Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av, is a day of mourning for a series of events that all, eerily, occurred on the 9th of Av. Next to Yom Kippur, Tisha B’Av is the most important fast day in the Jewish calendar. It marks the final day of a three-week period of intense mourning for the events that led to the loss of Jewish independence with the destruction of the holy shrines of Jewish life.

  • 1313 BCE: Moses’ spies return with bad reports about the Land of Israel. (Numbers 13-14)
  • 423 BCE: First Temple, built by King Solomon, is destroyed by the legions of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.
  • 69 CE: Second Temple, built by Ezra and Nehemiah, is destroyed by the Roman Emperor Titus.
  • 135 CE: The Bar Kochba revolt is crushed by Roman Emperor Hadrian.
  • 1290: Jews are expelled from England by King Edward I.
  • 1492: King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sign the edict of the Spanish expulsion.
  • 1914 Germany declares war on Russia, sparking WWI.