The Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av

6. There were five events that happened to our ancestors on the seventeenth of Tammuz and five on the ninth of Av. On the seventeenth of Tammuz the tablets were shattered, the tamid offering was canceled, the [walls] of the city [of Jerusalem] were breached, and Apostomos¹ burned the Torah and placed an idol in the Temple. On the ninth of Av, it was decreed that our ancestors should not enter the land, the Temple was destroyed the first and the second time, Beitar was captured, and the city was plowed up. When Av enters, they limit their rejoicing.

7. During the week in which the ninth of Av falls, it is forbidden to cut the hair and to wash clothes, but on Thursday it is permitted in honor of the Sabbath. On the eve of the ninth of Av one should not eat a meal of two cooked dishes, nor should one eat meat or drink wine. Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel says: One should change [one’s diet]. R. Judah obligated turning over the bed, but the sages did not agree with him.