Tisha B`Av/9th of Av, 5778

Tisha b’Av: To the Jew, this is a date, the 9^th of Av. Av is a Hebrew month. It is the 11^th month of the civil calendar or the 5^th month of the religious calendar. It usually occurs during July or August on the Gregorian calendar. This year, the 9th of Av begins at sunset on Saturday, July 21, 2018 on the Gregorian calendar. The month of Av is not named in the Bible.

The 9^th of Av is a day of mourning in Israel. Tragedy came about because of the account of Numbers 13-14. This event occurred immediately after God had delivered Israel out of bondage in Egypt. The short story is the Lord told Moses to send a group of spies to go scout the Promised Land. The spies came back and proclaimed the Jews could not take the land because of the inhabitants of the land were too big and too strong. The people rebelled against Moses. The people stated they would rather go back to Egypt. The nation (except Caleb and Joshua) did not believe God to give them the Promised Land. We know it occurred during the grape harvest per the text (Numbers 13:20). This event is said to have occurred on the 9^th of Av. God pronounced judgment on the nation at that time. And this date is said to be a reminder of nation Israel’s lack of faith in God.

Here is a list of Jewish history on the 9^th of Av/Tisha B `Av.

586 BC, the first Temple was destroyed.
70 AD, the second Temple was destroyed.
135 AD, Betar fell. It was the last fortress to hold out against the Romans during the Bar Kochba revolt.
136 AD, one year after the fall of Betar, the Temple area was plowed.
1290 AD, Jews were expelled from England.
1492 AD, King Ferdinand of Spain issued the expulsion decree, setting Tisha B’Av as the final date by which not a single Jew would be allowed to walk on Spanish soil.
1914 AD, World War I began the downward slide to the Holocaust.
2005 AD, Israel turns over the Gaza Strip.

References for dates courtesy of (http://www.jewfaq.org, http://www.chabad.org, https://www.templeinstitute.org).

The following is from the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. They are ready to build the third Temple.

In our generation, an entire nation is turning on to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem! It is time to transform the mourning of the tragedy of the past into preparation and anticipation of the glory of the future: The Rebuilding of the Holy Temple, In Our Days! The Writing is On the Wall.

“For My House shall be called a House of Prayer for all nations!” (Isaiah 56:7)