On a sad day like Tishah B'Av it is not permitted to engage in normal study of the Torah, apart from tearful passages of tragedy such as those which deal with the destruction of the Holy Temple. Torah study is a simchah which might detract from the solemnity of the day. Rabbi Joseph Rozin of Dvinsk is said to have decided to defy the ban. He continued with his regular program of study on Tishah B'Av because he thought that if it was a sin, the sin was worthwhile. It is reported that the Chazon Ish rejected this argument because on this day it was Torah itself that said not to study, and therefore someone who purported to study Torah was not really studying it at all. It appears to have been a good-natured debate, and the answer that most Torah scholars would probably give is that even studying the sad passages helps to fulfil one's yearning for Torah study. One could add that those who do not observe Tishah B'Av would probably be forgiven from On High if davka this was the day on which they decided that they would study more Torah.

There are other dimensions to the notion of sinning on Tishah B'Av. There are questions raised in Talmud Shabbat 119b about why the Holy City was destroyed. The sages could have said that it was because of a cruel enemy, but they looked inward to see if there were internal factors that made the destruction easier for the enemy. Abbaye said, "Jerusalem was destroyed because its inhabitants desecrated the Sabbath". Ulla said, "Because its inhabitants did not respect each other". Rabbi Chanina said, "Because its inhabitants did not rebuke one another when they did wrong". Rabbi Yehudah said, "Because its inhabitants ridiculed their scholars". Unfortunately some of these sins still seem to be committed even on Tishah B'Av. Would it not be a help to the Mashiach if this Tishah B'Av we abandoned these or any other sins? And if we succeeded in doing this on Tishah B'Av, how about continuing the next day, and the next?

Q. Isn't the Nachem prayer on Tishah B'Av afternoon out of date?

A. According to the Shulchan Aruch, Nachem should be said during all services on Tishah B'Av, but the Ashkenazi custom is to limit it to Minchah because the afternoon was the time when the Temple was set on fire. Now that Jerusalem is our thriving, revived, united capital, some say that we should no longer say a prayer that refers to the city being in a state of ruin. The "No" argument is that the full restoration of Jerusalem has not been achieved, especially since the Temple has not been rebuilt.

Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef (Responsa Yechavveh Da'at, vol, 1, no. 43) gives three reasons for retaining the prayer:
1. The prayer book was put together by great pietists whose words we must maintain.

2. Without a Temple, and with Muslim objections to Jewish access to the site of the Sanctuary, the city is still to be deemed to be "laid waste".

3. In the light of the remaining spiritual deficiencies of Jerusalem, whilst acknowledging all that has been achieved, the restoration is incomplete.

Rabbi Chayyim David Halevy (Responsa Aseh L'cha Rav, vol. 1, no. 14; vol. 2, nos. 36-39) has suggested a compromise, turning most of the verbs into the past tense - "the city that was (not 'is') despised and desolate". Rabbi Shlomo Goren revived an approach found in the Jerusalem Talmud and his wording was adopted in many modern orthodox circles and included in the Israel Defence Forces prayer book. An alternative would be to retain the traditional wording but to add a note explaining the situation or to specify that the text as formulated by the sages had in mind the smallish area of the Temple Mount.