Av 9 – A Mournful Day – Today in the Bible

Av 9 – A Mournful Day

August 13, 2024

5784_05_Av

Av 9, 5784; from sunset August 12, 2024, to sunset August 13, 2024

(Ninth day of the fifth month)

Second Temple model in Jerusalem.
Photo credit: Today in the Bible

Holy Temples Destroyed

Today in the Bible, both the first and second Holy Temples which stood in Jerusalem were destroyed. The First Temple by the Babylonians and the Second by the Romans.

The Temples’ ruination represents the greatest tragedies in Jewish history. Not only was the dwelling place of our God destroyed, but it also marked the beginning of the nation’s exile from the Land. Their physical dwelling place now reflected their spiritual condition – separated. The first exile lasted 70 years, the second, nearly 2,000.

Other tragedies which have befallen the Jewish people on this day are:

Ten of the spies brought a bad report to Moses about the land of Israel and we refused to enter the land. As such, God forced that generation to wander forty years and die in the wilderness (Numbers 14).
Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.
The Roman destruction of the Second Temple in A.D. 70.
The annihilation of Bar Kokhba’s rebellion 133 CE.
The plowing of the Temple mount in Jerusalem by Roman general Turnus Rufus 134 CE.
The massacre of the entire Jewish population of York, England in 1190 CE.
The banishment of all Jewish people from England in 1290 CE by King Edward.
The final day for Jewish people to leave Spain after the expulsion order of 1492 CE.
The beginning of the Nazis’ deportation of Jewish people from Warsaw to Treblinka in 1942 CE.

Today is a day for mourning and repentance. It is customary to fast from food and drink. This is the fast of the fifth month mentioned in Zechariah 7.

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