Destruction of the Holy Temple, The

July 19–August 9, 2011

The precious jewels had been scattered to the farthest reaches of the globe. How would the king recover that which was most dear to him?

The day of the wedding arrived. Hundreds of beggars took their places around tables laden with the best food money could buy. But then tragedy struck . . .

If you were there and the Romans or the Babylonians were about to destroy Jerusalem and you had the power to do something about it, would you sit and mourn and cry? Or would you turn the world upside down to change history? So what is stopping you? ...

A desert decree revoked . . . a marriage ban lifted . . . 600 survivors go wife-hunting . . . roadblocks to Jerusalem removed . . . Betar dead buried . . . What is the connection between all of these events?

What remains of the destroyed Temple to be held as "collateral"? What is the debt whose payment will trigger the Temple's return to us?

Jewish history is comprised of two segments: pre and post Temple destruction. The first era is marked by miracles and constant divine intervention; the second by suffering and Divine concealment.

The Babylonian armies of King Nebuchadnezzar breached the walls of Jerusalem on the 9th of Tammuz in the year 3338 from creation (423 BCE); King Ziddikiahu of Judah was captured and taken to Babylon (Jeremiah 39:5. A month later, the capture of Jerusalem ...

Both the first and second Holy Temples which stood in Jerusalem were destroyed on Av 9: the First Temple by the Babylonians in the year 3338 from creation (423 BCE), and the second by the Romans in 3829 (69 CE). The Temples' destruction represents the ...

When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies. The others started weeping; Rabbi Akiva laughed...