Tisha b'Av (the 9th of the month of Av) is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, commemorating the destructions of both the first and the second Temples in Jerusalem, as well as other tragedies of Jewish history. We observe this date with special services at which the book of Eicha (Lamentations) is read. At Temple Beth Tzedek, we customarily have a study session at the evening service. We were "between rabbis" in 2009, so I led the study session. Below are notes I used for that event. These notes are largely based on Eicha Rabbah, a midrash on Lamentations.