Tisha B'Av in Jerusalem
Destruction of the Holy Jewish Temple 70 A.D
"...its Tisha B’av and I’m fasting."
"Last night we read ” Kinnot” on a lawn in the dark by means of a flashlight. I never knew that Kinnot should be read in a semi darkness. It really made it a touching scene. This afternoon mass services are held at Mt Zion overlooking the Wailing Wall. What a pity it’s not in our hands."
August 6, 1957
David's Comments
What is the significance of Tisha B'Av to the Jewish People?
Neve Dekalim in Gush Katif before destruction
Jewish homes destroyed by Jews
Jews forcibly evacuated from their homes
Add with Avi's story
"A Jew Does Not Expel a Jew". Bob wearing his anti-expulsion t-shirt on Tisha B'Av, 2020
On the Arch of Titus in Rome is depicted the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the ancient Romans. Today, this empire has disappeared from history however the Jews have returned to Jerusalem
Why did my father fast & read Kinnot on Tisha B'Av
The Jewish People fast and mourn on Tisha B'Av ( the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av) to remember the destruction of the Jewish Temples in Jerusalem by the Romans and Babylonians along with the murder and the expulsion of the Jewish People from the Land of Israel.
Kinnot are Jewish lamentations which are read on the evening and morning of Tisha B'Av. These lamentations, written in a poetic form, mourn the destruction of the First and Second Temples as well as other tragedies in Jewish history.
Why were the Temples Destroyed?
The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. The sages teach us that the Jews were punished for engaging in idol worship, murder, and sexual immorality. The second Temple was destroyed by the Romans because of baseless hatred amongst Jews.
The destruction of Gush Katif on Tisha B'Av
I did not live through the destruction of the Temples, the massacres of the Crusaders, the Spanish Inquisition or the Holocaust. However, I did experience the destruction of the Jewish communities of Gush Katif and Northern Samaria during the time of Tisha B'Av (August 2005). I saw Jewish soldiers and policemen dragging Jewish women and children from from their homes and destroying their life's enterprise. Many of the expelled residents, especially from Elei Sinai, were officers in the IDF.
The fact that our own Jewish brothers perpetrated this act of expulsion against their own people, makes it in a way, more painful than when done by the Babylonians or Romans.
We hope and pray that this will never happen again. Up until today, many Jews who had been expelled from their houses from Gush Katif are still living in caravans as missiles from Gaza are being launched from their former homes.
The Farchan Family: A Case in Point
Rav Bar-Chen
How can the Temple be rebuilt?
It is believed that if the Jews keep the commandments of the Torah and are reunited (as a "tikun" for the baseless hatred that caused the destruction), they will succeed in defeating their enemies. This will create the conditions for the building of the third Temple.
1957 vs today
In 1957, the United States under President Eisenhower was pressuring Israeli PM Ben Gurion to withdraw from the Gaza Strip which had been captured a year earlier. Ben Gurion eventually gave in to the pressure, despite mass protests warning that the “Fedayeen” terror attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers would continue. The opponents of the 1957 Gaza withdrawal were correct, as the attacks from Gaza continued until the War of 1967, when Israel recaptured it.
Today, Israel withdrew once again in 2005 in the hope that attacks against them launched from Gaza would stop. Unfortunately, nothing has changed, and the Gaza Strip continues to be a hub of terror as missiles fly daily into Israel’s civilian population. It is difficult to have a presence in Gaza, but not being there at all is a danger to Israel’s survival.
LINKS:
Video explaining Tisha B’Av: https://youtu.be/vAoSODDghE8
Video on Elei Sinai, a Jewish community in Gush Katif destroyed on Tisha B’Av. Produced by the Jacobs Family: