Public Chanting of Eichah on Tisha B'Av Night

The public chanting of Megillat Eichah (Lamentations) by candlelight in the synagogue on the night of Tisha B'Av, followed by kinot (dirges). The hazan chants Eichah to a mournful trope before the congregation; the Ba'er Hetev records a medieval debate over whether the congregation chants along or only listens (Magen Avraham vs. Taz). This is the central communal rite of the Tisha B'Av evening service. The Ashkenazic rite spread via the Maharil's Sefer HaMinhagim and was codified by the Rema (OC 559:2, 1565). The Sephardic tradition was codified by Karo's Shulchan Arukh with distinctive trope traditions developing separately in Aleppo, Baghdad, and Morocco. The Mishnah Berurah (early 20th c.) rules that each congregant should chant along quietly with the hazan.