Paul Calvert spoke with David Polegi

David Polegi

Today is Tisha B'Av. Tisha B'Av is the fast on the 9th day of the month of Av. It's a day of mourning to commemorate the tragedies that have happened to the Jewish people, many of which have occurred on the 9th of Av. To find out more Paul Calvert spoke with David Polegi, the Pastor at Christ Church Jerusalem.

David: During Tisha B'Av the Jewish people or at least many Jewish people remember the destruction of both temples; the temple of Solomon and the temple of Herod. These two temples according to Jewish tradition were destroyed on the same day, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. This always falls July - August time, the Jewish calendar being lunar and not solar like ours.

Paul: Many other tragedies have hit the Jewish people on this day, what other things have happened?

David: According to legend there has been the fall of the city of Beitar. This was the stronghold of Simon Bar Kookvah who led the third Jewish revolt from the year 132 to the year 135, so Jewish resistance against Rome came to an end on this day. According to Jewish legend many other tragedies have befallen the Jewish people on this day such as the expulsion from Spain and the expulsion from England in 1290 as well as more recent tragedies such as the outbreak of World War 1. It's commonly believed throughout the Jewish world that if a tragedy or disaster is going to happen it just very well might happen on this day.

Paul: So how will Orthodox Jews be observing this day?

David: Tisha B'Av is one of the main Jewish fasts in the Jewish calendar. Judaism has two main fasts and five small ones. A major fast you would have 25 hours of no eating, no drinking, no entertainment, no amusement, no sexual relations, no smoking and you spend those 25 hours in repentance and praying and asking God to forgive you of your sins and also they are praying about the sins of the nation. On Yom Kippur they may pray about individual sins but here they pray about national sins. It's understood that in every generation that the temple is not rebuilt that the nation is still sinful and not worthy of God rebuilding the temple and therefore there is a need of repentance.

Paul: Are there any specific scriptures they will read at this time of year?

David: At this time they are going to read twice during this 25 hour period the book of Lamentations. It's especially important in the liturgy during this fast.

Paul: Do you think there is a curse on this day or is it coincidence that these things have happened?

David: Well to tell you the truth I have no way of knowing. It may be or it may not be so. I think someone needs to study and see if many of these events did happen on this particular day to see if the myth is true.

Paul: Do Jews fear something will happen today?

David: Jewish people are always concerned that they may repeat the past. They are also concerned about the whole idea of unity. It is said by the ancient sages and rabbis of ancient Israel that the temple of Herod was destroyed because of causeless hatred, meaning that one Jewish group rose up against another Jewish group and fought each other especially as the Romans surrounded Jerusalem in the Year 70. The Jewish rebels were busy killing each other, burning each others food supply's because they couldn't get along with each other, so there is always a fear today in Israel that if the country isn't united then the country could end up imploding or collapsing, or there could be a military defeat due to the lack of unity. This holiday is used as an illustration of how important it is for the country to remain united.

Paul: There are many people in the land who aren't religious; do they get involved in this remembrance as well?

David: The secular population tends not to get involved in this holiday in a religious way; but they tend to look at it historically and they say like the religious, that we must draw conclusions from the destruction of especially the second temple and make sure this kind of tragedy doesn't happen to us again.

Paul: Why do you think the two temples were destroyed? Do you think God had left the Jewish people?

David: Well the first temple is easy to know why it was destroyed as the Bible tells us it was because of idolatry and immorality. The second temple we are less clear about.

Paul: So what's your prayer for Israel and the nation at this time?

David: Romans 11 says God loves Israel and the Jewish people so I think Christians should love Israel and the Jewish people and they should seek their best whether it's spiritually or economically. God has a place for Israel so we should love Israel in a very practical way. My prayer is that God will continue to reveal himself more to them and lead them and guide them as a community.