Av
Encyclopedia
Av is the eleventh month of the civil year and the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...

. The name is Babylonian in origin and appeared in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 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
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

.

The Babylonian Talmud, Taanit 29a, states that "when we enter [the month of] Av, our joy is diminished". This is because the darkest events in Jewish history occurred during the first week and a half of this month, particularly The Nine Days
The Nine Days
The Nine Days is a religious observance in Judaism that takes place during the first nine days of the Jewish month of Av...

 which culminate in Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...

, the 9th of Av. However, there is a minor and largely unknown holiday during the full moon of the month called Tu B'Av
Tu B'Av
Tu B'Av is a minor Jewish holiday. In modern-day Israel, it is celebrated as a holiday of love , similar to Valentine's Day...

 which was, in ancient times, one of the happiest days of the year.

The month is also sometimes referred to as Menachem Av (Av of Comfort or Comforter of Father(s)), but most only use this title in the sanctification of the month recited on the Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

 before Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh or Rosh ḥodesh is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the appearance of the new moon. The new moon is marked by the day and hour that the new crescent is observed...

 and following Tisha B'Av.

Av in Jewish history

1 Av - (1273 BCE) - Death of Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...

  • The High Priest Aaron
    Aaron
    In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...

    , who was the brother of Moses
    Moses
    Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

     and Miriam, died at age 123 of the Hebrew year 2488 (1273 BCE). This is the only yahrzeit (date of death) explicitly mentioned in the Torah
    Torah
    Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

     (Numbers
    Book of Numbers
    The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....

     33:38).

1 Av - (513 BCE) - Ezra
Ezra
Ezra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...

 and Followers Arrived in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

  • Following their journey from Babylon
    Babylon
    Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...

    , Ezra
    Ezra
    Ezra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...

     and his followers arrived in the land of Israel
    Land of Israel
    The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...

     so they could be near the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

5 Av - (1572) - Death of Rabbi Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria
Isaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi acronym "The Ari" "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal", meaning "The Lion", was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...

  • Rabbi Isaac Luria Ashkenazi, known as "Ari HaKadosh" ("The Holy Lion") died on the 5th of Av of the Hebrew year 5332 (1572 CE
    Common Era
    Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

    ). He was born in Jerusalem in 1534, and he spent many years in secluded study near Cairo
    Cairo
    Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

    , Egypt
    Egypt
    Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

    . In 1570 he settled in Sefad, where he lived for two years until he died at age 38. During that brief time, Luria would change the study of Kabbalah
    Kabbalah
    Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...

    . He has since come to be considered one of the most important figures in Jewish mysticism.

7 Av - (586 BCE) - First Temple Invaded
  • After a month of fighting in Jerusalem, King Nebuchadnezzar's armies of Babylonia
    Babylonia
    Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...

     broke through, into the Holy Temple, where they feasted and vandalized until the afternoon of Av 9, which at that point they set the Temple on fire.

7 Av - (67 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

) - Civil War
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

 in Jerusalem
  • Fighting broke 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 quickened starvation. Jerusalem would fall three years later.

7 Av - (1492) - The Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...

  • The Jews of Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

     were expelled by King Ferdinand
    Ferdinand II of Aragon
    Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...

     and Queen Isabella
    Isabella I of Castile
    Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...

     on the 7th of Av of 1492, which destroyed many centuries of Jewish life there.

9 Av - (586 BCE and 70 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

) - Holy Temples Destroyed
  • The first and second Holy Temples which stood in Jerusalem were both destroyed, on Av 9. The First Temple by the Babylonians, and the Second Temple
    Second Temple
    The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...

     by the Romans. The Temples' destruction represented the beginning of Galut
    Galut
    Galut or Golus , means literally exile. Galut or Golus classically refers to the exile of the Jewish people from the Land of Israel . There were altogether four such exiles...

     (exile).

9 Av - (133 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

) - Fall of Betar
Betar (fortress)
The Betar Fortress was the last standing Jewish fortress in the Bar Kochba revolt of the 2nd century CE, destroyed by the Roman army of Emperor Hadrian in the year 135...

  • Betar, the last stronghold of the Bar Kochba rebellion, fell to the Romans on the 9th of Av of the Hebrew year 3893 (133 CE
    Common Era
    Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

    ) 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.


9 Av - (1290CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

) - Jews are expelled from England
  • Jews were expelled from England by the Edict of Expulsion
    Edict of Expulsion
    In 1290, King Edward I issued an edict expelling all Jews from England. Lasting for the rest of the Middle Ages, it would be over 350 years until it was formally overturned in 1656...

     of King Edward I of England and not permitted to legally return for 350 years.


10 Av (70 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

) - Holy Temple burns
  • The Romans
    Roman Empire
    The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

     set the Temple on fire on the afternoon of Av 9. This is why the mourning practices for Jews of the "Nine Days
    The Nine Days
    The Nine Days is a religious observance in Judaism that takes place during the first nine days of the Jewish month of Av...

    " are observed through the morning hours of Av 10.

10 Av - (1994) - AMIA Bombing
AMIA Bombing
The AMIA bombing was an attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, that killed 85 people and injured hundreds. It was Argentina's deadliest bombing...

  • Arab
    Arab
    Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

    s bombed the Jewish community center
    Jewish Community Center
    A Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities...

     (AMIA
    Amia
    Amia, AMIA, or AMiA can refer to:*American Medical Informatics Association*Bowfin, a fish genus*Anglican Mission in the Americas*Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina, a Jewish community center located in Buenos Aires, Argentina...

    ) in Buenos Aires
    Buenos Aires
    Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

    , Argentina
    Argentina
    Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

    , which killed 86 and wounded more than 300. This is the deadliest attack in Jewish diaspora
    Diaspora
    A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...

     since the Holocaust.

10 Av - (2005) - Gaza Disengagement
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan
Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , also known as the "Disengagement plan", "Gaza expulsion plan", and "Hitnatkut", was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from...

  • Thousands of Israelis were evacuated from 25 towns and settlements in the Gaza Strip
    Gaza Strip
    thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...

     (including 16 settlements in the "Gush Katif
    Gush Katif
    Gush Katif was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. Gush Katif was specifically mentioned by Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who fell victim to an assassin in 1995, as essential to Israel's security border. In August 2005, the Israeli army moved the 8,600...

    " belt) and Northern Shomron in the summer of 2005, as part of the Israel
    Israel
    The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

    i government's, Disengagement Plan.

12 Av - (1263) - Nachmanides' disputation
  • King James I
    James I of Aragon
    James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...

     of Aragon
    Aragon
    Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

     (Spain
    Spain
    Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

    ) ordered 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
    Pablo Christiani
    Pablo Christiani , a figure of the thirteenth century, was born to a pious Jewish family, with the name Saul. He became a Christian convert and Dominican friar....

    . 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.

13 Av - (1885) - Death of Sir Moses Montefiore
  • Av 13 is the day Sir Moses Montefiore died at age 101. He was a very famous philantropist and an advocate of Jewish causes. (1784-1885).

15 Av - (148 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

) - Betar
Betar (fortress)
The Betar Fortress was the last standing Jewish fortress in the Bar Kochba revolt of the 2nd century CE, destroyed by the Roman army of Emperor Hadrian in the year 135...

 dead buried
  • The Betar fortress was the last holdout of the Bar Kochba rebellion. Betar fell on the 9th of Av, Hebrew year, 3893 (133 CE
    Common Era
    Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

    ), Bar Kochba and many thousands of Jews were killed by the Romans
    Roman Empire
    The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

    . 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 CE
    Common Era
    Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

    ), an additional blessing (HaTov VehaMeitiv) was added to the "Grace After Meals" in their commemoration.

15 Av - Tu B'Av
Tu B'Av
Tu B'Av is a minor Jewish holiday. In modern-day Israel, it is celebrated as a holiday of love , similar to Valentine's Day...

  • 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
    Talmud
    The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

    , Taanit 31a). The reason they would wear borrowed linen garments was so those without nice clothes of their own would not be embarrassed.

15 Av - The Day of the Breaking of the Ax
  • When the Holy Temple existed, the cutting of firewood
    Firewood
    Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....

     for the altar was completed on the 15th of Av every year. The event was celebrated by feasting and rejoicing, as was the custom upon the conclusion of any holy task, and it included a ceremonial breaking of the axes, from which the day gets its name.

17 Av - (1929) - Hebron Massacre
Hebron massacre
Hebron massacre may refer to:* 1929 Hebron massacre* Cave of the Patriarchs massacre in 1994* Hebron Massacre , a 1994 album by Muslimgauze...

  • 67 Jewish adults and children were killed, and others were wounded, rape
    Rape
    Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

    d or injured, by Arab
    Arab
    Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

    s in Hebron
    Hebron
    Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...

    . The Arabs rioted for three days yelling out cries to "Slaughter the Jews." The survivors fled to Jerusalem. This massacre destroyed the ancient Jewish community of Hebron, which had existed there relatively peacefully for centuries. Jews would not return until after Israel
    Israel
    The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

    's capture of Hebron
    Hebron
    Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...

     in the 1967 Six Day War.

21 Av - (1918) - Death of Rabbi Chaim Brisker 
  • Rabbi Chaim Soloveichik of Brisk
    Brisk
    Brisk may refer to:* Brest, Belarus Brisk is the city's name in Yiddish* Brisk tradition and Soloveitchik dynasty, a school of Jewish thought originated by the Soloveitchik family of Brest...

     (1853-1918) died on this day. He was a famous Talmud
    Talmud
    The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

    ic scholar and Jewish leader.

24 Av - (circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

 100 BCE) - Hasmonean Holiday
  • Sometime around 100 BCE, the Hasmoneans reinstated Jewish civil law which replaced the Hellenist
    Hellenistic civilization
    Hellenistic civilization represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE...

     secular law, and declared this day a holiday.

Other uses

  • In the story of Xenogears
    Xenogears
    is a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...

    , 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 is the name for the month of August in the Levant
    Levant
    The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...

     (see Arabic names of calendar months
    Arabic names of calendar months
    The Arabic names of calendar months of the Gregorian calendar are usually phonetic Arabic pronunciations of the corresponding month names used in European languages...

    ).

External links


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