Shalom. Tisha B'Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar because of the incredible series of tragedies which occurred on that date throughout Jewish History.
Tisha B'Av means "the ninth (day) of the Hebrew month of Av." Tisha B'Av primarily commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples, both of which were destroyed on the ninth of Av (the first by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.; the second by the Romans in 70 C.E.). Although this day is primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of the Temple, it is appropriate to consider on this day the many other tragedies of the Jewish people, many of which occurred on this day, most notably the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. This year, the fast begins Saturday night, August 13, 2005 and continues till after sundown on Sunday, August 14, 2005. I posted on my website links to 34 educational sites that describe practices, prohibitions, insights and explanations about this sad day in Jewish history. All 34 links have been reviewed / checked this week. http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdayav.htm May we see the rebuilding of the Temple in our days and that Tisha B'Av becomes a day of celebration. Jacob Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the AJL =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org