On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a successful landing on the moon’s surface, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step foot on our celestial neighbor, on July 20, corresponding to the Hebrew date of 6 Menachem Av (after nightfall in eastern U.S.).
Links: Retaining Gravity on the Moon’s Surface, The Astronaut, Orbiting the Moon
During the “Nine Days" from Av 1st to the Ninth of Av, we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple. We abstain from meat and wine, music, haircutting, bathing for pleasure, and other joyous (and dangerous) activities. (The particular mourning customs vary from community to community, so consult a competent halachic authority for details.)
Consumption of meat and wine is permitted on Shabbat, or at a seudat mitzvah (obligatory festive meal celebrating the fulfillment of certain mitzvot) such as a brit (circumcision), or a siyum celebrating the completion of a course of Torah study (i.e., a complete Talmudic tractate). The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory initiated the custom of conducting or participating in a siyum on each of the Nine Days (even if one does not avail oneself of the dispensation to eat meat).
Citing the verse "Zion shall be redeemed with mishpat [Torah] and its returnees with tzedakah," (Isaiah 1:27) the Rebbe urged that we increase in Torah study (particularly the study of the laws of the Holy Temple) and charity during this period.
Links:
Nine Days laws and customs
Daily live siyum broadcasts
Learn about the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
Immersed in deep meditation, secluded from the confusion of human society, a prophet in Ancient Israel saw with his eyes the splendor of the Infinite Light.
But if the light was infinite, why did it shine only for him?
In the ancient Temple of Solomon, any person, great or small, was able to perceive that same Infinite Light with such clarity that all sense of being was lost, time and space became meaningless, nothing existed other than a total oneness, a perfect serenity.
But if the light was infinite, why did it only shine in that place?
In a time to come, when the fruits of all our labor will blossom and the world will attain its state for which it was created, then every small child will see more than the greatest prophet has ever seen and the physical eye will perceive the Infinite Light in a way that has never before been revealed. The very stones of the earth will scream out, “There is nothing else but He!” in every corner of the world, “for all the earth shall be filled with the knowing of G‑d, as waters fill the ocean basin.”
There will be a world, and the world will know that it is nothing but a commentary on the Infinite Light.
The true Infinite Light.