Tisha B'Av - the Saddest Day on the Jewish Calendar
Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the month of Av on the Hebrew calendar (August 27, 2023), is remembered as the saddest day of the year. It is a time for mourning, the saddest day in Jewish history, which primarily commemorates the destruction of the First (586 BC) and Second (70 CE) Temples in Jerusalem. The Jewish people fast, deprive themselves and pray. It boggles the mind to think that both Temples were destroyed on the very same day on the Hebrew calendar.
In synagogues around the world and at the Western Wall which is Judaism's holiest site, religious Jews gather to mourn the destruction of the Temples and to read from the words of the Prophet Jeremiah and portions of the book of Lamentations. They do not read other parts of the Bible on this day because the other readings bring joy and this is to be a day of sadness.
Although this observance is primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem, it is appropriate to consider on this day the many other tragedies of the Jewish people throughout the years on this date.
Other Disasters that Occurred on Tisha B’Av:
132 CE, the Romans crushed Bar Kokhba's revolt and destroyed the city of Betar, killing over 100,000 Jews
133 CE, following the Roman siege of Jerusalem, the Temple site and surrounding areas were plowed.
1290 CE King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England
1492 CE an edict of expulsion of the Jews in Spain was carried out
1914 CE World War I broke out, setting the stage for the later devastation of World War II and the Holocaust
1942 CE on the eve of Tisha B'Av, the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to Hitler’s Treblinka death camp began
1994 CE the bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires killed 86 and wounded 300 others
2005 CE more than 8,500 Jewish residents were expelled from Gaza as part of Israel’s ill-fated Disengagement Plan, a desperate bid for peace designed to improve relations with Palestinian Arabs. This expulsion was a Land for Peace deal with the Palestinians; it obviously did not bring about peace.
There is a foreboding for many Jewish people on this day that something evil will occur. Please pray for the Jewish people as they mourn the history of this day together.
How can Believers, as fellow citizens in the commonwealth of Israel, respond on this day to the grief of the Jewish people? This is the time to weep with those who weep and to mourn with our brethren, the people of Israel.
Jesus gave us His example as He wept with compassion when He foresaw the destruction of the Holy Temple and the disaster that would come upon Israel (Matthew 23:37-38). The Jewish people long for and pray daily for the restoration of the Holy Temple. Plans and preparations are already being made in Jerusalem for the Third Temple.
The Land of Israel is still far from being the "Holy Land" it is destined to be. God is seeking intercessors to stand in the gap for Israel. Will you pray for the Jews as they mourn the history they remember this day? Will you pray for Israel?