The
Shiva Asar B'Tamuz > Tisha B'Av > Tu B'Av
> Yom Kippur Progression
R.
Eliezer Kwass
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The Shiva Asar B'Tamuz > Tisha B'Av Connection
The Mishna in Taanit ties the Seventeenth of Tamuz,
at the beginning of the Three Weeks, and the Ninth
of Av, at its end, together: "Five events happened
to our forefathers on Shiva Asar B'Tamuz and five
on Tisha B'Av. On Shiva Asar B'Tamuz the tablets
were broken, the daily sacrifice was stopped, the
city wall was breached, Apustumus burned the Torah
and placed an idol in the Temple. On Tisha B'Av
it was decreed that our forefathers could not enter
the land, the first and second Temples were destroyed,
Beitar was captured, and the city was plowed."
Lining up the items in the two lists suggests that
they correspond to each other, with each one of
the Shiva Asar B'Tamuz list directly related to
one in the Tisha B'Av list.
| Shiva Asar
B'Tamuz |
Tisha B'Av |
| Tablets broken |
Decree not to
enter the Land |
| Daily sacrifice
stopped |
First Temple
Destroyed |
| City wall breached |
Second Temple
Destroyed |
| Torah burnt |
Beitar captured |
| Idol set up
in the Temple |
City plowed |
The Shiva Asar B'Tamuz
event is the beginning of a downhill process and
the Tisha B'Av one its culmination:
- The breaking of
the tablets was Israel's first major lapse in
the desert and the sin of the spies (in the
Tisha B'Av list) sealed the decree for the people
not to enter the Land of Israel.
- According to the
Rambam (Taaniot 5:2) the stopping of the daily
sacrifice took place during the First Temple
period, followed by the Temple being destroyed
on Tisha B'Av.
- The fall of Jerusalem
in the Second Temple period began with the breach
in the walls of the city on Shiva Asar B'Tamuz
and ended with the destruction of the Temple
on Tisha B'Av.
- The burning of
the Torah was symbolic of the Roman's attempt
at destroying Torah and the capture of Beitar
was its height.
- Setting up an
idol in the Temple replaces Jewish presence
with a pagan one, while plowing the city erases
Jewish presence entirely.
The first of the
pair is the beginning of the end and the second
one the end itself.
Tu B'Av: the Next Step
Two mishnas later we are told of Tu B'Av, the
fifteenth of Av. The Mishna mentions how joyous
it was but does not list any historical events
that happened on that day. A baraita quoted in
the Gemara, though, says that on Tu B'Av the Jews
knew that the decree of dying in the desert for
forty years was over. For thirty-nine years a
group would die each Tisha B'Av. In the fortieth
year, when none died on Tisha B'Av they thought
they had miscalculated. When they reached the
fifteenth of the month they realized the decree
had ended. We are also told that on Tu B'Av the
victims of the Beitar massacre, lying outside
unburied, were finally able to have a respectable
burial. Tu B'Av adds a new stage to the chart:
| Shiva
Asar B'Tamuz |
Tisha
B'Av |
Tu
B'Av |
| Tablets
broken |
Decree
not to enter the Land |
Decree
ends in fortieth year |
| Daily
sacrifice stopped |
First
Temple Destroyed |
|
| City
wall breached |
Second
Temple Destroyed |
|
| Torah
burnt |
Beitar
captured |
Beitar
victims allowed to be buried |
| Idol
set up in the Temple |
City
plowed |
|
If Shiva Asar B'Tamuz is the beginning of the
end, and Tisha B'Av is the end, Tu B'Av is the
end of the end. The harshness of Tisha B'Av is
over and a new season begins.
- During the civil
war between the tribe of Binyamin and the rest
of Israel, the rest of the tribes prohibited
intermarriage with the tribe of Binyamin. This
prohibition was eventually rescinded on Tu B'Av.
- During the First
Temple period, Yeravam be Nevat had set up guards
to prevent the people of the Northern Kingdom
of Israel from visiting the Temple in Jerusalem.
These guards were removed years later by Hoshea
on Tu B'Av.
- Tu B'Av is also
a halakhic cut-off date for cutting wood for
the fire on the altar in the Temple. The reason
for choosing Tu B'Av is because after that day
the harshness of the summer sun's heat wanes,
so wood cut later might be wormy.
Tu B'Av is a day
when difficulties and decrees end, when harshness
is blunted. It is begins the upward curve following
the depths of Tisha B'Av.
Yom Kippur: A New Beginning
The last step in the process is Yom Kippur. The
Mishna lists Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur as the most
joyous days of the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur
is the day when the second tablets were given
to Moshe. Yom Kippur, the day of forgiveness and
atonement, is also the day when the difficulties
we created for ourselves are mended. If Shiva
Asar B'Tamuz is the beginning of the end, and
Tisha B'Av the end, and Tu B'Av is the end of
the end, Yom Kippur is a new beginning.
|
