The Three Weeks

Aseret Hadiberot ~ Ten Commandments

The story is told that Napoleon was walking through the streets of Paris one Tisha B'Av.

As his entourage passed a synagogue he heard wailing and crying coming from within; he sent an aid to inquire as to what had happened. The aid returned and told Napoleon that the Jews were in mourning over the loss of their Temple. Napoleon was indignant! "Why wasn't I informed? When did this happen? Which Temple?" The aid responded, "They lost their Temple in Jerusalem on this date 1700 years ago." Napoleon stood in silence and then said, "Certainly a people which has mourned the loss of their Temple for so long will survive to see it rebuilt!"



If we know our history and understand it, then we can put our life in perspective. We can understand ourselves, our people, our goals, our values. We will know the direction of our lives, what we want to accomplish with our lives and what we are willing to bear in order to fulfill our destiny. Friedrich Nietzsche put it well, "If you have a 'why' to live for, you can bear with any 'how'."



We are now entering the Three Weeks, the time between the 17th of Tammuz (Tuesday, July 3) and the 9th of Av (starting Monday night, July 23rd).



This is a period when many tragedies happened to the Jewish people.
Why do we mourn the loss of the Temple after so many years?
What did and does it mean to us?
The Temple was a central focal point of the Jewish people. Three times a year - Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot - the Jews living in the Land of Israel came to worship and celebrate at the Temple. It offered us the ultimate opportunity to come close to the Almighty, to elevate ourselves spiritually. It represented the purpose of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel - to be a holy people united with the Almighty in our own land ... a Jewish state.



That is what we seek to regain and that is why we mourn and remember the loss of what we once had.


[SNIP]



In Jewish cosmology, the Three Weeks are considered to be such an inauspicious time period that one is not allowed to get married. From the 1st of Av (July 16th), one is even advised to push off court cases until after the 10th of Av (after July 25th). We refrain from hair-cutting, purchasing or wearing new clothing, listening to music and pleasure trips. It is a time for self-reflection and improvement.



On the 17th of Tammuz, five calamitous events occurred in our history:


Moshe broke the first Tablets of the Ten Commandments when he descended from Mt. Sinai and saw the worshipping of the Golden Calf.



The Daily Sacrificial Offerings ceased in the First Temple due to lack of sheep.




The walls of Jerusalem were breached during the siege of the Second Temple.



Apustumus-the-Wicked burned a Sefer Torah.




An idol was placed in the Sanctuary of the Second Temple.



The 17th of Tamumz is a fast day. The fast begins approximately an hour before sunrise and continuing until about an hour after sunset. The purpose of the fast is to awaken our hearts to repentance through recalling our forefathers' misdeeds which led to tragedies and our repetition of those mistakes. The fasting is a preparation for repentance - to break the body's dominance over a person's spiritual side. One should engage in self-examination and undertake to correct mistakes in his relationship with God, his fellow man and with himself.




It is interesting to note that Saddam Hussein was a student of Jewish history. He named the nuclear reactor (from which he planned to create a bomb to drop on Israel) - you guessed it, Tammuz 17! (Want the source? Two Minutes Over Baghdad by Amos Perlmutter.)


[SNIP]



SOURCE LINK









Psalm 91



HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty
[Whose power no foe can withstand].




I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!




For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.




[Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.




You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,




Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.




A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.




Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High as you witness the reward of the wicked.




Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place




There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.




For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].




They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.




You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.


Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].




He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.




With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.



AMEN




SEE HERE for a very interesting related word, "THE SEASON OF THE BASILISK"