Union of Jewish Students

Tisha Ba'Av

On the ninth of Av... the Temple was destroyed the first and second time" 1 Kings 9:1-9

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do,the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

The LORD said to him: "I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, `You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

"But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.

And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, `Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' People will answer, `Because they have forsaken the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them--that is why the LORD brought all this disaster on them.'"


Bab. Talmud, Sukkah 51b

"Our Rabbis taught... He who has not seen Jerusalem in her splendor, has never seen a desirable city in his life. He who has not seen the Temple in its full construction has never seen a glorious building in his life."


Mishnah Avot, 5,5

"Ten wonders were done for our forefathers in the Temple... The sacred flesh never stank; No fly was seen in the slaughter house... No rain quenched the fire of the wood-pile... The people stood close together but had room to prostrate themselves; No serpent or scorpion did harm in Jerusalem; And no one said to his companion "The place is too limited for me that I should lodge in Jerusalem."


Lamentations 1;1-10

How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is none to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress. The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she is in bitter anguish. Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe. All the splendor has departed from the Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer. In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remember all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction. Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away. Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. "Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed."


Lamentations 5:15-22

Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.
The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Because of this our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim
for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, with jackals prowling over it.
You, O LORD, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation.
Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long?
Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old.
Unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.


Bab. Talmud, Yoma, 9b

"Why was the first Sanctuary destroyed? Because of three evil things that prevailed there: idolatry, immorality [illicit relations] and bloodshed... But why was the second Sanctuary destroyed, given the fact that they were occupied at the time with Torah, [observance of] precepts, and the practice of charity? Because baseless hatred became rampant, which teaches you that baseless hatred is as grave as the three sins of idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed.".


Speech attributed to Elazar ben Yair on Massada 73 CE

"From the very first, when we were bent on claiming our freedom but suffered such constant misery at each other's hands and worse at the enemy's, we ought perhaps to have read the mind of God and realized that His once beloved Jewish race had been sentenced to extinction. For if He had remained gracious or only slightly indignant with us, He would not have allowed His most holy city to be burnt to the ground by our enemies. We hoped, or so it would seem, that of all the Jewish race we alone would come through safely, still in possession of our freedom, as if we had committed no sin against God and taken part in no crime - we who had taught the others! Now see how He shows the folly of our hopes, plunging us into miseries more terrible than any we had dreamt of. Not even the impregnability of our fortress has sufficed to save us, but though we have food in abundance, ample supplies of arms, and more than enough of every requisite, God Himself without a doubt has taken away all hope of survival. The fire that was being carried into the enemy lines did not turn back of its own accord towards the wall we had built: these things are God's vengeance for the many wrongs that in our madness we dared to do to our own countrymen.


The following four pieces are descriptions of tragedies that befell the Jewish people on the Ninth of Av. Taken from Tisha b'Av; A program guide"



Bar Kochba and the Second Jewish Revolt

Having conquered Eretz Israel, Rome did not want Jerusalem rebuilt and Judaism raising its head again. However, when the Emperor Hadrian visited Israel in 130 CE he decided to rebuild Jerusalem as a Roman town, Aelia Capitolina, a pagan city, its altar dedicated to Jupiter.

Up to this point the millions of dews living in Eretz Israel had kept their pledge to Rome not to rebel, but now they felt they had no alternative but to fight for their town political state, in order to remove the threat to Judaism, particularly as they were not to be allowed entry into the new Jerusalem.

They were backed by the great scholar,Rabbi Akiva, then 80. Shimon bar Kochba, a young and energetic man, was supported by Rabbi Akiva in this challenge. He ras seen by many as a sort of second Judah Maccabi, a saviour if not a messiah. The name “bar kochba” is a combination of his home town Koziba and the Hebrew word “kochav” or star. He gathered hundreds of thousands of men, poorly poorly trained armed and poorly trainedbut enthusiastic, committed. His headquarters were in the hills and his men hid in the mountains: a united and dedicated force of patriots.

The rebellion took place in 132 and its dimensions and preparedness took Hadrian by surprise. Initially, Bar Kochba had considerable success against the local Roman soldiery: he recaptured Jerusalem, built an altar on the Temple Mount and a new wall was begun. Hadrian reacted by appointing Julius Severus to head an army of Romans and people from neighbouring nations in the devastation of the land and slaughtering of Jewish rebels. Severus knew that the Jews were greater in number, so he chose harrassment rather than direct attack of each separate unit; he razed the land and cut off supplies.

Within two years the Jews had to leave Jerusalem. The last Jewish outpost was at Betar, a town southwest of Jerusalem. The seige carried on for a few weeks, until spies showed the Romans the way into the town. Thousands of Jews died in the battle, not only in Betar, but elsewhere, including Bar Kochba himself. Betar fell on the 9th of Av, 135 CE. One year later, Hadrian established a heathen temple on the site of the Bet Hamikdash and rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina.


The York Massacre

The first two Crusades started in Europe with terrible Jewish sacrifice on the Rhine in 1096 and similar bloodshed in the early 12th century. The third Crusade started troubles in England in 1189. Jews had come to Engiand in the time of William the Conqueror, and had lived in peace for 100 years.

On Richard the Lionhearted’s coronation day in 1190, a rumour started to the effect that the new king intended to attack the Jews. The London rabble responded enthusiastically and was only stopped by a direct proclamation by the monarch and the sentencing to death of three main instigators of the mob. Richard left England on the Crusades and soon riots started in smaller towns with the wealthy and the clergy joining in (businesses and the church were the main money- borrowers from the Jews).

The most serious riot was in York where the 500 Jews then took refuge in the local castle and defended it under seige for a few days. When they realised they were doomed, most chose to commit suicide - this was on the 9th Av. The mob broke in. Those who thought they would be safe if they surrendered and converted to Christianity were also massacred. All records of debts to Jews (held in the cathedral) were burned. Until the late 1970’s, the town of York was under “cherem”, a Rabbinic excommunication on Jewish settlement in the locality. Jews did not live there for almost 800 years and few even visited it. Today there is a plaque in Hebrew at the foot of the Castle Hill, commemorating the Jewish Martyrs of York.


The Expulsion from Spain

From 900 to about 1200 CE Spanish Jewry lived in a “Golden Age,” flourishing culturally and prospering financially. under Moslem rule.

Problems really started in the early 15th century with the upsurge of rivalry between the Spanish Catholic and the Roman Catholic churches. Spain was Christian but not the whole of the country or the whole of the Iberian peninsula. The Church determined to defeat Judaism as a means of proving devoutness. There were riots, many Jews converted (the so-called “New Christians”), but the nunibers of converts were decreasing and many New Christians tried to maintain observance of Jewish practices; Rabbis refused to divulge their names to the Church. The New Christians were resented by the “Old” Christians (and dubbed “Marranos” “pigs”), not only because of their loyalty to Judaism and Jews, but because they were theoretically entitled to the same freedom of occupation and other privileges that were the right of any other Christian. The 15th century saw many bloody riots, the rich Marranos being the main victims.

The Church advocated the introduction of the Inquisition into Spain to enforce its authority over Christians and ensure conformity. The Inquisition was an Office to locate and punish heresy, using secret investigations and pursuing all non-conformists. It acted above and independently of the country’s legal system and confiscated all property of those who came under its investigation zealous townsmen and greedy King Ferdinand agreed to its introduction and procedures.

The Inquisition started in 1480 with the discovery of a group of New Christians holding a secret seder on Pesach. It moved into Aragon and the number of torture chambers and fires increased, with public executions or Auto-da-Fe (Act of Faith). The last, of course, was actually carried out by the State (after a religious ceremony) since the Church was not supposed to take life. Crics of “Shema Yisrael” could be heard above the wailing and the church bells. After strangling (for those who confessed) or hanging (for those who did not), the bodies were set alight by a prominent political personality, in some cases the King. The Inquisition did not conquer Judaism and held no authority over Jews, although it urged their expulsion from Spain. Spain, however, still needed the Jews to finance military campaigns by giving loans and paying taxes to the State, so King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were reluctant to agree until the whole Iberian Peninsula was in Christian hands (this was after the fall of Granada on the 2nd January 1492).

The decree expelling the Jews was issued on the 31st March 1492, on the grounds that they “corrupted the Marranos” and the final date for their departure was by the 1st August 1492. Precious metals (gold, etc.) had to be left in Spain, which left the Jews only with household goods. They had nowhere to go. The appeal against the decree was rejected. The mass expulsion occured on the 2nd of August, the 9th of Av, the same day that Columbus sailed the ocean blue with a ship financed largely from Jewish money. Some Jews fled to Portugal, but even there it was not long before they were persecuted. Others fled to Holland and points North. It is said that some accompanied Columbus, too.


The Warsaw Ghetto

Poland was engulfed by Germany in September 1939. Jews had been persecuted and murdered in Germany and Austria before World War II and the Nazis continued this policy in each country they conquered.

Not only was there a division between Jews and non-Jews (yellow star, lower rations, commercial and personal restrictions), but isolation was followed by deportation to areas of “concentration” and eventually to extermination camps.

In Warsaw, as elsewhere in Poland, all Jews were crowded into a small area, the Ghetto, which had to support 500,000 people instead of its previous 300,000. Food was very scarce and the lack of hygiene created its own high death toll.

The Jews were not demoralized. Zionist youth movements and the community as a whole involved themselves in mutual assistance and education, with many belonging to the Underground.

In July 1942, the Nazis began a systematic liquidation of the Ghetto, using various means to ensure deportation (to extermination camps) at a rate of 6,000 to 10,000 per day. Deportation started on 9 Av. It did not take long for the Jews to get wind of the fate in store for them. By autumn there were only 40,000 Jews left in Warsaw. From then to the 19th January, 1943, deportations were at a standstill. When they were resumed, the Jews refused to cooperate and the Germans answered with reprisals. By early 1943, the Jews decided to fight, using arms acquired through contacts with the underground so the Nazi attempt to deport Jews on the first night of Pesach, the 19th April, met with armed resistance.

A small, unarmed force held off tanks, planes and guns for over a month. The ghetto was set alight and any Jews caught were either tortured or burned. At the forefront of the struggle were the Zionist youth movements, but everyone still alive fought for the whole 42 days.




Bab. Talmud, Ta'anit 30a

"Our Rabbis have taught: All the restrictions that apply to the mourner apply to the Ninth of Av: Eating, drinking, bathing, anointing, the wearing of shoes and marital relations are forbidden thereon. It is also forbidden to learn Torah, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa or to study Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Halachot or Aggadot; he may, however, read such parts of Mishnah which he usually does not study and he may also read Lamentations, Job and the sad parts of Jeremiah; and the school children are free from school for it is said: The precepts of the Lord are just, rejoicing the heart" (Psalms 19:9)


Guide to Tisha b'Av, Dr Irving Greenberg

At the night service of Tisha b’Av, the ark curtain is removed. This suggests that on this event, there was a “Hester Panim”, (literally the hiding of God’s face). In disaster, we experience “the eclipse of God” and live in a void and empty universe. It is as if The Divine Presence had abandoned the physical Temple. Only an empty building remained; there was nothing to be covered and destruction followed. The synagogue is kept in semi - darkness [to recall the verse] “He has made me dwell in darkness” (Lamentations 3:6). After Maariv, the Book of Lamentations is read followed by a few kinot (mourning prayers).

In some synagogues, the book is read by the light of candles. At night and in the morning, it is customary to sit on the floor, on hard benches or on seats placed on their side so that discomfort is felt. The effect of gloom so created is stunning.

The Book of Lamentations is read softly at first. The volume of the reader’s voice builds up to the climax of the last sentence which is sung aloud by the entire congregation. “Turn us to you, 0 Lord, and we will return. Renew our days as of old.” This is our response to the tragic event.

The Kaddish which is recited at night and in the morning omits the standard phrase “tiskabbell” - “may the prayers and requests of all the House of Israel be accepted by our Father in Heaven and say, Amen”. This omission is normally made in the house of a mourner. This expresses the Jews sense of rejection - the feeling that God did not hear the Jews’ prayers, since the destruction did take place.




Responsum from the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly of Israel (Law Committee) -- The fast of Tisha b'Av in our time. Included are the initial question and final conclusion only

Question:
We are asked how one should relate to Tisha b'Av in our time. Should we in light of the establishment of the State of Israel a crossroad in the history of the people of Israel, continue to fast on Tisha b'Av until night or is there reason to cut the fast short and finish it mid-day, in recognition of the fact that we are living in a period called by many, the beginning of our salvation”?

Conclusion:
Surely we have merited in our own time salvation of great proportions for the people of Israel in the establishment of the State of IsraeL The hands of the non-Jewish world is not aggressively used against Israel and Israel lives on its own land having its own government. Therefore it seems to us that after this vital turn in the history of Israel, one should mark this historical fact by not completing the fast of Tisha b’Av as a full fast, but rather to complete the fast after the afternoon service on that day.