Three Weeks of Mourning for the Holy Temples

The First and Second Holy Temples were destroyed on the 9th (Tisha) day of the Hebrew month of Menachem Av. Jews are not to observe any aspects of mourning on the Jewish Sabbath. Therefore, if the 9th starts Friday evening, their observance of the full-day fast is pushed off until the next day.  That is, from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. This year, Tisha Be’Av starts on Monday evening, August 12, 20’24.

Tisha Be’Av is three weeks from the 17th of Tammuz, when the invading Romans breached the wall of Jerusalem. These three weeks are a period during which Jews mourn their loss of the Holy Temples. They also fervently pray for the Third Temple that will be established by the Messiah from the dynasty of King David, speedily in our days. For more information for Noahides and all Gentiles about Tisha Be’Av, click here.

In this recording, Rabbi Yosef Eisen reads about the history and Jewish observance of the Three Weeks, from his book Miraculous Journey.

Here is an insight on one of the reasons why we eagerly anticipate the Third Temple, from Rabbi Nachman Simon:

In this audio Rabbi Nachman Simon explains why we can’t build the Third Temple yet. Instead, we learn about the Temple during the Three Weeks, and this brings it sooner.