Thoughts on Tish B'Av

Everyday is a special day in that each one is a gift to us from God. How often do we take a day for granted. We just assume that we will wake up in the morning and go to bed in the evening. For many of us, days become just that...days. We fight the traffic on the way to our office, fulfill our responsibilities, fight the traffic on our return trip home, swallow a meal without thinking, then head off to the gym or to a meeting of some type or other, finally ending in bed for a fitful sleep. We awaken in the morning and begin all over again.

But what if days took on a new meaning? What if there was a specialness about some of the days? Well, today, July 20, is one of those special days in Judaism. It is known as Tish B'Av - the ninth day of the month Av. Yes, I can hear what you are thinking...what does this Tish B'Av have to do with me; I am not Jewish? You are correct, but I hope that, after you hear about Tish B'Av, you will have a better understanding of why this is an important day in Israel and in Judaism.

According to Jewish history and tradition, it was on this day in 586 BC, that the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first temple as well as the city of Jerusalem. This came as a consequence of Israel's rebellion against God and their forsaking of the covenant God had made with them. The captivity in Babylon would last for seventy years. Another temple would be built, first by Zerubabbel, then expanded by King Herod the Great. This was the temple that Jesus visited on numerous occasions, including twice when He drove out the money-changers. Jesus told His disciples that this temple, too, would be destroyed. And, on the same day - Tish B'Av - the Romans, under Titus, destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem. So both the first and second temples were destroyed on the same day...just 656 years apart.

Troubles seem to have their beginnings for the Jews on this day. On Tish B'Av in 1095, Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade which resulted in the murder of over 10,000 Jews by eager Christians on their way to liberate the Holy Land. It was on this day, in 1492, that all the Jews were expelled from Spain by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (of Christopher Columbus fame). It was on Tish B'Av that World War I began in 1914, that resulted in the devastation of Europe and set the stage for the rise of Hitler and Nazism. And it was on Tish B'Av in 1942 that the mass deportation of Jews began from the Warsaw Ghetto en route to Treblinka.

This is a day of fasting and mourning for our Jewish friends as they remember the anguish caused by this day throughout their history. On Tish B'Av, there is no eating or drinking (it is a fast day); no washing or bathing; no application of creams or body oils; and no sexual relations. As part of the rituals for Tish B'Av is the reading of the Book of Lamentations. You will remember that this book was written by Jeremiah in 586 BC as he watched the destruction of his beloved city of Jerusalem. Perhaps at least parts of this book were written on Tish B'Av.

But it is with Lamentations that I wish now to turn for a few moments. This is a book of death and destruction; of judgment because of sins. It is not an easy book to read, nor is it a particularly exciting book to teach or to preach from. Yet, almost smack-dab in the middle of this book of holocaust proportions are these words: "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young." (Lamentations 3:22-27).

Do you hear what Jeremiah is saying? Everyday is a special day because everyday is filled with the newness of God. Ordinary days with God? Hardly! They are filled with His presence and reminders of His faithfulness. Boring days with God? Hardly! They are only boring because we are not watching with expectations for those acts of God's faithfulness.

Tish B'Av - a day of fasting and mourning for our Jewish friends. But it is also a day when we are reminded that God is still faithful to His Word and to His promises. So, enjoy this day and tomorrow and the day after that, etc. as being a gift from Him.