Q: I was told that we are now in a period called “The Three Weeks” and it has something to do with mourning the destruction of the Temple. What are these “Three Weeks” and why should I care about the destruction of a building some 2000 years ago?

 

A: “The Three Weeks” begins on the 17^th Tammuz when the Romans breached the wall surrounding Jerusalem and ends on the 9^th Av when they destroyed the Second Temple (the destruction of the 1^st Temple and other calamities also occurred on that day). It is a time when we mourn this devastation and destruction. We mourn through not listening to music, taking haircuts, or getting married. As we get closer to the 9^th Av, the mourning gets heavier by not eating meat or drinking wine culminating with the 9^th Av when we fast and sit on low chairs like actual mourners.

 

The reasons why we should care about the loss of the Temple are many, here are some of them:

 

1. The Temple was the nerve center of Judaism. So many of the 613 commandments are centered around the Temple. Our religion is incomplete without it.
2. The destruction of the Temple ushered in a nearly 2000 years-long exile filled with pogroms, persecution, and suffering for the Jewish people. During these three weeks, we try and feel that pain.
3. Most importantly, the Temple was the place where God dwelled on this earth. It was the meeting point of the physical and the spiritual. It was a place of clarity and Godly revelation. The destruction brought about an age of darkness, concealment and confusion.

 

But we don’t mourn just to be sad. We mourn with anticipation and hope knowing that we will soon merit the third and eternal Temple with the coming of Moshiach.

 

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