The Three Weeks

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.

If we all strive to see the positive qualities of the land of Israel and its divine, spiritual value; if we feel happy to live in Israel, we will be able to rectify the Sin of the Spies which delayed our forefathers' entrance into the land.

Why did R' Akiva alone laugh? Certainly he was not the only one of the sages to believe in the future redemption. What's more, when the Temple sits in ruins one must mourn the situation even if something good is bound to come out of it in the future.

The Three Weeks between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th of Av are a time of sadness and danger. Rav Kook shows that they are also a time during which we can rebuild the Temple if we learn the secret of Causeless Love.

The Mishnah teaches us that the tablets were broken on the 17th of Tamuz as a result of the building of the Golden Calf. Rav Kook explains that if we understand the essence of idolatry we can find a way to mend the broken tablets.

Did Jews fast over the destruction of the First Temple when the Second Temple stood? Must pregnant and nursing women abstain from eating and drinking on minor fasts? Rabbi Eliezer Melamed addresses these and other important questions.