The Three Weeks is a period during the summer that marks the destruction of the first and second Holy Temples and the beginning of our exile. In the future, our sages tell us, it will be a time of celebration and joy.
Until then, the Three Weeks is a time of mourning, with particular restrictions on celebrations and entertainment. It begins with a fast on the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, 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. Although this is the most tragic day of the Jewish calendar, being also the date when many other tragedies befell our people, it is a day of hope and prayer for the coming of Moshiach and the messianic era.
It is the time when we are most empowered to heal the causes of destruction and exile.
That’s why the Three Weeks is a time to emphasize Jewish unity and increase in acts of goodness and kindness. We also study the layout of the Third Temple. What we cannot yet build with our hands, we can still construct in our minds and in the spoken word.
Read more on Tisha B’Av and the 3 Weeks.
What Are the Three Weeks? A summary of the laws and customs that pertain to the Three Weeks mourning period for the Holy Temples—17 Tammuz through 9 Av.
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