Tisha B’Av (9th of Av)

Related Topics

In Hebrew, the 9th of Av is called Tisha B’Av. Av is a month on the Jewish calendar. It occurs on different times on the Gregorian calendar, but usually in July, August or September. For more on the calendar issue, check out Guy Cramer’s research.

Judaism 101’s website

Five misfortunes befell our fathers ... on the ninth of Av. ...On the ninth of Av it was decreed that our fathers should not enter the [Promised] Land, the Temple was destroyed the first and second time, Bethar was captured and the city [Jerusalem] was ploughed up. | Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6

Zechariah 7:3
...Should I weep in the fifth month [Av], separating myself, as I have done these so many years?

II Kings 25:8-9
In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month ...came Nebuzaradan ... and he burnt the house of the L-RD...

Jeremiah 52:12-13
In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month... came Nebuzaradan ... and he burnt the house of the L-RD...

How then are these dates to be reconciled? On the seventh the heathens entered the Temple and ate therein and desecrated it throughout the seventh and eighth and towards dusk of the ninth they set fire to it and it continued to burn the whole of that day. ... How will the Rabbis then [explain the choice of the 9th as the date]? The beginning of any misfortune [when the fire was set] is of greater moment. | Talmud Ta’anit 29a

Tisha B’Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples, both of which were destroyed on the ninth of Av (the first by the Babylonians in 586 BC; the second by the Romans in 70 AD).

Although this holiday is primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of the Temple, it is appropriate to consider on this day the many other tragedies of the Jewish people, many of which occurred on this day, most notably the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.1

Tisha B’Av is the culmination of a three week period of increasing mourning, beginning with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, which commemorates the first breach in the walls of Jerusalem, before the First Temple was destroyed. During this three week period, weddings and other parties are not permitted, and people refrain from cutting their hair. From the first to the ninth of Av, it is customary to refrain from eating meat or drinking wine (except on the Shabbat) and from wearing new clothing.

The restrictions on Tisha B’Av are similar to those on Yom Kippur: to refrain from eating and drinking (even water); washing, bathing, shaving or wearing cosmetics; wearing leather shoes; engaging in sexual relations; and studying Torah. Work in the ordinary sense of the word [rather than the Shabbat sense] is also restricted. People who are ill need not fast on this day. Many of the traditional mourning practices are observed: people refrain from smiles, laughter and idle conversation, and sit on low stools.

In synagogue, the book of Lamentations is read and mourning prayers are recited. The ark (cabinet where the Torah is kept) is draped in black.”

So here is a more complete list of significant events on this date in Jewish history and why it is a time of mourning for the nation of Israel:

• Av 9, 1312 BC - The ten spies brought the bad report leading to the wilderness wandering. See also: 14,000 Days
• Av 9, 587 BC - Babylonians destroy Solomon’s temple. See also: Ezekiel’s 430 Days
• Av 9, 70 AD - August 5, 70 Romans destroy 2nd temple. See also: Daniel’s 70 Weeks
• Av 9, 135 AD - The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar -- the Jews’ last stand against the Romans -- was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered.
• Av 9, 1290 AD - July 25, 1290 Jews forced out of England under King Edward I.
• Av 9, 1492 AD - August 11, 1492 Jews forced out of Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. (Just before during that same year on August 3, the Messianic Jew, Christopher Colombus, sailed from Spain in search of the New World and hopes for the future.)
• Av 9, 1914 AD - August 1, 1914 Britain and Russia declare war on Germany and World War I Began (The immediate cause of the war was the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb citizen of Austria-Hungary and member of the Black Hand. Wikipedia)
• Av 9, 1942 AD - July 23, 1942 - Treblinka extermination camp opened in occupied Poland, east of Warsaw and deportations from Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka concentration camp begin. The camp is fitted with two buildings containing 10 gas chambers, each holding 200 persons. Carbon monoxide gas is piped in from engines placed outside the chamber, but Zyklon-B will later be substituted. Bodies are burned in open pits. HistoryPlace
• Av 9, 2005 AD - August 14, 2005 Starting at midnight, the entry and presence of Israeli citizens in the areas to be evacuated was prohibited under paragraph 22A of the Implementation of the Disengagement Plan Law 2005. Disengagement from the Gaza Strip was completed on August 22, and from northern Samaria on August 23, 2005. Related news articles here.  Israel’s Disengagement Plan: Renewing the peace process

Possible Prophetic Timing

Both Solomon’s temple and Herod’s temple were destroyed on this day by Babylon (587BC) and Rome (70AD) respectively. Those aren’t the only tragedies to befall the Jews on this day. I believe this study will help show how Armageddon may be the straw that breaks Israel’s back, causing her to call upon Yeshua, recognizing Him as their Meshiach Nagid over 2,000 years after He presented Himself at the Triumphal entry. It was then that Christ told them they would not see Him until they acknowledged Him as their Messiah.

Matthew 23:37-39
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Hosea 5:15
I will go and return to my place, till they [Israel] acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

Psalms 118:19-26
Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD: This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.

This stone being spoken of is Christ. He was the stone the builders rejected, but He has become the chief cornerstone. Israel’s accepting of Yeshua as their Meshiach Nagid is what prompts Christ’s return in glory since they won’t see him till they say, “blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” This happened at the triumphal entry, which is why the Pharisees told Christ to silence his followers. They recognized that Yeshua was being called the Meshiach Nagid. Mark 11:1-11

So what does this have to do with Christ returning in glory? Remember what is going on as Israel is protected in the wilderness just before Christ returns in glory.

Revelation 16:12-16
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Imagine you are Israel, protected in the wilderness, but seeing millions of men in armies marching toward Jerusalem. now imagine that is happening just before the 9th of Av. I think that might be what causes Israel to call upon Yeshua as a nation recognizing Him as their Meshiach Nagid. Then He will return in glory and defeat the gathered armies.