A Day of Mourning, A Day of Hope



In the Jewish nation, and especially in JERUSALEM, the 9 th of Av (4/5 August) has a violent reputation.



Terrorist attack on 9th of Av in Jerusalem.

Tisha B'Av is the day the Jewish nation morns the destructions of their temples. The First Temple was also destroyed on the 9th of Av (423 BCE). Five centuries later (in 69 CE), as the Romans drew closer to the Second Temple, ready to torch it, the Jews were shocked to realize that their Second Temple was destroyed the same day as the first.

 

According to the Hebrew Bible, Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ‎: Bet HaMikdash) in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount (also known as Mount Zion), before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem, when the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah went to exile, known as Babylonian Captivity.

 

Destruction of first temple. Painter unknown.

 

Destruction of the second temple. A painting by David Roberts (1796-1849).

The Second Temple was an important Jewish Holy Temple (Hebrew: בֵּית־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי‎: Bet HaMikdash HaSheni; Arabic: بيت القدس‎: Beit al-Quds) which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period, between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple. Jewish eschatology includes a belief that the Second Temple will in turn be replaced by a future Third Temple.

The Third Temple, or Ezekiel's Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש השלישי‎: Beit haMikdash haShlishi), is a Jewish Holy Temple architecturally described and prophesied in the Book of Ezekiel, a house of prayer for all people with a sacrificial service. It is noted by Ezekiel as an eternal edifice and permanent dwelling place of the God of Israel on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.