Av 230230 224844350 2008-07-10T17:50:19Z Gaius Cornelius 293907 Tidy using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] :''This article is about the [[Hebrew calendar|Hebrew month]]. For the abbreviation ''AV'' or ''aV'', see [[AV]]. {{Hebrew month|letname= Av (אָב‎)|previouslink=Tammuz|previousletter=Tammuz|nextlink= Elul|nextletter= Elul|num=11|days=30|season=[[summer]]|gregorian=July-August|filename=Francesco Hayez 017.jpg|size=250px|name=The Second Temple in flames|caption=The 9th of Av, [[Tisha B'Av]], is a [[Ta'anit|fast]] commemorating<br>what's been called the saddest day in Jewish history,<ref>Telushkin, Joseph (1991). Jewish Literacy: ''Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History''. William Morrow & Co, 656. ISBN 0-688-08506-7. </ref><br> which is when the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Holy Temple]] was set aflame.}} '''Av''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: '''אָב''', <small>[[Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew|Standard]]</small> ''Av'' <small>[[Tiberian vocalization|Tiberian]]</small> ''{{Unicode|ʾĀḇ}}'' ; from [[Akkadian language|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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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''' ({{lang-he|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. ==Holidays in Av== '''Av 9''' -Fast of [[Tisha B'Av]] - ''(fast day)''<br> '''Av 15''' - [[Tu B'Av]] ==Av in Jewish history== '''1 Av''' - (1273 BCE) - Death of [[Aaron]] *<small>[[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]] ([[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 33:38).</small> '''1 Av''' - (348 BCE) - [[Ezra]] and Followers Arrived in [[Israel]] *<small>Following their journey from [[Babylon]] (see Jewish history for the 12th of [[Nisan|Nissan]]), [[Ezra]] and his followers arrived in the [[land of Israel]] so they could be near the second [[Holy Temple in Jerusalem]].</small> '''3 Av''' - (423 BCE) - Jerusalem Walls Breached *<small>The [[Babylonian]] armies of [[King Nebuchadnezzar]] breached the walls of [[Jerusalem]] on the 9th of Tammuz in the Hebrew year 3338 (423 BCE). [[King Ziddikiahu]] of [[Judah]] was captured and taken to [[Babylon]] ([[Jeremiah]] 39:5. A month later, Jerusalem's capture was completed with the destruction of the [[Holy Temple]] and the exile of all but a small number of Jews to [[Babylon]]. Tammuz 9 was observed as a fast day until the second breaching of Jerusalem's walls (by the Romans) on the 17th of Tammuz, 3829 ([[69]] [[Common Era|CE]]), at which time the fast was moved to that date. ([[Talmud]], [[Rosh Hashanah]] and [[Tur Orach Chaim]] 549)</small> '''5 Av''' - (1572) - Death of "[[Ari HaKadosh|Ari]]" *<small>[[Ari HaKadosh|Rabbi Isaac Luria Ashkenazi]], known as [[Ari HaKadosh]] ("The Holy Lion") died on the 5th of Av of the Hebrew year 5332 (1572 [[Common Era|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]].</small> '''7 Av''' - (423 BCE) - [[First Temple]] Invaded *<small>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.</small> '''7 Av''' - ([[67]] [[Common Era|CE]]) - [[Civil War]] in [[Jerusalem]] *<small>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.</small> '''9 Av''' - (423 BCE and [[69]] [[Common Era|CE]]) - [[Holy Temple]]s Destroyed *<small>The first and second [[Holy Temple]]s which stood in [[Jerusalem]] were both destroyed, Av 9. The [[First Temple]] by the [[Babylonians]] in the Hebrew year 3338 (423 BCE), and the [[Second Temple]] by the Romans in 3829 ([[69]] [[Common Era|CE]]). The Temples' destruction represented the beginning of [[Gault]] (exile).</small> '''9 Av''' - ([[133]] [[Common Era|CE]]) - Fall of [[Betar]] *<small>[[Betar]], the last stronghold of the [[Bar Kochba]] rebellion, fell to the Romans on the 9th of Av of the Hebrew year 3893 ([[133]] [[Common Era|CE]]) after a three-year siege. 580,000 Jews are said to have died by either starvation or the sword, including [[Bar Kochba]], the leader of the rebellion.</small> '''9 Av''' - (1290) - Expulsion from [[England]] *<small>The Jews of [[England]] were expelled by [[Edward I of England|King Edward I]] on the 9th of Av in 1290</small> '''9 Av''' - (1492) - The [[Spanish Inquisition]] *<small>The Jews of [[Spain]] were expelled by [[King Ferdinand]] and [[Queen Isabella]] on the 9th of Av of 1492, destroying many centuries of Jewish life in that country.</small> '''10 Av''' (69 [[Common Era|CE]]) - [[Holy Temple]] burns *<small>The [[Roman Empire|Romans]] set the Temple on fire on the afternoon of Av 9. For this reason, the mourning practices of the "[[Nine Days]]" are observed through the morning hours of Av 10.</small> '''10 Av''' - (1994) - [[AMIA Bombing]] *<small>[[Arab]] terrorists exploded a bomb in the [[Jewish community center]] ([[AMIA]]) in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]], killing 86 and wounding more than 300. This was the most lethal attack against any [[diaspora]] Jewish community since the [[Holocaust]].</small> '''10 Av''' - (2005) - [[Expulsion from Gaza]] *<small>8,500 Jewish residents were forcefully removed from their homes in 25 towns and settlements in the [[Gaza Strip]] (including 16 settlements in the "[[Gush Katif]]" belt) and [[Northern Shomron]] in the summer of 2005, as part of the [[Israeli]] government's, [[Disengagement Plan]].</small> '''12 Av''' - (1263) - [[Nachmanides]]' disputation *<small>[[James I of Aragon|King James I]] of [[Aragon]] ([[Spain]]) ordered [[Nachmanides]] ([[Nachmanides|Rabbi Moses ben Nachman]], 1194-1270) to participate in a public debate, held in the king's presence, against the Jewish convert to Christianity, [[Pablo Christiani]]. His defense of Judaism and refutations of Christianity's claims served as the basis of future disputations through the generations. Because his victory was an insult to the king's religion, Nachmanides was forced to flee Spain and came to [[Jerusalem]].</small> '''13 Av''' - (1885) - Death of [[Sir Moses Montefiore]] *<small>Av 13 is the day [[Sir Moses Montefiore]] died at age 101. He was a famed [[philantropist]] and Jewish advocate. (1784-1885).</small> '''15 Av''' - ([[148]] [[Common Era|CE]]) - [[Betar]] dead buried *<small>The [[Betar]] fortress was the last holdout of the [[Bar Kochba]] rebellion. Betar fell on the 9th of Av, Hebrew year, 3893 ([[133]] [[Common Era|CE]]), [[Bar Kochba]] and many thousands of Jews were killed by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]]. Afterwards, the Romans would not allow the Jews to bury their dead for 15 years afterwards. The dead of Betar were brought to burial on Av 15 of the year Hebrew year 3908 ([[148]] [[Common Era|CE]]), an additional blessing ([[HaTov VehaMeitiv]]) was added to the "[[Grace After Meals]]" in their commemoration.</small> '''15 Av''' - Matchmaking Day *<small>In [[ancient Israel]], it was the custom that on the 15th of Av "the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed linen garments... and dance in the vineyards" and "whoever did not have a wife would go there" to find himself a bride ([[Talmud]], [[Taanit]] 31a). The reason they would wear borrowed linen garments was so those without nice clothes of their own wouldn't be embarssed)</small> '''15 Av''' - The Day of the Breaking of the Ax *<small>When the [[Holy Temple]] stood in [[Jerusalem]], there was an annual cutting of [[firewood]] for the altar. This was concluded on the 15th of Av. The event was celebrated with feasting and rejoicing, as is the custom upon the conclusion of any holy doing, and it included a ceremonial breaking of the axes which is what gave the day its name.</small> '''17 Av''' - (1929) - [[Hebron Massacre]] *<small>67 Jewish men, women and children were killed, and man others wounded, [[rape]]d and maimed, by their [[Arab]] neighbors in the city of [[Hebron]]. The Arabs rioted for three days yelling out cries to "Slaughter the Jews." The survivors fled to [[Jerusalem]], this destroyed the ancient Jewish community of Hebron, which had lived in relative peace in the city for hundreds of years until after [[Israel]]'s capture of [[Hebron]] in the 1967 [[Six Day War]].</small> '''20 Av''' - (1558) - [[Zohar]] published *<small>On the 20th of Av, the first printing of the [[Zohar]], a fundamental work of [[Kabbalah]] by the [[Talmudic]] sage, Rabbi [[Shimon Bar Yochai]].</small> '''20 Av''' - (1944) - Death of Rabbi [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] *<small>Av 20 is the [[yahtzeit]] (anniversary of the death) of the [[Lubavitcher]] Rebbe's father, Rabbi [[Levi Yitzchak Schneerson]] (1878-1944), who died in [[Alma Ata]], [[Kazakhstan]]. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was the [[Chief Rabbi]] of [[Yekaterinoslav]] (now called [[Dnepropetrovsk]]), and was arrested and exiled to [[Kazakhstan]] by the [[Stalin]] regime because of his effort to preserve Jewish life in the [[Soviet Union]].</small> '''21 Av''' - (1918) - Death of Rabbi [[Chaim Brisker]] *<small>Rabbi [[Chaim Soloveichik]] of [[Brisk]] (1853-1918) died on this day. He was a famous [[Talmud]]ic scholar and Jewish leader.</small> '''24 Av''' - ([[circa]] 100 BCE) - Hasmonean Holiday *<small>Sometime around 100 BCE, the [[Hasmoneans]] reinstated Jewish civil law which replaced the [[Hellenist]] [[secular]] law, and declared this day a holiday.</small> '''26 Av''' - (1843) - Tzemach Tzeddek departs [[Saint Petersburg]] *<small>In 1843, the [[Interior Ministry]] of the [[Czar]]ist government in [[Russia]] had a rabbinical conference in the capital of [[Saint Petersburg]]. They wanted changes made to Jewish communal life and religious practice. Rabbi [[Menachem Mendel]] of [[Lubavitch]] (1789-1866) was invited as he was a leader of Russian Jewry. During the conference, government officials arrested him 22 times because he refused to comply. By the time he left on the 26th of Av, he had successfully prevented the government's disruption of traditional Jewish life.</small> {{listdev}} ==Other uses== *In the story of [[Xenogears]], '''Av''' is the name of a country, named after the Hebrew month. In the official Japanese version translation, however, it was transliterated '''Ave'''. This was later further changed by the translation process to '''Aveh''' for the English version. * Ab ([[Arabic]]: آﺏ) is the name for the month of August in the [[Levant]]. {{Wikisource1911Enc|Ab}} ==References== {{reflist}} * [http://www.chabad.org/calendar/ This Month in Jewish History] {{HebrewMonths}} [[Category:Months of the Hebrew calendar]] [[ar:آب]] [[ca:Av]] [[cs:Av]] [[de:Aw (Monat)]] [[es:Av]] [[eo:Abo]] [[fr:Av]] [[gl:Ab]] [[id:Ab]] [[ia:Ab]] [[it:Av (mese)]] [[he:אב]] [[nl:Aaw]] [[no:Ab]] [[nn:Månaden ab]] [[pl:Aw]] [[pt:Av]] [[ro:Av]] [[ru:Ав]] [[sl:Ab]] [[sv:Ab (månad)]] [[yi:אב]]