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Tish'a b'AvTish'a b'Av, or the Ninth of Av, is a Jewish fast day commemorating the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC by Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon. (Zech. 7:5, 8:19) According to tradition, it was on this same date in 70 AD that the Romans under Titus destroyed the Second Temple. Many other national disasters have been associated with this date, including the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, the beginning of World War I, and the Holocaust, and so Tish'a b'Av has come to stand for national calamity in general.
Tish'a b'Av is commemorated with prayer and fasting. Mourning restrictions apply – shaving and the wearing of leather are banned. No greetings are exchanged. The synagogue lights are dimmed. The somber book of Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah after the first destruction, is read in the synagogue. In Israel, mourners throng the Western Wall – last vestige of the Second Temple -- to recite kinot (elegies).
Yeshua lived nearly 40 years before the second destruction, yet he predicted it with poignant accuracy. (Mark 13:1-2, Luke 19:41-44) He said “not one stone will be left upon another,” and indeed nothing was left of what, in its time, was one of the grandest buildings on the face of the Earth. As he spoke of these things, he spoke of other dreadful things that must come to pass. He spoke of unparalleled days of distress – so bad that not a soul would survive if HaShem did not cut the days short. (Mark 13:20) Yeshua also predicted the coming of many counterfeit “Messiahs” (Mark 13:22) and warned his followers to beware.
Tish'a b'Av is a somber, but not a hopeless holy day. There is a silver lining to this dark cloud. According to the prophet Zechariah “The fasts of the fourth, fifth (Tish'a b'Av), seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah.” -- Zech. 8:19. The picture Zechariah paints in the ensuing verses is a very positive one for Am Israel, and harks back to the vision of Zechariah 2, foretelling the day when God himself will dwell among his people. (Zech 2:10)
Like the prophets before him, Yeshua did not speak of disaster without also speaking of restoration. “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heaven.” (Mark 13:26-27. Compare Zech 2:6)
According to Zechariah, the temple would be rebuilt by someone he calls "the Branch." (Zech. 6:12-13). This "Branch" would reign as King, but he would also be a priest! This prophecy is acted out in the book of Zechariah, with the high priest of the time playing the part of "the Branch." Interestingly, the name of this man is Joshua (Yehoshua), whose name in the contemporary books of Ezra and Nehemiah is spelled Jeshua (Yeshua!). In Zech. 3:8, HaShem says outright that Joshua is symbolic of things to come - that "I am going to bring my servant the Branch." The Hebrew word is Tsemach -- a plant. A similar symbol for the Messiah is found in Isaiah 11:1, where the word Netzer, a sprout or shoot, is used. Now Yeshua's "last name" in Hebrew is "haNotzri" -- the One from Nazareth - but the name Nazareth itself derives from Netzer. The name Yeshua ha-Notzri - Jesus of Nazareth - could be thought of as "Joshua the Sprout!" How close an identification with this prophecy could you ask for!
Zechariah also says in this same context that God “will remove the sin of this land in a single day.” (Zech. 3:9). How was that to happen? Did it have anything to do with “the Branch?” Read L'Chaim for a presentation of the Messiah's role in the removal of sin.
