The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1883-08-22
A SAD DAY FOR ISRAEL.
MAKING HER EXIT FROM
FAMIMY OF NATIONS. +
The Ninth Day of Alb, Upon
Which the First and Second
Temples at Jerusalem
Were Destroyed.
Cincinnati New. Journal. August u.

4 history. In the c2Ienuar OF LnaC pee
pie it is the memorable 9th day of Ab
; upon which, by a strange fatality th
glory Of their nation, the temple of Je
rusalem, was thrice destroyed. Tn
4 dispersion of the Israelites over tn,
D four quarters Of the globe dates back
D aid is attributable, to the destruction
: of the second hsly edifice, which wa
defended with valor that ended en1y
when death snatched the wretched peo
pie from a siege of unparalleled tor
ture. rasa pa
1t was custom In former years fol
every adult Israelite to fast from suA.
dewn of the evening of the 9th of Al
until dusk of the same day. More re-
Gently, however, the custom has not
been lived up to SO rfgidly, although
the day is remembered with some dem
onstrations of sadness by all the He
brews, even i'm our times. The day is
still regarded as a season for fasting
by the more orthodox Jews, In the
synagogues devotional exercises will
be held this morning, prominent fea-
ture thereof being the recitation OF the
Lamentations Of Jeremiah. As indi-
Gated above, the conflagration of the
second temple took place on the 9th
day Of Alb, on the same date on which
the first temple had been destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar. Six hundred years
had elapsed since the return of the
Jews from the Babylonian eaetiyity
and since-the rebuilding of the temple.
Titus began the siege of Jerusalem
I'm the year 20, at the time of the pass
over, when, on account Of the feast, a
great many Jews were sojourning in
the holy city. Many hundred thou
sands were shut up in the place by the
Romans. The immense multitude suf-
fered greatly for want of provisions,
for the greater part of the stores had
already been either plundered or de-
stroyed by the contending parties
within the gates, so that the majority
Of the people were deprived of the
means of subsistence. "A h0rrid FAM
inc threatened, which, soon after, ac-
companied by an awful pestilence,
broke out in the city. Titus gradually
drew nearer the city, which was de-
Tended by three ramp parts; the first of
which enclosed BetLesda, previously
suburb of Jerusalem the second en-
circled the quarter of AGRA and the
temple, and the third, the old or high
er city upon the Mount of Zion. All
these ramparts were high, built of SOL
Id masonry, and provided with towers,
sn that they offered great resistance,
and were not to be taken easily, espec-
tally at q time when the use of gum
powder was unknown.
Titus very soon experienced the val
or OF the Jews; for one day when he
approached the city, accompanied by
body of horsemen, Intending to recon-
noiter the place and its forts, host of
Jews suddenly burst forth from the
city, threw his hOrsemen into disor- !
der, and forced Titus himself to es-
cape on foot.
Such an accident, of course, did not !
cause the Romans to discontinue the I
siege, and they made preparations TO
advance against the first rampant. But
many Of their men were killed in the /
meantime, and it was not until after
severe and repeated losses that Titus I
succeeded in repulsing the Jews. He
ordered the battering rams to be |
brought up. These were engines con- 1
sisting of horizontal beams, having /
the ends shod with iron-generally 4
shaped after the fashion of a rams 4
head (from whicn the machine derives Il
It's name)-these beams hung from
frame in such a manner that they /
could be propelled against the walls /
with tremendous force, while the I
soldiers who worked them were pro- /
tected under q movable roof from the 4
stones and missiles thrown By the ene-
my from the heights OF the fortifics-
tions. During a sally the Jews almost
succeeded i'm destroying them, but they /
had finally TO leave Bethesda and re-
treat behind the second rampant, as
the missiles which the Roman soldiers
threw from movable OGDEN towers de-
streyed everything that came within
their reach. Titus then took posses
sion of Bethesda and advanced his bat
tering rams against the second line
OF fortihcations. He succeeded upon +
the nth day i'm battering, an opening L
into this rampant, and the Romans
rushed into Acra- The Jews, hoRev-
er, repulsed them; the contest waged
for four days, when the Romans con-
quered and retained possession of the
second quarter ef Jerusalem. Still the
temple upon the Mount of Moriah, the
higher city, and tower of extraordi-
nary strength were not taken; and III
tus discontinued the seige for four
days, hoping that fear. and starvation
would Induce the enemy 90 surrender;
but An vain. All the horrors Of war
and famine could not shake the efirm
resolution OF the abesieged; and Titns