger ones when it’s developmentally appropriate, we will connect these historically tragic events to the current tragedy of antisemitism. As they age, I will also hope they will be able to identify some of the specific tragedies this holiday commemorates.
The symbols of Tisha B’Av are:
- the Temple, or the remaining wall to symbolize its destruction
- sad face to symbolize the sadness of this day and the historical events
Crafts and Activities to Supplement Tisha B’Av Learning:
Paper Model of the Beit Hamikdash, the Second Temple
Color By Number Temple; check out That Jewish Moment for the free printable!
The following sites are resources for learning more about this holiday:
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