Sunday Marks Ninth of Av Fast Day - Birthday of the Messiah
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sunday Marks Ninth of Av Fast Day - Birthday of the Messiah*
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
(IsraelNN.com) Jews around the world are joining those in Israel Sunday
to mark the Ninth of the Hebrew month of Av fast day, the day of
mourning for the fall of the First and Second Temples. Jerusalem police
have closed all entrances to the Old City to vehicular traffic in
anticipation of a large number of worshippers to the Western Wall (Kotel).
Jewish worshippers at Jerusalem's Western Wall seated on the ground
commemorating the Ninth of Av
The prayer area of the holy site was filled with visitors after the end
of the Sabbath, when the fast day already had begun at sundown. It ends
Sunday night at approximately 8 p.m., depending on one's location.
The Bible records the Ninth of Av as the date of the destruction of the
First Temple. Tradition teaches that the date is so heavily marked by
tragedy, that the destruction of the Second Temple fell on the same
date. Different opinions cite the year as between 68 and 70 in the
Common Era (CE).
On the Ninth of Av, Betar, the last fortress to hold out against the
Romans during the Bar Kochba revolt, fell in 132 CE and over 100,000
Jews were killed. In 1492, Spain ordered the expulsion of all Jews by
the Ninth of Av. In 1914, Germany declared war on Russia on the Ninth of
Av (August 1) opening World War I.
Although the Roman Empire destroyed the Second Temple, Jewish tradition
teaches that the underlying reason for the destruction was the practice
of Jews speaking ill of each other (loshon hara) and spreading
"senseless hatred" (sinat chinam).
The day of mourning also is being remembered as the period when the
modern Israeli government three summers ago carried out the
Disengagement program, which involved the forced expulsion of more than
9,000 Jews from their homes in northern Samaria and the Jewish Gaza
region. The government, headed at the time by former Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon and his deputy Ehud Olmert, sent in soldiers and police,
many of them dressed in black uniforms and riot gear, followed by
bulldozers that destroyed Jewish homes.
The demolished sites, including the synagogues that remained standing,
were handed over to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Within minutes, the
over 20 Jewish houses of worship were in flames.
Terrorists immediately took over the grounds and began setting up
training bases while the expulsion victims were deported to hotel rooms
and other temporary housing.
Tisha B'Av is observed as a day of morning, and Jews sit on low stools
until midday (approximately 12:45 p.m.) and refrain from greeting one
another.
Eicha, the Book of Lamentations, is recited in synagogues around the
world in the evening and, according to some traditions, also on the
morning of Tisha B'Av. It was written by the prophet Jeremiah, who
warned Jews to repent to prevent the fall of Jerusalem, which he
prophesized. His advice not only was ignored, but he also was imprisoned
for stating views that threatened the king's power.
Torah sages also teach that the Messiah will be born on Tisha B'Av as a
sign that there is yet redemption in all the destruction.