Bar Exam Scheduled For Tisha B’Av

The state’s Board of Law Examiners is assessing what accommodation, if any, will be made for observant Jews who may be forced to take next yearís bar exam on Tisha b’Av. The board has set up an e-mail address, tishabav@nybarexam.org, to determine how many people will be affected if the exam is held on the day of mourning, which is a fast day. Those requesting an accommodation should notify the board in writing by Oct. 10.
The board set up the e-mail address after it was contacted by Assemblyman Ryan Karben of Rockland County, who said the scheduling would create "an extremely difficult and uncomfortable situation for Jewish law students." State Sen. Carl Kruger also raised an objection to the date.