What Are the Three Weeks?
by Roamnrab
The Three Weeks is an annual mourning period that falls out in the summer. This is when we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple and our launch into a still-ongoing exile.
The period begins on the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, a fast day that marks the day when the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans in 69 CE.
It reaches its climax and concludes with the fast of the 9th of Av, the date when both Holy Temples were set aflame. This is the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, and it is also the date that many other tragedies befell our people.
Observances:
There are various mourning-related customs and observances that are followed for the entire three-week period (until midday of the 10th of the Hebrew month of Av, or—if that date falls on Friday—the morning of that day). We do not cut our hair, purchase new clothes, or listen to music. No weddings are held.
The 17th of Tammuz
17 Tammuz is a fast day, on which we refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to nightfall. The fast commemorates five tragic events that occurred on this date, including Moses breaking the Tablets and breaching of the walls of Jerusalem.
Those who mourn the destruction of Jerusalem will merit seeing it rebuilt with the coming of Moshiach Learn more about 17 Tammuz
The Nine Days
The final Nine Days of the Three Weeks are a time of intensified mourning. Starting on the first of Av, we refrain from eating meat or drinking wine, and from wearing freshly laundered clothes.
Learn more about the Nine Days
The 9th of Av
Nine Av is a more stringent fast than 17 Tammuz. It begins at sunset of the previous evening, when we gather in the synagogue to read the Book of Lamentations. Besides fasting, we abstain from additional pleasures: washing, applying lotions or creams, wearing leather shoes, and marital relations. Until midday, we sit on the floor or on low stools. Learn more about the 9th of Av
Tisha B’Av- An Historical Overview
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/946703/jewish/What-Happened-on-the-Ninth-of-Av.htm#3
1. The Spies Returned With a Bad Report
Art by Sefira Lightstone
Picture this: The year is 1313 BCE. The Israelites are in the desert, recently having experienced the miraculous Exodus, and are now poised to enter the Promised Land.
But first they dispatch a reconnaissance mission to assist in formulating a prudent battle strategy. The spies return on the eighth day of Av and report that the land is unconquerable. That night, the 9th of Av, the people cry. They insist that they’d rather go back to Egypt than be slaughtered by the Canaanites. G-d is highly displeased by this public demonstration of distrust in His power, and consequently that generation of Israelites never enters the Holy Land. Only their children have that privilege, after wandering in the desert for another 38 years.
2. BOTH Holy Temples Were Destroyed
Art by Sefira Lightstone
The First Temple was also destroyed on the 9th of Av (423 BCE). Five centuries later (in 69 CE), as the Romans drew closer to the Second Temple, ready to torch it, the Jews were shocked to realize that their Second Temple was destroyed the same day as the first.
3. The Battle at Betar Was Lost
Art by Sefira Lightstone
When the Jews rebelled against Roman rule, they believed that their leader, Simon bar Kochba, would fulfill their messianic longings. But their hopes were cruelly dashed in 133 CE as the Jewish rebels were brutally butchered in the final battle at Betar. The date of the massacre? Of course—the 9th of Av!
4. The Romans Plowed the Beit Hamikdash
Art by Sefira Lightstone
One year after their conquest of Betar, the Romans plowed over the Temple Mount, our nation’s holiest site.
5. The Jews Were Expelled From England
Art by Sefira Lightstone
The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 CE on, you guessed it, Tisha b’Av.
6. The Jews Were Banished From Spain
Art by Sefira Lightstone
In 1492, the Golden Age of Spain came to a close when Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand ordered that the Jews be banished from the land. The edict of expulsion was signed on March 31, 1492, and the Jews were given exactly four months to put their affairs in order and leave the country. The Hebrew date on which no Jew was allowed any longer to remain in the land where he had enjoyed welcome and prosperity? Oh, by now you know it—the 9th of Av.
7. World War I Unleashed Destruction
Art by Sefira Lightstone
The Jews were expelled from England in 1290 CE on, you guessed it, Tisha b’Av Ready for just one more? World War II and the Holocaust, historians conclude, was actually the long drawn-out conclusion of World War I that began in 1914. And yes, amazingly enough, Germany declared war on Russia, effectively catapulting the First World War into motion, on the 9th of Av, Tisha b’Av.
What do you make of all this? Jews see this as another confirmation of the deeply held conviction that history isn’t haphazard; events – even terrible ones – are part of a Divine plan and have spiritual meaning. The message of time is that everything has a rational purpose, even though we don’t understand it.
From Destruction to Renewal
But there is more to the Three Weeks than fasting and lamentation. The prophet describes the fasts as “days of goodwill before G-d”-days of opportunity to exploit the failings of the past as the impetus for a renewed and even deeper bond with G-d. A sense of purification accompanies the fasting, a promise of redemption pervades the mourning, and a current of joy underlies the sadness. The Ninth of Av, say our sages, is not only the day of the Temple’s destruction—it is also the birthday of Moshiach.
May we soon merit the fulfillment of the prophecy: “I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:12).
From Chabad.org Website
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