Tisha B'Av - the day of Jewish Coincidences - or not?

08/09/08 Filed in: Festivals & Holidays
Rabbi Levine recounts the historical events that took place on Tisha B'Av - an amazing list of tragedies that illustrate almost all of the "lowest" points in the history of the Jews. He answers this curious set of "coincidences" with a explanation of what it means to us today.

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Is this coincidence or another reason to believe that Hashem is active in the history of humankind?
On the 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av- Hebrew: תשעה באב or ט׳ באב):
  • the Hebrews accepted the “bad report” from the 10 spies when the returned from the promised land, rather than accepting Joshua and Caleb’s report... result - forty years of wandering in the wilderness
  • the first temple was destroyed on this day in 587 B.C.
  • the second temple was destroyed on this day in 70 A.D.
  • the Romans began plowing and salting the soil of Jerusalem to kill all vegetation in 71 AD on Tisha B'Av
  • the Pope declares the first Crusades on the 9th of Av in year 1095 A.D., killing 10,000 Jews in the first month
  • King Edward expelled all Jews from England (for 400 years) in 1290 A.D. on Tisha B'Av
  • in 1492, eight hundred thousand Jews were expelled from Spain
  • World War II began on Tisha B'Av
  • 1942, the deportation of Jews from Warsaw, Poland
  • in recent years the forced evacuation of Jewish families from Gush Katif occured on Tisha B'Av- and Gaza was given over to the Arabs
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