The fast of the Ninth of Av, Tisha B’Av, is the most famous and the most stringent of all the fasts relating to the destruction of the Temple and the Exile. The very first tragedy to occur on this day took place soon after the Exodus from Egypt. The Jewish people sent spies to the Land of Israel, in preparation for its conquest. When the spies returned with a discouraging ...
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The Seventeenth of Tammuz (in 2016 this falls on July 23) begins a three week period of mourning that culminated with Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av. The Mishnah states: Five things happened to our ancestors on the 17th of Tammuz — The First Tablets were broken, the daily offering ceased, the walls of Jerusalem were breached, the evil Apostomus burnt a Torah scroll, and an idol was set up in ...
Read MoreWe just observed the fast of the Seventeenth of Tamuz, which occurs exactly three weeks before Tishah B’Av and we are now in the middle of the period of mourning known as “The Three Weeks.” The Mishnah states: Five things happened to our ancestors on the Seventeenth of Tamuz: The First Tablets were broken, the daily offering ceased, the walls of Jerusalem were breached, the evil Apostomus burnt a Torah ...
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