Jerusalem Vistas Canada Society August 2019 Thank You Letter
Shalom and warm greetings to our dear friends and precious partners,During the first days of August every year we remember with fasting the horrific destructions of our people over the centuries by marking the day called the Ninth of Av or Tisha B’Av in Hebrew.
It is a somber time when one considers all the enormous suffering of our forefathers at the hands of evil despots, ungodly empires and there uncaring people. Here is an abbreviated list of such events that occurred on or around the ninth of Av.
- The Twelve Spies sent by Moses to observe the land of Canaan returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the Children of Israel to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the “Promised Land”. This day as a day of] crying for the generations”, alluding to the future misfortunes which occurred on the same date.
- The First Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BCE, and the population of the Kingdom of Judah was sent into the Babylonian exile. The First Temple’s destruction began on the 7th of Av (2 Kings 25:8) and continued until the 10th (Jeremiah 52:12). According to the Talmud, the actual destruction of the Temple began on the Ninth of Av, and it continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av.
- The Second Temple built by Ezra and Nehemiah was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE] scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land that continues to this day.
- The Romans subsequently crushed Bar Kokhba’s revolt and destroyed the city of Betar, killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians (approximately 580,000) on August 4, 135 CE.
- Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Roman commander Turnus Rufus plowed the site of the Temple in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, in 135 CE and covered it with salt.;
- Over time, Tisha B’Av has come to be a Jewish day of mourning, not only for these events, but also for later tragedies which occurred on or near the 9th of Av. References to some of these events appear in liturgy composed for Tisha B’Av.
- The First Crusade officially commenced on August 15, 1096, killing 10,000 Jews in its first month and destroying Jewish communities in France and the Rhineland.
- The Jews were expelled from England on July 18, 1290 (Av 9)
- The Jews were expelled from France on July 22, 1306 (Av 10)
- The Jews were expelled from Spain on July 31, 1492 (Av 7)
- Germany entered World War I on August 1–2, 1914 (Av 9–10), which caused massive upheaval in European Jewry and whose aftermath led to the Holocaust.
- On August 2, 1941 (Av 9), SS commander Heinrich Himmler formally received approval from the Nazi Party for “The Final Solution.” As a result, the Holocaust began during which almost one third of the world’s Jewish population perished.
- On July 23, 1942 (Av 9), began the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.
- The AMIA bombing, of the Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, killed 85 and injuring 300 on July 18, 1994 (10 Av)
- The Israeli disengagement from Gaza began in the Gaza Strip, expelling 8000 Jews who lived in Gush Katif; August 15, 2005; 10 Av,
- While the Holocaust spanned a number of years, most religious communities use Tisha B’Av to mourn its 6,000,000 Jewish victims, in addition to or instead of the secular Holocaust Memorial Days. On Tisha B’Av, communities which otherwise do not modify the traditional prayer liturgy have added the recitation of special prayers related to the Holocaust.”
Regarding point 14 above, yesterday I was reading to Meridel a quote from a book that I have written (and she will later edit) called Timeless Secrets Volume 2 “Miracles Among the Nations.” I was remembering our time in Argentina when visiting the Jewish community in Buenos Aires. We had gone there as a family in 1974 to warn the local Jewish community leaders about the dangers looming on the horizon for them. We also tried to encourage them to make “aliyah” or emigrate to Israel where they will be safe according to the Bible. Many did. Thank God.
One evening an Israeli Secret Service (Mossad) agent came to meet us and asked me, “Where are you getting your message about the dangers for the Jews in Argentina today?”
I told him. “The message comes, right from here pointing to my Bible. “But, he responded, where does it say it is dangerous for Jews to live here?” “Right from here.”
“Yes, but where?” he asked. I then read from Jeremiah 16:15 and 16:
“But the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.
For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.
Behold I will send for many fishermen says the Lord,
and they shall fish them;
and afterward I will send for many hunters
and they shall hunt them
from every mountain and from every hill and out of the holes of the rocks.”
Jeremiah 16:15-16
I said, “Sir, this means that there is a time coming when people like us will go around the world calling the Jewish people back home – gently, but after that will come a time when cruel hunters will come!”
He was curious and wanted to know more places in the Bible that things like this are written. We assured him there were lots. I sat down with him as Meridel put the children to bed. I wrote out several scripture references warning the Jews to flee the Diaspora and to come home to safety.
As he left he shook his head and smiled, “I will tell my bosses this but they won’t believe it!” I said, “Yes, I think they will!” I responded.
Sadly Jeremiah’s words came to pass in two horrible and tragic terror attacks in Buenos Aires just as we had warned. See point 14 mentioned above.
This year the Ninth of Av fast is from sunset August 10 to nightfall on August 11, 2019.
Thank you again for your support of our prophetic media ministry. We deeply appreciated each one of you.
In His love,
Jay Meridel and sons and team.
Photo by Joe Pregadio on Unsplash