"Tisha b'Av" A fast day for the people of Israel.
Day 9 of the month of the Hebrew month of Av.
What happened on this day and why do we fast in such a special way?
We will begin by talking about the five calamities that occurred at this time:
is mentioned in the Mishnah (Taanit Treaty, 4: 6) There are five events that justify fasting and abstinence on this day, Av 9:
1.On this day, Moses sent 12 spies to inform him about the land of Canaan. The spies returned with bad news, and the children of Israel wept, feared, and despaired that they could not enter the Promised Land. This day would come to be solemnized by the coming generations of the Children of Israel (Numbers chap. 13-14)
2. The Babylonians razed the First Temple and all of Judea, led by Nebuchadnezzar in the year 586, condemning the population in exile from Babylon.
3. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in AD 70, after the First Judeo-Roman War, leading the Jews into a 2,000-year diaspora.
4.Shimon bar Kochba's revolt against Rome failed and Bar Kochba, Tána Rabbi Akiva and thousands of his followers were assassinated.
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 finally swept through it.
The calamities that occurred after the Av 9:
-Urban II declares the Crusades in 1095
-Burning of the Talmud in 1242
-In 1290, signing of the edict of Edward I of England expelling the Jews of England.
-The Decree of the Alhambra expels the Jews from Spain on August 3, 1492
-First World War in 1914
-Inauguration of the Treblinka extermination camp on July 22, 1942 (Av 8, 5702)
-Terrorist attack in Buenos Aires at the headquarters of the AMIA (Asociación Mutua Israelita Argentina) on July 18, 1994 (Av 10, 5754). More than 85 people died and there were approximately 120 injured.
As we can see, there are quite a few 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 on each one of us.
It is even considered as if the Great Temple had been destroyed again in each generation, why?
The answer is that the sages speak of the "Personal" Beit Hamikdash (the Great Temple) that exists at all times as a representation of the "Celestial Beit Hamikdash", For by committing a bad act, the person is able to remove the Divine Presence from his life, as part of a new destruction of this personal Beit Hamikdash.
(In the next post we will talk about the prohibitions of this day and some of its laws)
* The Fast of this year, begins today Wednesday July 29 at the beginning of the night (exit of the stars) and lasts until tomorrow Thursday, July 30 until the exit of the stars .
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