What happened on the Ninth of Av

The 9th of Av, Tisha b'Av, commemorates a list of catastrophes so severe it's clearly a day specially cursed by G-d. Accordingly, the day has been called the "saddest day in Jewish history".

 

 

Picture this: The year is 1313 BCE. The Israelites are in the desert, recently having experienced the miraculous Exodus, and are now poised to enter the Promised Land. But first they dispatch a reconnaissance mission to assist in formulating a prudent battle strategy. The spies return on the eighth day of Av and report that the land is unconquerable. That night, the 9th of Av, the people cry. They insist that they'd rather go back to Egypt than be slaughtered by the Canaanites.

 

 

The Jews were shocked to realize that their Second Temple was destroyed the same day as the first. G-d is highly displeased by this public demonstration of distrust in His power, and consequently that generation of Israelites never enters the Holy Land. Only their children have that privilege, after wandering in the desert for another 38 years.

 

The First Temple was also destroyed on the 9th of Av (423 BCE). Five centuries later (in 69 CE), as the Romans drew closer to the Second Temple, ready to torch it, the Jews were shocked to realize that their Second Temple was destroyed the same day as the first.

 

When the Jews rebelled against Roman rule, they believed that their leader, Simon bar Kochba, would fulfil their messianic longings. But their hopes were cruelly dashed in 133 CE as the Jewish rebels were brutally butchered in the final battle at Betar. The date of the massacre? Of course—the 9th of Av!

 

One year after their conquest of Betar, the Romans ploughed over the Temple Mount, our nation's holiest site.

 

The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 CE on, you guessed it, Tisha b'Av. In 1492, the Golden Age of Spain came to a close when Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand ordered that the Jews be banished from the land. The edict of expulsion was signed on March 31, 1492, and the Jews were given exactly four months to put their affairs in order and leave the country. The Hebrew date on which no Jew was allowed any longer to remain in the land where he had enjoyed welcome and prosperity? Oh, by now you know it—the 9th of Av.

 

The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 CE on, you guessed it, Tisha b'Av. Ready for just one more? World War II and the Holocaust, historians conclude, was actually the long drawn-out conclusion of World War I that began in 1914. And yes, amazingly enough, Germany declared war on Russia, effectively catapulting the First World War into motion, on the 9th of Av, Tisha b'Av.

 

Over time, Tisha B'Av has come to be a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for later tragedies. Regardless of the exact dates of these events, for many Jews, Tisha B'Av is the designated day of mourning for them, and these themes are reflected in liturgy composed for this day (see below).

 

Other calamities associated with Tisha B'Av:

 

·         The First Crusade officially commenced on August 15, 1096 (Av 9, 4856 AM), killing 10,000 Jews in its first month and destroying Jewish communities in France and the Rhineland.

 

·         Jews were expelled from England on July 25, 1290 (Av 9, 5050 AM)

 

·         Jews were expelled from Spain on July 31, 1492 (Av 8-9, 5252 AM).

 

·         On August 1, 1914 (Av 9, 5674 AM), World War I broke out, causing unprecedented devastation across Europe and set the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.

 

·         On the eve of Tisha B'Av 5702 (July 23, 1942), the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.

 

 

In the long period which is reflected in Talmudic literature the observance of the Ninth Day of Av assumed a character of constantly growing sadness and asceticism. By the end of the second century or at the beginning of the third, the celebration of the day had lost much of its gloom. Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi was in favor of abolishing it altogether or, according to another version, of lessening its severity when the fast has been postponed from Saturday to Sunday (Talmud, Tractate Megillah 5b).

 

 

The growing strictness in the observance of mourning customs in connection with the Ninth Day of Av became pronounced in post-Talmudic times, and particularly in the darkest period of Jewish history, from the fifteenth century to the eighteenth.

 

 

The fast lasts about 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the eve of Tisha B'Av and ending at nightfall the next day. In addition to the prohibitions against eating or drinking, observant Jews also observe prohibitions against washing or bathing, applying creams or oils, wearing leather shoes, and engaging in marital relations.

 

 

In addition, mourning customs similar to those applicable to the shiva period immediately following the death of a close relative are traditionally followed for at least part of the day, including sitting on low stools, refraining from work and not greeting others.

 

 

The Book of Lamentations is traditionally read, followed by the kinnot, a series of liturgical lamentations. In many Sephardic and Yemenite communities, and formerly also among Ashkenazim, it is also customary to read the Book of Job.

 

 

What do you make of all this?

 

 

Jews see this as another confirmation of the deeply held conviction that history isn't haphazard; events – even terrible ones – are part of a Divine plan and have spiritual meaning. The message of time is that everything has a rational purpose, even though we don't understand it.

 

 

Tisha B’Av is a fast day and Av is the 5th month in the Hebrew calendar.

 

 

HaShem promises that a day is coming where He will turn their mourning into joy. The prophetic scriptures are replete with such promises. Consider, for example, Isaiah 61:

 

 

Isa 61:2-8

 

2          To comfort all who mourn,

 

3          To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes,

 

The oil of joy for mourning , The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness,

 

The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

 

4          And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities,

 

The desolations of many generations.

 

5          Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner

 

Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

 

6          But you shall be named the priests of the LORD, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,

 

And in their glory you shall boast.

 

7          Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.

 

8         "For I, the LORD, love justice;

 

 

 

Wonderful promises! I have always been comforted by the fact that the same prophets who proclaimed judgment upon Israel because of her apostasies, in the very next breath, also proclaimed her restoration!

 

 

 

Our parasha this Shabbat (Sat 28 July) is Devarim – Deuteronomy – the start of the final book of Torah. This portion is the third of three rebukes prior to Tish B’Av.  This is the followed by four portions of consolation.

 

 

 

According to the prophets, when the Kingdom of Messiah is established, the ninth day of the fifth month will be transformed into a day of joy and gladness.

 

 

 

Zech 8:19

 

19        "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'The fast of the fourth month,

 

The fast of the fifth (when Tisha B’Av is observed),

 

The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth,

 

Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts

 

For the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.'

 

 

 

What is astonishing to me is that Zechariah prophesied before the destruction of the 2nd Temple. His name means ‘YHWY remembers’ and he was one of the postexilic prophets, a contemporary of Haggai. What I find incredible is that Zechariah spoke this prophecy before the fast day of the 9th of Av had become normative tradition!

 

 

 

The fast of the 9th day of Av (Tisha B’Av) is observed on Sunday 29 July this year.