Nine Days, The

The rhyme and reason behind the well established pre-Tisha B’Av ban on meat and wine is surprisingly vague and inconclusive – especially as Talmudic sources say nothing of the sort, and the tradition doesn't jibe with general mourning and bereavement prac...

Learn the unique attributes of the three holy Temples, and why the future temple will be eternal.

Learn the laws and customs for the mourning period of the “Three Weeks,” which begin with the fast of 17 Tammuz, and culminates with the fast of Tisha B’Av.

There are three verses in the Torah where a new paragraph begins in the middle of a verse. One of them is found in this week’s Torah portion. The fact that there is a break implies that we are dealing with two opposite concepts, in this case, the people o...

The mystical secrets hinted at by the numbers in the dates associated with the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem—the 17th day of Tammuz, the 9th day of Av, and the three weeks or twenty-one days between them.

It is through teshuva, returning to G-d, that we can fix the root-cause of exile, and bring it to an end. The Midrash teaches that the exile truly began when the Jewish children were exiled. In this regard, the Jewish children play an important role in re...

It is customary to hold a Siyum each day of the nine days, to diminish the sorrow of exile through the joy of Torah. Watch the Rebbe conclude Tractate Tamid on Rosh Chodesh Av.

Ingredients: 1 onion 1 yellow bell pepper 1 tomato 1 red chili pepper 2 cloves garlic 4-5 sprigs fresh parsley 3 tbsp. oil 1 cup chopped (canned) tomatoes 1 tsp. sweet paprika ½ tsp. cumin ½ tsp. turmeric ½ tsp. salt 4 eggs Directions: Dice all the vegeta...