Vol. 31, No.
7 -- July 2011
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Our Jewish Roots
The Jewish holy days which the Bible prescribes in Leviticus 23 occur either in the spring between Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Pentecost) or in the fall between Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles). In later times, other holidays like Hanukah and Purim were added in the fall and winter seasons. The summer months offer only one widely recognized Jewish holy day -- Tisha B'Av. This name simply means "the 9th of Av." Av (or Ab) is the fifth month in the Jewish calendar that is based on the cycles of the moon.
Three important events of Jewish history occurred on or near the 9th of Av.
FIRST, in the year 586 BC, the 5th month (Av), on the 7th day, the army of Babylon conquered the city of Jerusalem. Over the next several days they burned the temple which King Solomon had built, tore down its walls, and deported the Jews to slave labor in Babylon (see 2 Kings 25.8-10 and Jeremiah 52.12-13).
SECOND, in the year AD 70, on the 9th of Av, the army of Rome conquered Jerusalem and began destroying the temple which King Herod the Great had built, as Jesus predicted (see Matthew 24.1-2).
THIRD, in the year AD 1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, as part of their systematic brutal persecution of Jews (the Inquisition), ordered all Jews to leave Spain by July 31, 1492, which that year was on the 9th of Av. Two days later Christopher Columbus began his first voyage east in search of a shortcut to India. (Some historians say that Columbus began his voyage from the small southern Spanish port of Palos de la Frontera because the larger port of Cadiz had been designated for ships deporting thousands of Jews who were fleeing for their lives.)
Over the centuries rabbis have attributed other historic tragedies to the 9th of Av, but these three are most prominent. Because the Babylonian destruction of Israel's first temple is documented in the Bible, this event serves as the primary focus of Tisha B'Av. However, Tisha B'Av is also an occasion to remember and grieve Israel's long history as a persecuted people.
Tisha B'Av normally occurs in late July and early August. This year it is on August 9, beginning the eve of August 8. Tisha B'Av is the culmination of a three-week period of mourning, which is commemorated on its final day with fasting, refraining from work, and reading the Old Testament book of Lamentations. Tisha B'Av is a solemn day. It is devoid of any festive celebration which is prominent in other Jewish holidays.
There are two important lessons which Christians can learn from Tisha B'Av. First, we need to take to heart the reason God twice permitted the destruction of His temple -- the center of Israel's religious life. The Bible says that it was because God is not interested in religion. He wants relationship. The Lord says, "These people worship me only with their words. They honor me by what they say. But their hearts are far away from me. Their worship doesn't mean anything to me. They teach nothing but human rules." (Isaiah 29.13 NIrV). We need to hold the mirror of God's Word up to our own hearts to see if these words are also true about us.
Second, we must be bold in our stance against those whose hearts burn with venomous hatred against Jewish people. Throughout history, many of those who persecuted Jewish people shamefully did it in the name of Christ. This has created a high wall in the Jewish culture which makes it all the more difficult to share the Good News of Jesus with those who first brought us the Messiah.
~~Pastor Ron