Tisha B’Av is a day of fasting and mourning for the Jewish people. In English, it literally means the “ninth” day of the Hebrew month of “Av”. While many people are not familiar with this somber date, it holds far too many tragedies for the Jewish people to be easily forgotten.
Tisha B’Av is a day when calamity befell the Jewish people. Not only were both temples destroyed on this day, but numerous other tragedies have befallen the chosen people on this date. These have included: the first killings at Treblinka during the Holocaust, the Jewish expulsion from England, the Jewish expulsion from Spain, and many more.
There have also been tragic events from ancient history on this day. It is believed that the ten spies came back to the camp of the Israelites with a bad report of the promised land on Tisha B’Av. This resulted in the people not entering the land of Canaan and wandering the desert for forty years. Tisha B’Av is also mentioned multiple times in Zechariah as the “fast of the fifth month”. The destruction of the first and second temples both occurred on this day as well.
Despite this day having massive relevance in biblical and modern history, many people have been largely unaware of this date – that is, until this year.
In recent weeks, Tisha B’Av has gained worldwide attention. As threats from Iran and Hezbollah loom, several have predicted that it will occur on the 9th of Av. This is not entirely far-fetched as current Israeli assessments indicate that they believe an attack will take place before August 15th. Additionally, enemies of Israel have had a history of attacking Israel on Jewish holidays, such as what happened during the Yom Kippur War and the current Israel-Hamas war (Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah).
These predictions have led many people to begin learning about Tisha B’Av, including how it may affect the rest of the world this year. The nations are preparing for an intense attack that must be met with strong response. Others are concerned that this attack happening on Tisha B’Av may result in dire consequences for Israel. Tisha B’Av however, isn’t only categorized as a day of mourning in the Bible.
History proclaimed that this day was destined to be a day of calamity, and based on history, it has been. However, there is something else spoken of regarding this day. In Zechariah 8, Tisha B’Av is again mentioned, but this time, in a positive light:
“The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah.”
Though Tisha B’Av has not been a day of joy and gladness for the Jewish people as of yet, we know that it will be one day. With this knowledge, we should not fear an attack from Iran or Hezbollah, or whether it will only be another calamity to add to the list. Instead we should walk confidently in the promise that this day will become a cheerful feast and proclaim that this may be the year that Tisha B’Av will be turned into a day of joy.
As threats continue to loom, may we remember the following verses from Zechariah 8:
“Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord.’ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
We know that the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies, is with the people of Israel now as He has been throughout history. Through this, we can have confidence that He will remain faithful to His promises and we can eagerly await the day that the nations of the world will seek the Lord in Jerusalem.
