Ninth of Av (Historical Analysis) – Part 4

Later Events

As mentioned in the introduction of this article, the common thread of these 5 tragedies that occurred on Tisha B’Av involves the land of Israel and particularly Jerusalem. In addition each of these events affected the majority of the Jewish population. Although other tragedies occurred on Tisha B’Av outside of Israel these other events do not exactly fit this pattern. Nevertheless it is instructive to examine these tragedies for an historical perspective and appreciate our current position of relative safety. These events include:

• Jews expelled from England 9 Av 5050 (July 18, 1290).
• Jews expelled from Spain 7 (or 9) Av 5252 (July 31, 1492).
• Germany entered World War I on Av 9–10, 5674 (Aug 1-2 1914) which caused massive upheaval in European Jewry and whose aftermath led to the Holocaust. Britain and France declared war on Germany a few days later.
• Formal approval of the “Final Solution” which led to mass murder 9 Av 5701 (August 2, 1941).
• Mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto began on 9 Av 5702 (July 23, 1942).

Fortunately in recent history there have been no major tragedies of this nature.

Conclusion 

This article discussed the five national tragedies that befell the Israelites either en route to Israel or in Israel itself. In addition, the article focused on the aftermath of the destruction of the second temple and failed Bar Kochva rebellion to obtain practical lessons for our daily lives (e.g. be faithful to the Torah, avoid infighting, love one’s fellow, avoid overconfidence and provoking enemies, be realistic in military objectives, and await the messiah).  It is comforting to know that Hashem allowed the Western Wall to remain as a visible reminder of our eventual deliverance and to contemplate that the messiah was (or will be born) on Tisha B’Av.