The first indication that Tisha B’Av would be a day of mourning and remembrance for Jews dates back much further than the destruction of the Holy Temple by Nebuchatnezer in the year 586 B.C.E., which is two thousand five hundred and eighty four years ago. Today.

Long before, in the desert, when the Maragliem, the Spies or Scouts, returned from their mission to spy out the Land of Canaan, ten of them, each a prince from one of the tribes, reported that, though the land was “flowing with milk and honey”, it was not going to be at all easy, or perhaps not even possible, to capture. They described the inhabitants as being fierce and numerous and powerful and they cried out against the prospect of trying to follow G-d’s plan. The Jewish people at that time wept in fear and, in doing so, they demonstrated a lack of faith in Ha-Shem.

Because of this crying and weeping for nothing, G-d decided that that day, the Ninth of Av, would be in future, a day of weeping for generations to come. But, it was hundreds of years from then until the destruction of the First Temple. What took G-d so long to move on this matter and to make Tisha B’Av what it is today?

Let’s step back for a moment and try and put Tisha B’Av into some kind of perspective to, perhaps, understand its significance to us in today’s volatile world.

When the State of Israel was founded after World War II, there were those who felt we no longer needed to observe Tisha B’Av because Geulah, Redemption, had been accomplished. After all, we, the Jewish People, we back in the Land.

Redemption is a key concept. We were not redeemed from Egypt for four hundred years so we would appreciate freedom when we had it. Those Jews who came out of Egypt never got to enter Cannan because they were unable to completely shake off the vestiges of slavery as demonstrated at Mount Sinai with the Sin of the Golden Calf and later as they were about to enter Canaan when they continued to doubt G-d’s ability. So, the process of redemption seems inextricably bound to a strong demonstrable faith in G-d.

Rabbi Nehemiah said that ECHAH, which is read on Tisha B’Av, is the expression of wailing as it is written in Berashit 3:9, “And the Lord G-d called unto Adam and said unto him, AHYEKAH.” He equates the letters usually translated as “Where are you?” as a wailing out by the Lord before He ejects them from Gan Eden, “Woe unto you!”

Ben Azzai, when asked about the Scroll of ECHAH, explained that the word, made up of Aleph, Yood, Chuff, and Hey, points out that the Jews were sent into exile, that is to say, they were denied redemption and entrance into the Land, when they denied ONE G-D (ALEPH = 1), ignored the TEN COMMANDMENTS (YOOD = 10), abandoned the covenant with G-d by not observing Brit <ilah, circumcision, which was first made with Abraham, who was the TWENTIETH GENERATION after Adam (CHUFF = 20), and denied the Torah which is the FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES (HEY = 5).

So, we learn from this, that Redemption can not be realized in the absence of a strong Mitzvah driven Jewish society. There was actually a fabulous fore warning of the complete destruction of the Holy Temple and that it would be destroyed for just this reason.

King David ruled over what were basically simple agrarian minded people. Surrounding the Jews were larger wealthier nations with well-established infrastructures. Each could boast of central cities of government that would have their large religious temples. Solomon, whose reign lasted only 40 years, worked hard to put the Jewish land on equal footing with its neighbors. He made creative trade arrangements with Lebanon and other countries to provide the materials to build his own magnificent palace and to build the Holy Temple.

Israel was situated at the crossroads of the trading world but, due to its relative strength, was unable to exact duty from those who passed through. However, it could trade with them. Unfortunately, the trade deficit grew and grew until large sections of Judea were given over to other nations to satisfy the debts. So, the country became economically off balance.

In order to maintain peaceful relations with the different countries, King Solomon took wives from these countries into his harem. These wives were allowed to practice their pagan religions and to worship idols. The simple people who supported the extravagances of the Kingdom were ill prepared to avoid being influenced by strange religious practices that must have seemed to have been condoned. Judaism itself, and not only the national economy, was in a weakened state. When Solomon died and his son assumed the throne, the nation was so fragile, that, when some of the northern tribes rebelled, Egypt saw the country
Was ripe for capture. The Temple, which had not yet become the absolute focal point of the religion, was captured and wrecked. It may not have been completely destroyed. But, the incident certainly foreshadowed what would be the fate of the Jewish people if they were to continue living their lives outside of how G-d intended them to live; immersed in Torah.

For the next 200 years, Jewish rulers came and went; only twice did their sons succeed Kings. But, this was the time of the Prophets who were ministering to the people. The people’s overall lack of response to the law of G-d resulted in their being denied continued redemption. So, similar to the punishment meted out to Adam and Eve, the Jews were expelled from the Land. And, the Holy Temple was destroyed.