The Three Weeks

When the month of Av arrives, rejoicing should be minimized. A Jew must therefore avoid undertaking construction projects from which pleasure will be derived. Also, transactions should be minimized and one must refrain from consuming meat and wine.

One disengagement leads to another, and those who disengage themselves from the past cannot bring us to our true future. Perhaps they can bring us to a Swedish or Luxembourgian version of the future, but not to the real destiny of the Jewish people.

The Chozeh of Lublin senses that the bed which has been prepared for him by the carpenter is not a rejuvenating bed but a bed of lugubriousness and anxiety. From such a bed it is impossible to rise invigorated with a thirst for renewed creativity.