There are several Jewish holy days with which Christians are familiar, Passover (Pesah), Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Shavuot), New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

 

THERE IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT

but not so well known day, a day of communal mourning in Israel known as “Tisha B’Av.” Once a year on this day in July or August (from evening July 17 until evening July 18, 2021), Jews mourn some of the tragedies that have occurred amongst them over the centuries, especially the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E by the Babylonians and the Second Temple in 70 A.D by the Romans.

 

Faydra Shapiro (Ph.D in Religious Studies from McMaster University, Ontario), is an Orthodox Jew who directs the work of the Israel Center for Jewish-Christian Relations.

 

SHAPIRO EXPLAINS:

“Beyond fasting, the ninth of Av carries with it additional prohibitions and traditions that include sitting on low stools, no bathing, no perfumes, no music. Before the fast begins we eat a meal of egg dipped in ashes. It’s undoubtedly the worst day on the Jewish calendar: a day so wretched that we do not even engage in the great joy of Torah study.

 

“In addition to a list of ancient disasters, we also mark other historical tragedies including the beginning of the First Crusade (1096), the expulsions of Jews from England (1290), France (1306) and Spain (1492), the beginning of World War I (1914) and the start of mass liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto (1942).”

 

However, with modern day Jews the question arises: “Since the State of Israel has been reborn, why should we still mourn?”

 

THE SAME QUESTION

was asked in Zechariah’s day once the people had returned from exile in Babylonia and were rebuilding the Temple. “Should we still mourn?”[1] Shouldn’t we be celebrating the future now that we’re home again?

 

Dr. Shapiro goes on to say, “Zechariah’s answer is a challenging one, reminding us what God demands is for us to ‘render true judgments, show kindness and mercy each to his brother, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the stranger, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.’[2]

 

“Zechariah reminds us that our failure to do so is why we were exiled, and that ultimately, at base, it is this that we mourn—and must continue to mourn—on Tisha B’Av.”

 

She concludes by saying, “This, our current return and our present rebuilding, is not as good as it gets. We are called to more, and promised more. Perhaps this is why (our) tradition has it that the Messiah (Mashiach) himself, our greatest hope, will be born on Tisha B’av, out of the depths of our deepest suffering.”[3]

 

Tisha B’av is a reminder for we Christians to join with our Jewish friends and, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”[4]

 

BUT THERE IS MORE

We are reminded by Tisha B’av mourning there also is suffering attached to our Lord’s true rebuilding of who we are as followers of Jesus (Heb. Yeshua). He has redeemed us with unmerited favor (grace) from the ashes of our personal and collective spiritual exile.

 

Ours was never a “get out of jail free card.” It is good to be reminded of who and where we were, lost in ashes of spiritual and eternal exile. Until Jesus. We have been bought at an incredible cost, the precious blood of the Son of God. Jesus died and rose that we might live with him now and eternally. Amazing as it may seem, we were still sinners in exile when God reached out and embraced us in love.

 

This is why faith in the Word of God has it that Jesus (Yeshua), our Messiah himself, our greatest hope, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born in Bethlehem, lived among us, died on the Cross, and rose again to lift us out of the pit of our deepest sin and suffering. This is true ‘temple’ rebuilding and a deep return to which God calls us all.

 

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”[5]

 

May Jesus keep us close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Zechariah 7:1-3

[2] 7:9-10

[3] Quotes from Dr. Shapiro, What Happens on Tisha B’Av? August 18, 2018, Israel Bible Institute

[4] Romans 12:15

[5] 1 Corinthians 6:19-20