A fox was spotted on Wednesday evening walking along Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, on the very night Jews mourn the destruction of the Temple, recalling an ancient prophecy about its rebuilding.
Wednesday night and Thursday mark the Jewish observance of Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, the date on which both the First and Second Holy Temples were destroyed by conquerors.
Jews observe the day by abstaining from food and drink from sundown to the following nightfall, as well as refraining from bathing, sexual relations, and wearing leather (traditionally considered a comfortable luxury).
Jewish congregations recite the Book of Lamentations together while sitting together on low chairs, as in mourning. Even normal prayer rituals are altered until late in the day, when a sense of hope is said to return.
That is where the fox comes in. In the Babylonian Talmud, there is a famous episode (Makkot 24b) in which the great sage Rabbi Akiva walks with friends near the ruins of Jerusalem, and they see a fox on the Temple Mount.
His friends are tearful, seeing a wild animal walk across the holiest site in Judaism, but Rabbi Akiva laughs. When they ask him why, he explains that if the prophecy of Uriah (in Micah 3:12) of foxes walking on the Temple Mount has come true, that means the later prophecy of Zechariah (Zechariah 8:4), who foresees the rebuilding of Jerusalem, must also come true. His companions reply, twice: “Akiva, you have comforted us.”
Video and a photo of the fox were posted by the Israel Heritage Foundation:
As the Jewish world is mourning the ninth of Av (Tisha Be’Av), the date on which Jews mourn the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem following its destruction by the Romans, a fox has been spotted walking near the Western Wall on the night of Tishah B’aav.
It is written… pic.twitter.com/Peithi6GMh— Israel Heritage Foundation (@IHF_Heritage) July 27, 2023
The Video of last night! pic.twitter.com/1VBdzm5xvL
— Israel Heritage Foundation (@IHF_Heritage) July 27, 2023
The Jerusalem Post notes that foxes have been seen before near the Temple Mount, with the last sighting in 2019, though not on Tisha B’Av.
The Post adds that the video, now going viral, is being described as “a sign of a prophecy coming true.”
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
Photo: file