Dateline Jerusalem — In general I have been writing about living in Israel, Israel’s technological and scientific advancements, and world politics as it relates to Israel. Because most of my readers are not Jewish, I try not to discuss religion except as it relates to observance of holidays in Israel as compared to the Diaspora. This week, however, I will touch on the Three Weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av, a period well known to religious Jews but few others, Jews and non-Jews alike. That directly relates to the recent nuclear deal among the U.S., Europe, and Iran which threatens the existence of Israel.
From the 17th of Tammuz to the 9th of Av in the Hebrew calendar, religious Jews observe the Three Weeks, and this week the Nine Days, a period of mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. During this three- week period of mourning, there are no celebrations. Instead, we study Torah and give charity. According to Isaiah 1:27, “Zion shall be redeemed with mishpat (Torah) and its returnees with tzedakah (charity)”. Jews must avoid anything joyful such as eating meat, drinking wine, bathing for pleasure, listening to music, and we must avoid dangerous activities. The 17th of Tammuz is a fast day from sunrise to sundown. On the 9th of Av (Tisha B’Av), we fast from sundown to sundown, at least 25 hours of no food or water. This year, however, the fast is delayed a day because Tisha B’Av falls on Shabbat.
The Wrong Impression
The non-observant often think of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as a sad day. But the saddest day of the Jewish calendar is Tisha B’Av when both Holy Temples were set afire. Despite anti-Israel propaganda, Jerusalem and the Holy Temple are very much a part of Israel and the Jewish people. At every Passover seder table we cry “Next year in Jerusalem!” Every Chanukah we celebrate the re-dedication of the Holy Temple and tell the miracle of how the oil burned for eight days and nights. The Kotel, also known as the Western Wall or Wailing Wall, is the holiest place in Jerusalem. It is a retaining wall that is the only remnant of the Holy Temple. No wonder there were tears of joy when the city of Jerusalem was reunited in 1967 and Judaism’s holiest sites once again were in Jewish hands. There is even a story about Napoleon traveling through Europe during Tisha B’Av and observing Jews weeping over the destruction of the Holy Temple. “A nation that cries and fasts for over 2,000 years for their land and Temples will surely be rewarded with their Temple,” Napoleon said.
During the Three Weeks, most calamities and disasters throughout history happened to the Jewish people. Danger, tragedy, and misfortune are the themes for this ominous time. It is a time to avoid major operations, travel, swimming in the ocean. Even Christopher Columbus postponed his departure from Spain in 1492 by one day so as not to travel on Tisha B’Av. Because the Holy Temples burned into the 10th of Av, some do not cease their observance until noon that day.
Disastrous events occurred during the Three Weeks in addition to the destruction of the Holy Temples and murders, slavery and exiles of the Jews to Babylonia, Persia, and Rome. On the 17th of Tammuz, Pope Gregory ordered the confiscation of all manuscripts of the Talmud in 1239, over 4,000 Jews were killed in Spain in 1391, the Jewish Quarter of Prague was burned and looted in 1559, the Kovno Ghetto was liquidated in 1944 with all its Jews murdered or sent to concentration camps, and in 1970 Libya confiscated all Jewish property on that day. Yet the 17th of Tammuz is not the saddest day for Jews.
On Tisha B’Av, in addition to both Holy Temples being burned, the First Crusade in 1066 began. Ten thousand Jews were killed during the first month and the Jewish communities in France and the Rhineland were destroyed. By the end of the First Crusade, 1.2 million Jews had been murdered. On Tisha B’Av in 1290, King Edward I ordered all Jews in England to be exiled. No Jew remained in England for over 400 years. Then Jews were expelled from France in 1306. In 1492, all Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal. Those who remained faced forced conversion and/or death during the Inquisition.
In modern times, Britain and Russia declared war on Germany on Tisha B’Av during World War I, but Russia also mobilized its army that day and 400 pogroms (attacks and persecutions against Jews) were launched throughout Russia, Hungary, Ukraine and Poland.
No Break in Between
Some say the events that commenced in World War I never ended until World War II was over, that it was one continuous war. That is why many religious communities mourn the loss of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust when observing Tisha B’Av. On Tisha B’Av, German SS commander Heinrich Himmler formally received approval for the Nazi Final Solution, capturing and killing almost half of the Jews in the world at the time. On the following Tisha B’Av, the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka concentration camp began. More recently, the Gulf War began on Tisha B’Av, and Saddam Hussein went to war against Kuwait on that day. Saddam Hussein named his nuclear reactor Tammuz I.
This year during the Three Weeks, Israel’s existence is in jeopardy. It is interesting to note that the nuclear deal with Iran was postponed until the middle of the Three Weeks. It is interesting to note that on the 10th of Av the Jewish Community Center in Argentina was bombed. Rouhani, now Iran’s president, happened to be on Iran’s committee that planned that bombing, killing and injuring hundreds of Jewish children and adults. This is the same Rouhani who deceived the International Atomic Energy Agency when negotiating with them between 2003-2005 about Iran’s nuclear sites and activities. This is the same Rouhani whom President Obama and the European allies appeased last week during the Three Weeks with this disastrous agreement. Considering Europe’s anti-Semitic history with its Jews, and the recent terrorism rampant throughout Europe and now in the U.S., I am not surprised that Europe’s leaders and the U.S. President fell on their knees and bowed down to all of Iran’s demands.
Although Obama immediately took the agreement to the U.N. in an attempt to bypass Congress’s review and possible non-approval, Congress still has 60 days to ratify it or disapprove it. Sixty days from the time the nuclear deal was signed falls on Rosh Hashana in the Jewish calendar. The period of time between Rosh Hashana (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) will be when Congress probably will announce their decision. This period is considered the Days of Judgment for the Jewish people. For those of you who are interested in or study prophecy, the following is noteworthy. Rabbi Nachman Kahana, a well-known Orthodox rabbinic scholar, cites Yalkut Shimoni, a 16th century rabbinic commentary on the Bible, in relation to the nuclear deal and the End of Days. He says, “The Yalkut states that Paras (Persia-Iran) will be the dread of humanity. The world’s leaders will be frustrated in their futile efforts to wave what they can. The people of Yisrael will also be petrified by the impending danger.” Prophetic isn’t it?
L’hitraot. Shachar