Av
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the Hebrew month. For the abbreviation AV or aV, see AV.
| ← Tammuz Av (אָב) Elul → | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The 9th of Av, Tisha B'Av, is a fast commemorating what's been called the saddest day in Jewish history,[1] which is when the Holy Temple was set aflame. |
||||
| Month Number: | 11 | |||
| Number of Days: | 30 | |||
| Season: | summer | |||
| Gregorian Equivalent: | July-August | |||
Av (Hebrew: אָב, Standard Av Tiberian ʾĀḇ ; from Akkadian abu) is the eleventh month of the civil year and the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. The name is Babylonian in origin and appeared in the Talmud around the 3rd century. This is the only month which is not named in the Bible. It is a summer month of 30 days. Av usually occurs in July–August on the Gregorian calendar.
In the Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 29a, we read "When we enter [the month of] Av, our joy is diminished". This is due to the fact that the darkest events in Jewish history occurred during the first week and a half of this month, particularly The Nine Days which culminate in Tisha B'Av. However, there is a minor and largely unknown holiday during the full moon of the month called Tu B'Av which was, in ancient times, one of the happiest days of the year.
In 1290 – on the 9th day of Av, which is the same day that the Temple in Jerusalem was twice destroyed, and which is therefore the worst day in Jewish history – the Jews were expelled from Israel and not permitted to return for almost four centuries.
The month is also sometimes referred to as Menachem Av (Hebrew: מנחם אב) (Av of Comfort), but most only use this title in the sanctification of the month recited on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh and following Tisha B'Av.
Contents |
[edit] Holidays in Av
Av 9 -Fast of Tisha B'Av - (fast day)
Av 15 - Tu B'Av
[edit] Av in Jewish history
1 Av - (1273 BCE) - Death of Aaron
- Aaron the first High Priest, brother of Moses and Miriam, died at the age 123 on the 1st of Av of the Hebrew year 2488 (1273 BCE). This is the only yahrzeit (date of death) explicitly mentioned in the Torah (Numbers 33:38).
1 Av - (348 BCE) - Ezra and Followers Arrived in Israel
- Following their journey from Babylon (see Jewish history for the 12th of Nissan), Ezra and his followers arrived in the land of Israel so they could be near the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
5 Av - (1572) - Death of "Ari"
- Rabbi Isaac Luria Ashkenazi, known as Ari HaKadosh ("The Holy Lion") died on the 5th of Av of the Hebrew year 5332 (1572 CE). Born in Jerusalem in 1534, he spent many years in secluded study near Cairo, Egypt. In 1570 he settled in Sefad, where he lived for two years until he died at age 38. During that brief time, Ari would change the study of Kabbalah, and had come to be considered one of the most important figures in Jewish mysticism.
7 Av - (423 BCE) - First Temple Invaded
- After a month of fighting in Jerusalem (see "Tammuz in Jewish History" for Tammuz 9), the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia broke through, into the Temple, where they feasted and vandalized until the afternoon of Av 9, when they set the Holy Temple aflame.
7 Av - (67 CE) - Civil War in Jerusalem
- Fighting breaks out inside the besieged city of Jerusalem between different Jewish factions divided on the question of whether or not to fight the Roman armies who had encircled the city. One group set fire to the city's food stores, which is said to have quicked starvation. Jerusalem fell three years later.