Ninth of Av - Tisha b’Áv - Historical Overview
(4/5 August 2014)
The 9th Av is approaching - and marks the culmination of the Three Weeks (Destruction and Renewal), from 15 July 2014 to 5 August 2014. Information on this is available on the www.chabad.org/ website. The link below takes you to information on the Three Weeks. Given all that is happening throughout the world during this 15 July to 5 August period, it is worth looking at an historical overview of Tisha b.Av, the date on which the two temples were destroyed.
From the Chabad website: the Three Weeks is an annual mourning period that falls out in the summer. This is when we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple and our launch into a still-ongoing exile.
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144558/jewish/Tisha-BAv-and-the-3-Weeks.htm
Tisha b Áv - evening of Monday 4 August, then Tuesday 5 August 2014
The 9th of Av, the date when both Holy Temples were set aflame. This is the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, and it is also the date of other tragedies spanning our nation’s history. We do not know whether there will be any particular event, or climax of a sequence of events, on or near this day. Howver, it is worth taking an historical look at some of the events that have occurred in Jewish history on this date. The link below provides a direct link to this information
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/946703/jewish/What-happened-on-the-Ninth-of-Av.htm
Apart from the destruction of the two temples, the list of events linked to 9th Av includes: the return of the spies from the Promised Land (with a 10 to 2 negative report); massacre of Simon bar Kochba followers (unsuccessful Jewish rebellion against Roman rule); Jewish expulsion from England in 1290 and from Spain in 1492;
The Lord Jesus Christ is sovereign over all the nations of the Earth!
Maranatha! Denis