Editing Tisha B'Av (section)

===Five calamities===

[[Image:NinthAvStonesWesternWall.JPG|thumb|right|Excavated stones from the Western Wall of the Temple Mount (Jerusalem, Israel), knocked onto the street below by Roman battering rams in 70 CE]]

According to the [[Mishnah]] (''[[Ta'anit (Talmud)|Taanit]]'' 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting:

# The [[The Twelve Spies|Twelve Spies]] sent by [[Moses]] to observe the land of [[Canaan]] returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, [[Joshua]] and [[Caleb]], brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the [[Children of Israel]] to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "[[Promised Land]]". For this, they were punished by [[Names of God in Judaism|God]] that their generation would not enter the land.<ref>See {{bibleverse||Numbers|13|HE}}; {{bibleverse||Numbers|14|HE}}.</ref> The [[midrash]] quotes God as saying about this event, "You cried before me pointlessly, I will fix for you [this day as a day of] crying for the generations",<ref>[[Numbers Rabbah]] 16:20</ref> alluding to the future misfortunes which occurred on the same date.
# The [[Solomon's Temple|First Temple]] built by [[Solomon|King Solomon]] was [[Siege of Jerusalem (586 BC)|destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar]] in 586 BCE, and the population of the [[Kingdom of Judah]] was sent into the [[Babylonian captivity|Babylonian exile]].<ref name="jewishencyc">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/110-ab-ninth-day-of|title=Ab, Ninth Day of|encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]|access-date=15 July 2013}}</ref> According to the Bible, the First Temple's destruction began on the 7th of Av (2 Kings 25:8) and continued until the 10th (Jeremiah 52:12). According to the [[Talmud]],<ref>[[Ta'anit (Talmud)|Ta'anit]] 29a</ref> the actual destruction of the Temple began on the Ninth of Av, and it continued to burn throughout the Tenth of Av.
# The [[Second Temple]], built by [[Zerubbabel]] and renovated by [[Herod the Great]], was [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destroyed by the Romans]] on 9 Av 70 CE,{{efn|Secular chronology gives the year as 70 CE. Some versions of rabbinic chronology give the year as 68 CE. See [[Missing years (Jewish calendar)#Two-year difference within the Hebrew calendar]] for elaboration.}} scattering the people of [[Judea]] and commencing the [[Jewish diaspora|Jewish exile]] from the Holy Land.<ref name="jewishencyc"/> 
# The Romans subsequently crushed [[Bar Kokhba's revolt]] and destroyed the city of [[Betar (fortress)|Betar]], killing over 500,000 Jewish civilians (approximately 580,000) on 9 Av 135 CE.<ref name="Ohr">{{cite web |url=http://ohr.edu/1088 |title=History of Events on Tisha B'Av |last=Becher |first=Rabbi Mordechai |year=1995 |access-date=19 July 2010 |publisher=ohrnet}}</ref>
# Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Roman commander [[Quintus Tineius Rufus (consul 127)|Quintus Tineius Rufus]] plowed the site of the Temple in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.<ref name="Barclay" />