From tonight until tomorrow observant Jews will endure the 25 hour fast of Tisha B'Av. Tisha B'Av means, simply, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. Why is there a fast? The Mishnah explains: On the ninth of Av it was decreed that our ancestors should not enter the Holy Land, the first and the second Temples were destroyed, Betar was taken, and the City of Jerusalem was plowed over. Ta'anit 4:6 (26b). Since the completion of the Talmud in the 5th and 6th centuries CE, calamitous events have continued to befall the Jewish people on the 9th of Av. On the 9th of Av in 1290, King Edward I issued his decree expelling the Jews from England - a decree that would remain in effect until 1656 - and on the 9th of Av in 1492, the decree of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelling the Jews from Spain, issued back in March, took effect. The Nazis, well aware of the importance of this day, deliberately made their own additions to this list of calamities. More http://ift.tt/1OGNxJy

From tonight until tomorrow observant Jews will endure the 25 hour fast of Tisha B'Av. Tisha B'Av means, simply, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. Why is there a fast? The Mishnah explains: On the ninth of Av it was decreed that our ancestors should not enter the Holy Land, the first and the second Temples were destroyed, Betar was taken, and the City of Jerusalem was plowed over. Ta'anit 4:6 (26b). Since the completion of the Talmud in the 5th and 6th centuries CE, calamitous events have continued to befall the Jewish people on the 9th of Av. On the 9th of Av in 1290, King Edward I issued his decree expelling the Jews from England - a decree that would remain in effect until 1656 - and on the 9th of Av in 1492, the decree of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelling the Jews from Spain, issued back in March, took effect. The Nazis, well aware of the importance of this day, deliberately made their own additions to this list of calamities. More http://ift.tt/1OGNxJy via DoubleTapper http://ift.tt/1VGKSV1