This past weekend Jews commemorated Tisha B’Av, which is a
fast day that remembers the destruction of the First Jewish Temple by the
Babylonians, and the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple at the hands of
the Romans. There was a report in The
Times of Israel that over the weekend the Israeli police were allowing Jews
to visit the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif and pray quietly. One of the readings from the 16th
Sunday in Ordinary Time (7/18/2021) was Jeremiah 23:1-6 that speaks of the
remnant being gathered back from the lands to which they were scattered.
