The exiles would eventually return home and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple . The fasts would continue to keep the severity of what happened etched within the souls of the people . Over 500 years would go by — a little bit longer than the first Temple stood — until another time of tragedy would come upon the Jewish people ; this time in the form of the Roman empire .
In the year 66 C . E ., the Jewish people would get fed up with this oppressive foreign ruler and would revolt . Four years later , under the command of General Titus , the Romans would sack Jerusalem and throw the Temple to the floor . ( You can still see physical evidence of this to this day ).
Titus commemorated his military victory in the Arch of Titus located within Rome . The Jews continued to resist for another three years or so until a decisive squashing of all rebellion towards the empire . And you may be wondering when did Titus destroy the Temple ?
That ’ s right , it was on Tisha B ’ Av ( the ninth of Av )!
Other terrible things had happened on this day . Ten of the twelve spies sent by Moses to check out Canaan , deliver their pessimistic and faithless report and doom the people to 40 years of desert wandering . About 60 years after the Temple was destroyed , the Jews revolted again .
They fought for 3 years under the leadership of Bar Kokhba ( along with Rabbi Akiva ) only to be defeated , leading to the Jewish expulsion from the land of Israel . The Romans further deride the losers and rename their homeland , Syria Palaestina . The first crusade was likewise declared on this date . Jews were expelled from England in the 13th century and from Spain in the 15th century , on Tisha B ’ Av . World War I began , which was terrible in and of itself , though it was also the precursor to World War II and the Holocaust . Needless to say , it is the darkest day in Jewish history !
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