From TishaB'Av to TishaB'Av, from biblical times to today, if not for the remnant, where would Jews be?
Despite numerous times of despair and desperation, when Jews were murdered by the tens of thousands, the Jewish people have survived. Whether the survival of the remnant was by our own power, or thanks to the mercy of God, is the question of the ages.
Below is a list of notable times when a remnant survived:
1. Egyptian Enslavement (c. 15th–13th century BCE): During centuries of oppression in Egypt, a faithful remnant of the Israelites, including the tribe of Levi and figures like Moses, preserved covenant traditions and monotheistic faith, leading to the Exodus and national redemption (Exodus 1–12).
2. Time of Elijah (c. 9th century BCE): Amid widespread idolatry under King Ahab, God revealed to Elijah a remnant of 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed to Baal, ensuring the survival of Yahwistic worship (1 Kings 19:18; referenced in Romans 11:4).
3. Assyrian Conquest of the Northern Kingdom (722 BCE): The ten northern tribes were largely exiled and assimilated, but a righteous remnant in the southern Kingdom of Judah—faithful to the Torah under kings like Hezekiah—survived as the core of continuing Jewish identity (2 Kings 18–19; Isaiah 10:20–22).
4. Babylonian Exile (586 BCE): After Jerusalem's fall, a remnant of exiles including prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel, along with faithful figures such as Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Esther, and Mordecai, maintained piety in captivity, paving the way for the return (Ezekiel 11:16–17; Daniel 1–3; Esther).
5. Post-Exilic Return (c. 538–445 BCE): Under Persian rule, a devoted remnant led by Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah returned from Babylon to rebuild the Temple and walls of Jerusalem, restoring covenant observance despite opposition (Ezra 1–6; Nehemiah 1–13). This group is often called the "faithful remnant" of Judah.
6. Seleucid Persecution and Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE): During Antiochus IV's forced Hellenization, a remnant of pious Jews known as the Hasidim resisted assimilation, sparking the Maccabean uprising that rededicated the Temple and preserved Jewish law (1 Maccabees 2; Daniel 11:32–35). THIS IS HANUKKAH. (See 2 Maccabees 10 and 2 Maccabees 15.)
The prophet Daniel, gave an amazing prophecy foretelling the fall of empires and the rise of the Roman Empire. Daniel even foresaw the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem as documented in the Books of the Maccabees.
Daniel 9:24-27, NIV), is often called the most detailed messianic timeline in the prophets:
“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
“Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
7. Roman Destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 CE): After the Temple's fall and further revolt, a small remnant of Torah-observant survivors fled to Galilee and the diaspora, where rabbis like Yochanan ben Zakkai established academies (e.g., at Yavneh) to sustain rabbinic Judaism and oral tradition.
Medieval and Early Modern Periods
8. Crusades and Medieval Pogroms (1096–1291 CE): Amid massacres during the First Crusade and later expulsions, faithful Jewish communities in Ashkenaz (e.g., Rhineland) produced martyrs and scholars like Rashi, who upheld halakha (Jewish law), ensuring transmission of texts and practices to future generations.
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| Church of the Shroud, Turin Italy |
The Crusaders brought back the burial linens of Yeshua. I recently visited the Church in Turin Italy where the "Shroud of Turin" is kept.
9. Spanish Expulsion (1492 CE): Following the Alhambra Decree, a remnant of Sephardic Jews—many practicing crypto-Judaism as "Marranos"—survived the Inquisition by fleeing to Portugal, the Ottoman Empire, and North Africa, covertly preserving rituals and eventually openly reviving communities.
Modern Period
10. Russian Pogroms (1881–1921 CE): Waves of violence in the Pale of Settlement killed thousands, but a resilient remnant of observant Jews emigrated to the U.S., Palestine, and elsewhere, founding synagogues and yeshivas that sustained Orthodox and Hasidic traditions amid secular pressures.
11. The Holocaust (1933–1945 CE): Nazi genocide decimated European Jewry, yet a remnant of survivors—many deeply faithful, including hidden children and camp liberators—rebuilt communities worldwide, contributing to the founding of modern Israel and the revival of religious life (e.g., through figures like the Lubavitcher Rebbe).
This pattern of a "righteous remnant" highlights Judaism's enduring theme of divine preservation through faithfulness, even in catastrophe.
We Jews have moved around the globe and back again. Where ever we went, we contributed to society. Kings and countries gained wealth and intelligence. But we've always kept a bag packed, so to speak, because we knew the day would come when history would repeat.
Today, the home for Europeans Jews is becoming increasingly threatening. So too in America. Where will escape to if we have to go again. Its hard to imagine a world that would be safe for Jews, even in Israel, if America joins all the other nations that are no longer standing up for Jews and Israel.
Ezekiel 3:16-17 -- And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me."
The season of the 25th is around the corner.
Epilogue:
The prophets have warned of us (Jews) of the errors of our ways, again and again. Are we being warned today?
