Tisha B’Av — A Day of Mourning

AnnJackdance

Tisha B'Av, which is the ninth day of the Jewish month Av, is a day of mourning. It is the day that both the first and second Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed. The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The second was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. This date also marks a few other tragedies:

— Ten of the 12 scouts sent by Moses to Canaan gave negative reports of the area, leading to the Israelites’ despair.

— The Romans captured the fortress city of Beitar, the last stronghold of the leaders of the Bar Kochba revolt, and thousands of Jewish people, including Bar Kokhba (or Kochba), were massacred in 135 CE.

— The city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 136 CE. 

One thing about the Jewish people is that we don’t forget. We hold our history dear. As Anna Jacobs, Holocaust survivor and mother of Memory Project co-founder Roz Jacobs, says, “I never want to forget what happened to me. But I want to have a good time too. Pain goes together with pleasure.”  Sources: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/tisha-b-av