Understanding Kinot: What Are Kinot and Why Do We Say Them?

On Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av), Jews gather in synagogues to mourn the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash (the ancient Temple). Both at night and the following morning, we recite kinot (elegies) that reflect upon themes of tragedy and loss, getting us into the experience of mourning.

Kinot follow the example of Megillat Eichah, written by the prophet Jeremiah after the destruction of the first Temple. The first kinot were written to mourn the events surrounding the Destruction and the subsequent exile. More were added when the second Temple was destroyed 490 years later.

Over time, as we experienced overwhelming national tragedies, more kinot were added to the Tisha B’av corpus. The destruction of entire communities at the hands of marauding Crusaders in the Middle Ages especially generated many new kinot. More recently, additional kinot were written lamenting the events of the Holocaust. I wouldn’t be surprised if a new one was composed to commemorate the Simchat Torah massacre of 2023. Through these added kinot, Tisha B’Av developed from a day focused on the destruction of the two Temples to a day mourning the tragic history of the Jewish people in exile.

What is the goal of reading these kinot on Tisha B'Av? Why spend so much time — in some communities, it could be the entire morning — reading about the tragedies of our national history?

The main purpose of the kinot is to help us fulfill the obligation to mourn on Tisha B’Av. They contain graphic imagery describing some of the terrible things we’ve endured as a people since the destruction of the first Temple. Understanding the historical context of the kinot and recognizing how long we’ve suffered adds a whole new layer to our mourning.

Still, there’s a problem. As much as this is true in an academic sense, the reality is that for a number of reasons, kinot are notoriously difficult to understand. Experientially, reading the kinot without understanding what they’re saying is not exactly going to do much for your emotional state. In other words, the idea of reciting kinot to tap into feelings of mourning is a good one, but the execution often doesn’t seem to work.

First of all, kinot are written in a poetic style that is hard for even native Hebrew speakers to crack. The words are often unfamiliar, and the structure adds its own level of difficulty, like reading a sonnet.

And even if kinot weren’t so complex, they’re poems. Poems are meant to be taken in slowly, with thoughtful nibbles and careful bites, interspersed with reflection. Sometimes, you just need to sit with a line and read it a couple of times to let it sink in. But kinot are often treated as just another text to get through, speed-read at 200 miles per hour without the consideration they need to reveal their meaning and the message they contain.

Finally, even if we assume that you can understand what the kinot are saying, most of the events described in kinot are part of long-gone history; in some cases, ancient history. While you can try all the tricks to place yourself in the sad scenes described in each kinah, at the end of the day, it’s hard to mourn for something you never knew and never experienced. And if you’re like me, there’s nothing worse than trying to connect to something you know you’re supposed to feel, while a little voice in the back of your head whispers, “Who am I kidding? What am I even saying, anyway?”

How can we unlock the meaning of the kinot and access the emotions they’re meant to engender? Is there a way for the time spent on these old texts to actually help me feel something?

The answer is yes. The key to understanding kinot is to notice something that the authors of the kinot encoded just below the surface of the text.

Even if you have just a basic knowledge of Tanakh, Talmud, and Midrash, you will likely notice that the kinot are filled with references and allusions to Biblical and Rabbinic sources, one layered upon the next. For example, many kinot are structured as building on the word “Eichah,” the very first word of Megillat Eichah — a word which also appears in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3, right after Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge, the Torah records that God comes looking for them in the Garden of Eden and calls out, “Ayekah — Where are you?” In Hebrew, “ayekah” is spelled exactly the same as “Eichah.” Noticing that connection indicates that in some way, the author of Megillat Eichah, and the authors of the kinot by extension, want you to be thinking about the Garden of Eden, of all things, while reflecting on the destruction of the Temple! (If you’re intrigued about what this connection might mean, this Aleph Beta course is for you.)

The authors of the kinot made these connections all over the place. They are quite consciously continuing conversations that were begun by our ancient Sages through these textual clues. Just like in all poetry, there is so much richness in the kinot that can really only be accessed by someone who recognizes the relevant sources and understands how the author of the kinah is using them.

Once you understand the connections the author of a kinah was making, once you see the message he was trying to convey, you have something to sit with and reflect on while saying the kinah. This lets you do two things: first, it gives you a lens to use to really understand what the author of the kinah was trying to convey about the tragedy he was describing. This helps you connect to it in a deeper way than just reading the words on the page and trying to imagine yourself into whatever he wrote. Second, by understanding the message in this deeper way, you’ll be able to apply the kinah’s message to the present, to your reality – where it’ll hit that much harder.

How can we unlock the meaning of the kinot and access the emotions they’re meant to engender? Is there a way for the time spent on these old texts to actually help me feel something?

The answer is yes. The key to understanding kinot is to notice something that the authors of the kinot encoded just below the surface of the text.

Noticing and deciphering the rich intertextual connections throughout kinot is sure to add meaning to your recitation of these beautiful but cryptic poems. For the last four years, Rabbi Fohrman, Aleph Beta's Lead Scholar, and the other Aleph Beta scholars joined on Tisha B'Av to share the poignant and relevant messages they found hidden within the language of kinot. Check out all four webinars here, and uncover messages that will resonate long after that empty feeling in your stomach goes away.

Prefer to read instead of watch? Download our kinot guide to gain a richer understanding of kinot.