The Three Weeks

The three weeks that begin on the night of the Seventeenth of Tammuz and continue until the Ninth of Av are days of national woefulness. The sages therefore advise being especially careful during this period, for it is a time designated for calamity.

The Seventeenth of Tammuz was supposed to be the day on which the Tablets of the Covenant were received and given to Israel, and the Ninth of Av was the day when the Spies would to return from the Land of Israel and proclaim, “The land is very good!”

How can one survive nine days in the same clothes? Why should one? When is one not obliged to?

In this shiur we will explain some of the halachos of Shabbos Chazon, the Seudah HaMafsekes eaten Erev Tisha B’Av, Tisha B’Av itself, and the day after Tisha B’Av.

When during the three weeks can I shave and have a haircut? What are the laws of mourning with regard to shaving?

The Talmud says, “Where it is the custom to do work on the ninth of Av, one may work; where it is the custom not to do work, one may not do work.” However, whoever does work on the Ninth of Av will not see a sign of blessing from that work.

Mourning the Temple's destruction must be internal. A person cannot simply jump into the Ninth of Av. One must enter it gradually in order that his mourning be earnest. Therefore, the intensity of our mourning over the Temple's ruin grows gradually.