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Glite Dictionary
Fast of Ab

Fast of Ab

9.9
A major Jewish day when people do not eat to remember when the temples were destroyed in Jerusalem
  • noun
translation icon : Ayuno de Ab
  • The Fast of Ab commemorates both the first and second destructions of the Jewish Temple.

Examples

  • Many people observe the Fast of Ab by refraining from eating and drinking for 25 hours.

  • The Fast of Ab is observed on the ninth of Av.

  • During the Fast of Ab, synagogues hold special mourning services and prayers.

  • Many Jews fast on the Fast of Ab every year.

  • During the Fast of Ab, many Jewish communities hold special mourning services and prayers to remember the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem.

  • Many people commemorate the Fast of Ab by refraining from eating and drinking for 25 hours as a sign of mourning.

  • The Fast of Ab takes place on the ninth of Av, marking the historical events of the destruction of the Jewish Temple.

Synonyms

Fast of Av
vsFast of Ab
9.9

A major Jewish fast on the ninth day of Av that remembers the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem

is the same but spelled with b for the month name
Tishah b'Av
vsFast of Ab
9.9

A Jewish day when people fast and mourn for the destruction of the Jerusalem temples

is the English descriptive term rather than the Hebrew name
Ninth of Ab
vsFast of Ab
9.9

A major Jewish fast day when people mourn the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem

is a general commemorative label without stressing the calendar date

Surface Forms

Fast of Ab singular

Morphology

fast + of + Ab

The phrase transparently combines 'fast' (a period of abstinence) with 'of' and the month name 'Ab', so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it denotes a fast that takes place in the month of Ab. However, the specific religious significance (commemoration of the temple destructions and its status as a major Jewish fast) is cultural knowledge not derivable from the words alone, making the expression only partially predictable.

Etymology

Fast of Ab gets its name from the two simple words Fast (not eating) and Ab (the Jewish month Av, especially its ninth day). It began because both Jewish Temples were destroyed on that day, so people fast and mourn to 'remember' those losses.