Two Cincinnati Synagogues will join Synagogues around the world on Tuesday, Aug. 13, by showing the Israeli Academy Award-winning film Legend of Destruction.
The films will be shown at Temple Sholom at 1 p.m. and at Sharei Torah at 3 p.m. on Aug. 13 – Tisha B’av. The film was written and directed by Israeli director Gidi Dar.
The screenings take place on Tisha B’av, which marks the destruction of the first Temple by the Babylonians and the second Temple by Romans and is also a day when many calamities have fallen on the Jewish people, including the expulsion of Jews from Spain, the beginning of the final solution.
‘Legend of Destruction’ is about the period leading up to the Romans’ destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. It features the voices of Oscar Issac (Star Wars Episodes 7-9), Elliot Gould (Ocean’s 11), Evangeline Lilly (Lost), and Billy Zane (Zoolander).
The film took eight years to complete. The script draws from historical accounts found in the Talmud and the writings of Flavius Josephus. The film features 1,500 still paintings by David Polonsky, who worked on Waltz with Bashir and Michael Faust.
According to Jewish history, the Second Temple was destroyed because of the fractures in Jewish society at the time, with numerous factions competing for power, which eventually led to a Jewish Civil War. And to the director of ‘Legend of Destruction’ mirrors today’s political turmoil.
“During this highly polarized time we find ourselves in, the message of the destruction of the Temple serves as a warning not only for the global Jewish community but all democracies,” said Director Gidi Dar in a press release. “I believe that Legend of Destruction is an important watch for anyone hoping to understand history, and ensure it is not repeated.”
