Monday night July 31st begins Tisha B’ Av (literally the 9th of the Jewish month of Av). Since the time of Moses and the exodus-through modern times, horrible things have happened to the Jewish people on or around the 9th day of Av. Generally not recognized is the fact that the former President of the United States, Barack Obama has an eerie connection to this sad day (above and beyond the P5+1 deal).
Tisha B’ Av is one of only two full days (27 hours) fasts on the Jewish Calendar, the other being Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is considered a happy fast, the thought is that Jews are concentrating so hard on getting close to God that they couldn’t think of eating (trust me, even through we are concentrating hard by the afternoon we are thinking of eating). Tisha B’Av is a sad mournful fast. This is a day of