the first week, this coincides with Masei. In most years when Pinechas is the first week, Matot and Masei are read together for the second week.) Chazon Yishayahu (from the Book of Isaiah 1.1-27) (In all years, this coincides with Devarim.) The last Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av is traditionally called Shabbat Chazon ("Sabbath [of the] Vision"), after the first words of the Haftarah read on this day. According to Biblical tradition, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the looming destruction of the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and the subsequent punishment that God would mete out to the Jewish people, mainly their exiles in the Jewish diaspora. Eighth of Av The eighth day of Av is called Erev Tisha B'Av (the eve of the Ninth of Av). It is customary to eat a large meal early in the afternoon, and then to have the Seudah HaMafseket ("cut-off meal") right before sunset. The Seudah HaMafseket resembles the meal of a mourner. The custom is to eat cold, hard-boiled eggs or lentils with bread and water. Only one cooked food may be eaten. The bread is dipped in ashes. Those who are eating sit on the ground or on low chairs, as they will during the night and morning of Tisha B'Av, and do not converse with each other. If the Eighth of Av falls on a Shabbat or Friday, the Seudah HaMafseket is not eaten. Ninth of Av The ninth day of Av, or Tisha B'Av, is a fast day of extreme sadness and mourning over the destruction of the Temple. Some of the observances of this day resemble those of shiva, such as sitting on a low chair and not greeting people, while other observances reflect the theme of loss: the removal of the curtain from the ark, the lowered lighting in the synagogue, and the recital of Kinnot (elegies over the persecutions of Jewish communities throughout history). After midday, one may sit on a regular chair, but all the other restrictions of Tisha B'Av and the Nine Days continue to apply. End of restrictions The restrictions of The Nine Days conclude at midday of the Tenth of Av, the day after Tisha B'Av. The Sages enforced this extension of the mourning period to reflect the fact that while the Temple was set on fire during the afternoon of Tisha B'Av, it continued to burn through the Tenth of Av. All