Significance of the Ninth of Av

And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palace thereof of fire,... (2 Chron. 36:19)

For most people around the world, July 27th will be just another Tuesday. To the Jewish people it is the 9th of Av - the most tragic day on the Jewish calendar.
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple in 586 BC on the 9th of Av. The Romans chose the same day to destroy it in AD 70. England expelled the Jews in 1290 and the Spanish did the same thing in 1492 - on the 9th of Av.

Today, the 9th of Av is observed by a period of fasting and the reading of the Book of Lamentations in the synagogue.

The 9th of Av is a time of lament and sadness for the Jewish people. This day should also be a time of grief for Christians ... because of the continued need of the Jewish people to know that Jesus is the Messiah.

Set aside this July 27th as a special day of prayer for the Jewish people. Pray that this will be the last 9th of Av that your Jewish friends and family observe without knowing the joyous victory of a personal relationship with Jesus. Otherwise, the 9th of Av will not be the only day of mourning on our calendar.

Additional information on the 9th of Av can be found in Joseph Telushkin's Jewish Literacy.