The 9th of Av Tisha B’Av

This coming week is very important in the life of a Jewish person.  The 9^th of Av Tisha B’Av means “the ninth (day) of Az”, which falls on Tuesday August 9^th 2011.  This is a day of great mourning for the Jewish people.  It is tradition to abstain from eating and drinking, bathing, the wearing of leather shoes, and martial relations for the night and day of the Av 9 beginning on at sundown on Av 8 to nightfall on Av 9.  It is customary to sit on the ground or a low seat until after mid-day.  Torah study is restricted to laws of mourning, passages describing the destruction of the Temple, and the like.  In the synagogue, the book of Lamentations is read and mourning prayers are recited.  The ark (where the Torah is kept) is draped in black.

What all has happened to the Jewish people on the 9^th of Av? 

The 10 spies came back with a bad report about their Promised Land on the 9th of Av and the children of Israel refused to go into the Promise Land.

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Solomon’s Temple on the 9th of Av.

656 years later to the day, when Rome destroyed Herod’s Temple, it was on the 9th of Av.

In 135 A.D. the Jews rebelled against Rome and their rule on the 9th of Av under the false Messiah Simon bar Kockba

All of the Jews were kicked out of England in 1290 on the 9th of Av.

All of the Jews were kicked out of Spain in 1492 on the 9th of Av.

World War I started on the 9th of Av. Hitler’s proclamation to kill the Jews was on the 9th of Av.       

When it all began: The children of Israel were on the boarder of the Promised land. (Numbers 14)  and they were complaining against Moses and Aaron and they doubted what G-d said about their ability to enter into the Promise Land.  As a result they wondered the desert for 40 years and were not allowed to enter into the Promised Land.  This happened on the 9^th day of Av. G-d had opened the door to their future but they refused to go through because of their unbelief.  In G-d’s plan Av was supposed to be a month of celebrating every year but instead they refused the blessing, they held back in unbelief.  There is another Promise that G-d put before the children of Israel that they have refused in unbelief, and that is the Promise of the Messiah Yeshua.  For many traditional Jews, it is believed the Mashiach (or Moshiach) meaning "annointed one," the Jewish King, will appear on Tisha B'Av to rebuild the 3rd Temple on the location of the present-day Temple Mount. He will be born of the Tribe of Judah whose symbol is the "lion," representing the month of Av. We know that Yeshua has already come!
May we fast this year on the 9^th of Av not only in mourning for what has happened to G-d’s people but also that we all may repent of our unbelief and that our Jewish brothers and sisters will accept Yeshua as their Messiah who has come to save the world.  May the 9^th of Av this year be a day of hope for all who believe in the redemption of Yeshua in our lives!                                                                                        

Shabbat Chazon

The Shabbat preceding the Ninth of Av is called Shabbat Chazon “Shabbat of the Vision.” This Shabbat’s reading from the Prophets begins with the words Chazon Yeshavahu, the “vision of Isaiah” regarding the destruction of the Holy Temple.. The legendary chassidic master Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev said that on this special Shabbat, every Jewish soul is shown a vision of the third Holy Temple. The purpose of this vision is to arouse within every Jew a yearning to actually see this edifice which will be built by G‑d, and to do as many mitzvot as possible in order to realize this dream. While this vision may not be sensed with the physical eyes, the soul certainly experiences this vision, and it affects the person on the subconscious level.