"Tisha b'av" A day of fasting for the people of Israel.
We are approaching Tisha B'Av, "The ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av"
Find out what happened on this day and why we fast in such a special way:
We will begin by talking about the five calamities that occurred during this time:
In the Mishnah it is mentioned (Tractate Taanit, 4:6) There are five events that justify fasting and abstinence on this day, the 9th of Av:
1. On this day, Moses sent 12 spies to report to him about the land of Canaan. The spies returned with bad news, and the children of Israel wept, feared, and despaired at not being able to enter the Promised Land. This day would be solemnized by future generations of the Children of Israel (Numbers 13-14).
2. The Babylonians razed the First Temple and all of Judea, led by Nebuchadnezzar in 586, condemning the population to exile in Babylon.
3. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in 70 AD, following the First Jewish-Roman War, leading the Jews into a two-thousand-year diaspora.
4. Shimon bar Kochba's revolt against Rome failed and Bar Kochba, Rabbi Akiva and thousands of their followers were killed.
5.After the fall of Jerusalem in 70, its resurgence a year later.
According to the Talmud, the destruction of the Second Temple began on the 9th and ended on the 10th of Av, when the flames had completely destroyed it.
The calamities that occurred after the 9th of Av:
-Urban II declares the Crusades in 1095
-Burning of the Talmud in 1242
-In 1290, Edward I of England signed the edict expelling the Jews from England.
-The Alhambra Decree expels the Jews from Spain on August 3, 1492
-World War I in 1914
-Inauguration of the Treblinka extermination camp on July 22, 1942 (April 8, 1942)
-Terrorist attack in Buenos Aires at the headquarters of AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association) on July 18, 1994 (10th Ave., 5754). More than 85 people died and approximately 120 were injured.
As we can see, there are many reasons why we grieve on this day, but the most important thing is to achieve a state of consciousness in which we can do Teshuvah (repentance and return to the path of Hashem) and in this way allow the Divine Presence to return and rest upon each of us.
It is even considered as if the Great Temple had been destroyed again in every generation, Why?
The answer is that the sages speak of the "Personal" Beit Hamikdash (Great Temple) that exists at all times as a representation of the "Celestial Beit Hamikdash." For by committing an evil act, a person is able to remove the Divine Presence from his life, as part of a further destruction of this personal Beit Hamikdash.
*This year, Tisha B'Av falls on this coming Shabbat (Saturday, August 6) But because fasting is prohibited on Shabbat, it is postponed to the next day, for Sunday, August 7 (Starting at the end of Shabbat and ending on Sunday night).
The Breslev Garden recommends: