Betar, Fall of

Eighty thousand Romans entered Betar and slaughtered the men, women and children until blood flowed from the doorways and sewers.

The 9th of Av, Tisha b'Av, commemorates a list of catastrophes so severe it's clearly a day set aside by G‑d for suffering. Another confirmation of our deeply held conviction that history isn't haphazard.

The fortress of Betar was the last holdout of the Bar Kochba rebellion. When Betar fell on the 9th of Av, 3893 (133 CE), Bar Kochba and many thousands of Jews were killed; the Romans massacred the survivors of the battle with great cruelty and would not e...

Betar, the last stronghold in the heroic Bar Kochba rebellion, fell to the Romans on the 9th of Av of the year 3893 (133 CE) after a three-year siege. 580,000 Jews died by starvation or the sword, including Bar Kochba, the leader of the rebellion. Link: A...

The Jewish anniversary of Oct. 7 is Simchat Torah. How do you celebrate Simchat Torah on the anniversary of a massacre?

This class conveys chilling details of the Roman massacre that ensued upon the defeat of the stronghold Judean city Beitar, causing the countryside to literally run red in Jewish blood. We then turn back centuries earlier to a shocking narrative of horrif...

This revolt began as small, spontaneous clashes between Jews and Roman forces.

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?