865. Torah Study on Tisha b'Av

124:4 If there is a mourner in town, he goes to shul on Tisha b'Av in the evening and in the day until the end of kinos. He may be called to the Torah or read the haftarah because on Tisha b'Av we are all considered mourners.

124:5 Words of Torah gladden the heart glad as per Psalms 19:9, "The statutes of Hashem are upright, causing the heart to rejoice." It is therefore prohibited to study Torah on Tisha b'Av except for those topics that sadden one's heart. Examples include the prophecies of evil in the Book of Jeremiah, skipping the verses of comfort and the calamities to befall the nations of the world that are contained therein. One may study the Book of Job, the Midrash on Eicha, and the third chapter of tractate Moed Katan, which discusses the laws of mourning. One may likewise study the stories in the fifth chapter of Gittin and the Talmud Yerushalmi at the end of tractate Ta'anis, which discuss the destruction of the Temple. (Editor's note: this list is not exhaustive.) Even in areas that one may study on Tisha b'Av, one may not delve in to any area of difficulty, explanation or commentary since doing so brings pleasure to the heart.  Everything that one may study alone, one is also permitted to teach to children.  One may read all the Torah subjects that appear in the daily order of prayer, even "Eizehu mekoman" (the fifth chapter of mishnayos Zevachim). (One may likewise recite the braisa of Rabbi Yishmael, though other parts of the preliminary morning service are omitted - OC 554:4.) The Ma'amodos are not said on Tisha b'Av, even by one who normally recites them every day. (One may likewise not rule on a legal matter on Tisha b'Av, except for the needs of a sick person - Mishnah Brurah 554:5.)