(July 16 – August 14, 2007)

The month of Av, is referred to in the Bible as the "Fifth Month," counting from Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar.  There is a Biblical reference in BaMidbar (33:38), where we find "And Aharon the Priest went up to Hor Hahar at the command of G-d, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Jewish People had left Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first of the month."  This tragedy, the death of Aharon, was perhaps a signal that this month would be a month of tragedy throughout most of Jewish History.

It is during Av, that we mourn for the destruction of both the first and second Temple.  In contrast during Av, we also celebrate the joyous festival of Tu B'Av.

The name Av is of Babylonian origin, and it is often referred to as Menachem Av in anticipation of the consolation for which we hope, ever since the calamity which befell the Jewish people during this month.  Rosh Chodesh Av always consists of one day, and it is always a full month of 30 days.

The period beginning with the 17th of Tammuz, and ending with the 9th of Av is known as the period of Bein HaMetzarim—between the straits or simply as the “ three weeks”.  They are days of historical tragedy for the Jewish People.  By contrast, the period beginning after Tisha B'Av and continuing through the month of Elul is the period of the Shiva d'nechemta—the seven weeks of being comforted—when we read Haftorahs in which the great destiny of the Jewish people, days of glory and peace, is foretold. The concluding weeks of the seven week period coincide with the month of Elul, the month of repentance and of closeness to Hashem.

AV: In Jewish History

1            Passing of Aaron, 1273 BCE.  Aaron the first High Priest, brother of Moses, passed away at age 123 on this day in the year 2488.  This is the only yahrzeit (date of passing) explicitly mentioned in the Torah (Numbers 33:38).
1            The “Nine Days” Begin  "When Av begins, we diminish [our] rejoicing" (Talmud, Taanit 26b).  On the 1st of Av, "The Three Weeks" mourning period over the destruction of the Holy Temple--which began 13 days ealier on Tammuz 17--enters an intensified stage.  During "The Nine Days" from Rosh Chodesh Av to the Ninth of Av, a heightened degree of mourning is observed, including abstention from meat and wine, music, bathing for pleasure, and other joyous and enjoyable activities. Consumption of meat and wine is permitted on Shabbat, or at a Seudat Mitzvah, or a Siyum.  During this period we increase in Torah study—particularly the study of the laws of the Holy Temple and charity.
5            Passing of the “Ari,” 1572.  Rabbi Isaac Luria Ashkenazi, known as Ari HaKadosh ("The Holy Lion") passed away on this day in the year 5332 (1572 CE).  Born in Jerusalem in 1534, he spent many years in secluded study near Cairo, Egypt.  In 1570 he settled in Sefad, where he lived for two years until his passing at age 38.  During that brief period, the Ari revolutionized the study of Kabbalah, and came to be universally regarded as one of the most important figures in Jewish mysticism.  It was he who proclaimed, "In these times, we are allowed and duty bound to reveal this wisdom," opening the door to the integration of the teachings of Kabbalah—until then the province of a select few in each generation—into "mainstream" Judaism.

6            Shabbos Chazon—“Shabbos of Vision.”  The Shabbat before the Ninth of Av is called Shabbat Chazon ("Shabbat of Vision") after the opening words of the day's reading from the prophets, which is the third of the series of readings known as "The Three of Rebuke."  On this Shabbas, say the Chassidic masters, we are granted a vision of the Third Temple; we may not see it with our physical eyes, but our souls see it, and are empowered to break free of our present state of galut  (exile and spiritual displacement) and bring about the Redemption.
7            First Temple Invaded, 423 BCE.  After nearly a month of fierce fighting inside Jerusalem, the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia broke through into the Temple compound, where they feasted and vandalized until the afternoon of the ninth of Av, when they set the Holy Temple aflame.
8            Spies Return, 1312 BCE.  The Spies, dispatched 40 days earlier by Moses to tour the Promised Land, return to Israel's encampment in the desert bearing a huge cluster of grapes and other lush fruits.  But even as they praise the land's fertility, they terrify the people with tales of mighty giant warriors dwelling there and assert that the land is unconquerable.
8            Civil War in Jerusalem, 67 CE.  Fighting breaks out inside the besieged city of Jerusalem between Jewish factions divided on the question of whether or not to fight the Roman armies encircling the city from without. One group sets fire to the city's considerable food stores, consigning its population to starvation until the fall of Jerusalem three years later.
9            Exodus Generation Condemned to Die in Desert, 1312 BCE.  On the Ninth of Av of the year 2449 (1312 BCE), the generation of Jews who came out of  Egypt under Moses' leadership 16 months earlier were condemned to die in the desert and the entry into the Land of Israel was delayed for 40 years.  As related in Numbers 14, when the Spies sent to Canaan returned with their disheartening report, the people wept all night, the night of Av 9th, proclaiming that they'd rather return to Egypt than attempt to conquer and settle the land.  It was decreed that the entire generation will would in the desert for 40 years until the last of them died out.   Only teir children, under the leadership of Joshua, would enter the land promised as Israel's heritage.
9            Holy Temples Destroyed; Birth of Moshiach, 423 BCE and 69 CE.  Both the first and second Holy Temples which stood in Jerusalem were destroyed on this day: the First Temple by the Babylonians in the year 3338 (423 BCE), and the second by the Romans in 3829 (69 CE).  The Temples' destruction represents the greatest tragedy in Jewish history, for it marks our descent into galut—the state of physical exile and spiritual displacement in which we still find ourselves today. Thus the Destruction is mourned as a tragedy that affects our lives today, 2,000 years later, no less than the very generation that experienced it first hand. Yet the Ninth of Av is also a day of hope.  The Talmud relates that Moshiach ("anointed one"), was born at the very moment that the Temple was set aflame and the galut began.
9            Fall of Betar, 133 CE.  Betar, the last stronghold in the heroic Bar Kochba rebellion, fell to the Romans on this day in the year 3893 (133 CE) after a three-year siege. Five hundred and eighty thousand Jews died by starvation or the sword, including Bar Kochba, the leader of the rebellion.
9            Explusion from England, 1290.  The Jews of England were expelled by King Edward I on this date.
9            The Spanish Expulsion, 1492.  The Jews of Spain were expelled by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on the 9th of Av of 1492, terminating many centuries of flourishing Jewish life in that country.
9            AMIA Bombing, 1994.  Arab terrorists exploded a bomb in the Jewish community    center (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 86 and wounding more than 120, in the most lethal attack against any Diaspora Jewish community since the Holocaust.
10           End of the “Nine Days.”  In commemoration of the burning of the Temple which lasted into the 10th day of Av, the mourning practices of the "Nine Days" are continued until after mid-day.

12           Nachamanides’ Disputation, 1273.  By order of King James I of Aragon (Spain),    Nachmanides (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, 1194-1270) was compelled to participate in a public debate, held in the king's presence, against the Jewish convert to Christianity, Pablo Christiani.  His brilliant defense of Judaism and refutations of Christiani's claims served as the basis of many such future disputations through the generations.  Because his victory was an insult to the king's religion, Nachmanides was forced to flee Spain.  He came to Jerusalem, where he found just a handful of Jewish families living in abject poverty.  He revived the Jewish community there. The synagogue he built in the Old City is still in use today, and is perhaps the oldest standing synagogue in the world.

13           Shabbat Nachamu.  The Shabbos after the Ninth of Av is called Shabbat Nachamu ("Sabbath of Consolation") after the opening words of the day's reading from the prophets ("haftara"). This is the first of the series of readings known as "The Seven of Consolation" read in the seven weeks from the Ninth of Av to Rosh Hashanah.
13           Passing of Moses Montefiore, 1885.  On this day the famed philanthropist and Jewish advocate, Sir Moses Montefiore, passed away at the age of 101.

15           Ending of Dying in the Desert, 1274 BCE.  After 38 years of wandering through the wilderness a new generation of Jews stood ready to enter the Holy Land.  It was the 15th of Av of the year 2487 from creation that the last of those condemened to dye in the dessert was gone.

 15          Ban on Inter-Tribal Marriage Lifted, 13th Century BCE.  In order to ensure the orderly      division of the Holy Land between the twelve tribes of Israel, restrictions had been placed on marriages between members of different tribes.  A woman who had inherited tribal lands from her father was forbidden to marry out of her tribe, lest her children—members of their father's tribe—cause the transfer of land from one tribe to another by inheriting her estate.  This ordinance was binding only on the generation that conquered and settled the Holy Land during the 14-year period 2488-2503 (1273-1258 BCE); when the restriction was lifted, on the 15th of Av, the event was considered a cause for celebration and festivity.
15           Tribe of Binyamin Re-admitted, circa 1228 BCE.  Av 15 was the day on which the tribe of Binyamin, which had been excommunicated for its behavior in the incident of the "Concubine at Givah," was readmitted into the community of Israel.  The event occurred during the judgeship of Othniel ben Knaz, who led the people of Israel in the years 2533-2573 (1228-1188 BCE).
15           Jeroboam’s Roadblocks Removed, 574 BCE.  Upon the division of the Holy Land into two kingdoms following the death of King Solomon in the year 2964 from creation (797 BCE), Jeroboam ben Nebat, ruler of the breakaway Northern Kingdom of Israel, set up roadblocks to prevent his citizens from making the thrice-yearly pilgrimage to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judea.  These were finally removed more than 200 years later by Hosea ben Eilah, the last king of the Northern Kingdom, on this day in 574 BCE.
15           Betar Dead Buried, 148 CE.  The fortress of Betar was the last holdout of the Bar Kochba rebellion.  When Betar fell on the 9th of Av, 3893 (133 CE), Bar Kochba and many thousands of Jews were killed; the Romans massacred the survivors of the battle with great cruelty and would not even allow the Jews to bury their dead.  For 15 years their remains were left scattered on the battlefield.  When the dead of Betar were finally brought to burial on Av 15 of the year 3908 (148 CE), an additional blessing (HaTov VehaMeitiv) was added to the "Grace After Meals" in commemoration.
15           Matchmaking Day.  In ancient Israel, it was the custom that on the 15th of Av "the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed linen garments (so as not to embarrass those without beautiful clothes of their own) . . . and dance in the vineyards" and "whoever did not have a wife would go there" to find himself a bride.
15           The Day of the Breaking of the Ax.  When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, the annual cutting of firewood for the altar was concluded on the 15th of Av.  The event was celebrated with feasting and rejoicing, as is the custom upon the conclusion of a holy endeavor, and included a ceremonial breaking of the axes which gave the day its name.
17           Hebron Massacre, 1929.  Sixty seven Jewish men, women and children were slaughtered, and scores wounded, raped and maimed, by their Arab neighbors in the city of Hebron, who rioted for three days amid cries of "Slaughter the Jews."  The survivors fled to Jerusalem, and the ancient Jewish community of Hebron, which had lived in relative peace in the city for hundreds of years, was not revived until after Israel's capture of Hebron in the 1967 Six Day War.
20           Zohar Published, 1558.  The first printing of the Zohar, the fundamental work of the Kabbalah (Jewish esoteric and mystical teachings), authored by the Talmudic sage, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, took place on this date in 1558.
24           Hasmonaen Holiday, circa 100 BCE.  The Hasmoneans reinstated the rule of Jewish civil law, replacing the Roman secular law, and declared this day a holiday.
26           Tzemach Tzedek Departs Petersburg.  In 1843, the Interior Ministry of the Czarist government convened a rabbinical conference in the Russian capital of Petersburg, to the end of imposing changes in Jewish communal life and religious practice.  Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (1789-1866, known as the "Tzemach Tzeddek" after his Halachic works by that name) was invited.  As a primary figure in the leadership of Russian Jewry, his compliance was required to lend legitimacy to the government's proposed "reforms."  In the course of the conference, the Tzemach Tzeddek was placed under arrest no less than 22 times for his refusal to cooperate.  When he finally departed Petersburg on the 26th of Av, he had successfully prevented the government's disruption of traditional Jewish life.
30           Second Tablets Hewn, 1313 BCE.  On the final day of Av of the year 2448 (1313 BCE), Moses carved, by G-d's command, two stone tablets—each a cube measuring 6x6x6 tefachim (a tefach, "handbreadth", is approximately 3.2 inches)—to replace the two divinely-made tablets, on which G-d had inscribed the Ten Commandments, which Moses had smashed 42 days earlier upon witnessing Israel's worship of the Golden Calf.

TISHA B’AV ∙ July 24, 2007

              On the Ninth of Av it was decreed on our fathers that they would not enter the Land (of Israel) [(BaMidbar (Numbers) 14], the Temple was destroyed [both] the first time and the second time, Beitar (the stronghold of the Bar Kochba rebellion) was captured, and the city (of Jerusalem) was plowed under.

Talmud Taanis 4

 

 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.

Tisha B’Av commemorates a number of tragic events that befell the Jewish people on this day throughout history, the most significant of them being the destruction of the first and second Temples in the years 586 BCE and 70 CE respectively.

            

According to tradition many other major tragedies have also occurred on Tisha B'Av:

1. Ten of the twelve spies Moses sent to scout out the land of Israel returned with an unfavorable report on Tisha B'Av.  As a result B'nei Israel were forbidden to enter the Land of Israel.
2. The city of Betar was conquered, ending the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Romans.
3. In 136 BCE, Roman emperor Hadrian erected a pagan temple on the site of the Temple and rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city.  He renamed Jerusalem Aelia Capitolina and forbade the Jews to enter it.
4. King Edward I of England ordered the expulsion of English Jewry in 1290
5. All Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 on Tisha B'Av.
6. World War I broke out on Tisha B'Av in 1914 when Russia declared war on Germany.
7. During the Holocaust, the deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto began on Tisha B’Av