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"The Three Weeks", between the fast day of the 17th
of the month of Tamuz and the fast day of the 9th of the month of Av,
mark a period of mourning for the two Holy Temples which were destroyed during
this time period. Prohibitions against weddings, haircuts, or purchases of new
clothes are among the restrictions in force at this time. In addition to the
traditional mourning practices during these weeks, it is a Chasidic custom to
study the laws of the building and maintaining of the Temple, the Third Temple
that will replace the two fallen ones in the time of Mashiach, may it be very
soon. It helps us to understand better what we are lacking and gives us focus
for the rectification to come.  | | " It is also desirable to look for and accentuate the positive elements at this time...." | | |
The mourning and the restrictions intensify when the
month of Av arrives. Eating meat, bathing for pleasure and wearing fresh
laundered clothes also become forbidden (customs may vary according to community
and locale). The prohibitions continue through the 9th of Av, the
period known as the "Nine Days".
"When Av arrives, we decrease in joy," states the
well-known Talmudic dictum.
However, Chasidim interpret with an interesting
emphasis: "When Av arrives, we decrease..." - How? "...in joy!" So since consumption
of meat and wine is permitted at an obligatory festive meal celebrating the
fulfillment of a mitzvah, such as a Brit Mila (circumcision ceremony), or a "Siyum",
for the completion of a complete Talmudic tractate, the Lubavitcher Rebbe
initiated the custom of conducting or participating in a Siyum on as many
of the Nine Days as possible (even if one does not avail oneself of the
dispensation to eat meat), in order to relieve the sadness of these days, and to
transform mourning to joy.
The two most famous Kabbalists of Safed, Rabbi Moshe
Cordevero (known by the acronym, the " Ramak") and Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (the "Ari")
passed away during this period. The yahrzeit rites for the Ramak (on the
23rd of Tamuz) and the Ari (on the 5th of Av) are yet another
opportunity for "converting darkness to light".
In conclusion: it is both important and necessary to
participate in fast days and their appropriate restrictions, and to mourn for
the Temples during these three weeks. But for Kabbalists, Chasidim and the
mystically inclined, it is also desirable to look for and accentuate the
positive elements at this time.
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