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עמוד:10
Under Judah the Maccabee , the Jews drove out the Syrians in 165 BCE and rededicated the Temple to God , establishing our holiday of H . anukkah . Later , King Herod completely rebuilt the Second Temple so that it was greater and more beautiful than ever . But when the Romans conquered Israel and destroyed the Temple in 70 CE , many of our ancestors were again forced from the land . This time , our people spread out over the entire world . Eventually , almost all the Jews were driven out of Israel , but we prayed that one day we would return . Bir th of a Nation Beginning in the 1500 s , Jews in many European countries were forced to live separately from other peoples in sections of the cities called ghettos . The Jews lived in poverty and without basic freedoms . Laws limited where Jews could shop and travel , with whom they could visit and do business , and the type of work they could do . Many Jews were killed in riots inspired by anti-Semitism—prejudice against Jews—and their property was taken or destroyed . What Remains of the Second Temple ? The retaining , or supporting , walls of the Second Temple were built of massive blocks of cut limestone . Some of the blocks––which you can see today at the Western Wall––are 30 feet long and weigh over 200 tons . You also can stand on the steps that led to the Temple , the same steps that were climbed by our ancestors when they worshipped at the Temple during the pilgrimage festivals of Passover , Shavuot , and Sukkot . Nearby are piled the limestone blocks that formed the Temple . The Roman soldiers tossed them off the Temple heights 2 , 000 years ago . Mourning A Day of O n the holiday of Tisha B’Av , the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av ( which falls in July or August ) , we mourn the destruction of both the First and Second Temples . Many Jews fast on Tisha B’Av and read the book of Lamentations in synagogue .
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