View source for The Three Weeks

{{Short description|Mourning period for the destroyed Jewish Temples}}
{{Jews and Judaism sidebar|religion}}
'''The Three Weeks''' or '''''Bein ha-Metzarim''''' ({{Langx|he|בין המצרים}}, "Between the [[wiktionary:strait#Noun|Straits]]", cf "[[wikt:dire straits|dire straits]]") is a period of mourning commemorating the destruction of the [[Solomon's Temple|first]] and [[Second Temple|second]] Jewish Temples. The Three Weeks start on the seventeenth day of the Jewish month of [[Tammuz (Hebrew month)|Tammuz]]—the fast of the [[Seventeenth of Tammuz]]—and end on the ninth day of the Jewish month of [[Av (month)|Av]]—the fast of [[Tisha B'Av]], which occurs exactly three weeks later. Both of these fasts commemorate events surrounding the destruction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Jewish Temples]] and the subsequent exile of the Jews from the land of Israel. According to conventional chronology, the [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|siege of Jerusalem]] by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] occurred in 586/7 BCE, and the second [[siege of Jerusalem (70)]] by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]], in 70 CE.  Jewish chronology, however, traditionally places the first destruction at about 421 BCE: see [[Missing years (Jewish calendar)]] for more information.

==Observances==
The mourning observances during the Three Weeks are divided into four levels, increasing in intensity:<ref name="Barclay">{{cite book |title=Guidelines: Over Four Hundred of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About the Three Weeks |last=Barclay |first=Rabbi Elozor |last2=Jaeger |first2=Rabbi Yitzchok |year=2003 |publisher=[[Targum Press]] |isbn=1-56871-254-5}}</ref>
#From 17 Tammuz until the end of the month
#From [[Rosh Chodesh]] Av until the week in which Tisha B'Av falls
#The week in which Tisha B'Av falls until the Eighth of Av
#Tisha B'Av itself

Standard [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazic]] custom, or [[minhag]], restricts the extent to which one may take a haircut, shave or listen to music with instruments. However, communities and individuals vary their levels of observance of these customs. No [[Jewish view of marriage|Jewish marriages]] or other major celebrations are allowed during the Three Weeks, since the joy of such an event would conflict with the expected mourning mood during this time.

Many [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]] refrain from eating meat during [[the Nine Days]] from the [[Rosh Chodesh|first of the month]] of [[Av (month)|Av]] until midday of the day after the fast of Tisha B'Av, based on the tradition that the Temple burned until that time.

===Time of danger===
The Three Weeks are considered historically a time of misfortune since many tragedies and calamities which befell the Jewish people are attributed to this period. These tragedies include the breaking of the [[Tablets of Stone|Tablets of the Law]] by [[Moses]], when he saw the people worshipping the [[golden calf]]; the burning of a [[Torah scroll]] by [[Apostomus]] during the [[Second Temple period]]; the destruction of both Temples on Tisha B'Av; the [[Alhambra Decree|expulsion of the Jews from Spain]] shortly before Tisha B'Av 1492; and the outbreak of World War I shortly before Tisha B'Av 1914, which overturned many Jewish communities.

As a result, some Jews are particularly careful to avoid all dangerous situations during the Three Weeks. These include: going to dangerous places, undergoing a major operation that could be postponed until after Tisha B'Av, going on an airplane flight that could be postponed until after Tisha B'Av, and engaging in a court case if it can be postponed until after Tisha B'Av.<ref name="Barclay"/>

==History==
The first source for a special status of the Three Weeks—which is also the oldest extant reference to these days as Bein ha-Metzarim—is found in [[Lamentations Rabbah]] 1:29 (4th century?). This [[midrash]] glosses [[book of Lamentations|Lamentations]] 1:3 ("All [Zion's] pursuers overtook her between the straits"), interpreting "straits" as "days of distress"—namely the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av. [[Isaac Tyrnau]] (late 14th-early 15th centuries) wrote in his book ''Minhagim,'' a record of Austrian [[minhag|customs]], that haircuts are not taken and weddings are not celebrated during the Three Weeks. His opinion was cited as [[halacha]] by [[Moses Isserles]] in Rema on ''[[Shulchan Aruch]]'', which is the foundation for most of current Ashkenazic practice.

==Special haftarot==
Special [[haftarot]] (passages from the [[Nevi'im]]), the "Three of Affliction" (''tlat de-purʿanuta''), are read in the [[synagogue]] on each [[Shabbat]] of the three weeks. These prophecies of [[Jeremiah]] and [[Isaiah]] predict the fall of Jerusalem, unlike most haftarot of the yearly cycle, which reflect the theme of the day's [[Torah reading]]. 

The ''[[Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana]]'' is the first source to designate the appropriate 12 selections from the Prophets, the Three of Affliction being 
#"Divre Yirmeyahu", ''Words of Jeremiah'' ([[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] 1.1-2.3),
#"Shim`u Devar Hashem" ''Hear the word of the LORD'' (Jeremiah 2.4-28), and
#"Hazon Yisha`yahu" ''Vision of Isaiah'' ([[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 1.1-27).

Most congregations use the haftarot suggested by the ''Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana'', which are not mentioned in the Talmud.  But [[Maimonides]] in his ''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' prescribes a slight variation of these three, and [[Yemenite Jews]] read the haftarot that he lists.
The nine haftarot of the eight weeks following Tisha B'Av likewise were selected for their content. These are the "Seven of Consolation" (''shev di-nhemta'') followed by the "Two of [[Repentance in Judaism|Repentance]]" (''tarte di-tyuvta'')—which two appropriately fall between [[Rosh ha-Shanah]] and [[Yom Kippur]]; one is read on [[Shabbat|Saturday]] like the other special haftarot, but the other is read on the [[Fast of Gedaliah]].<ref>Ashkenazim read this second haftarah on all public fast days except for Yom Kippur.</ref>

==The Nine Days==
{{main|The Nine Days}}
According to the [[Mishnah]], "from the beginning of [[Av (month)|Av]], happiness is decreased."<ref>''[[Ta'anit (Talmud)|Ta'anit]]'' [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/b/h/h29.htm 4:6]</ref> The last nine days of the three weeks—which are also the first nine days of the month of Av, culminating in the Tisha B'Av fast—constitute therefore a period of intensified mourning in the [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]] custom. Many Jewish communities refrain from partaking of [[poultry]], red [[meat]], and wine; wearing freshly laundered clothes; and bathing in warm water. [[Sephardic Jews]] observe many of these restrictions only from the Sunday before Tisha B'Av, dispensing with them entirely in years when Tisha B'Av falls on a Sunday. Yemenite Jews do not maintain these customs.

==See also==
{{div col}}
; Events
*[[Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem]]
*[[Solomon's Temple]]
*[[Babylonian captivity]]
*[[Second Temple]]
*[[Herod's Temple]]
*[[Destruction of Jerusalem]]
*[[Jewish–Roman wars]]
*[[Western Wall]]

; Related holidays
*[[Seventeenth of Tammuz]]
*[[The Nine Days]]
*[[Tisha B'Av]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://aish.com/48943916/ The Three Weeks Guide (aish.com)]
*[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144558/jewish/the-three-weeks.htm The Three Weeks Guide (Chabad.org)]
*[https://shulchanaruchharav.com/?s=three+weeks The Three Weeks Halacha Database (Shulchanaruchharav.com)]
*[https://shiratmiriam.com/atzvus-yeiush-and-the-three-weeks/ Atzvus, Yeiush and the Three Weeks- Shiratmiriam.com]
*[https://halachayomit.co.il/en/Default.aspx?HalachaID=4020 The “Three We]
[[Category:The Three Weeks| ]] [[Category:Tammuz (Hebrew month) observances]] [[Category:Tabernacle and Temples in Jerusalem]] [[Category:Av observances]] [https://halachayomit.co.il/en/Default.aspx?HalachaID=4020 eks” 5785- The Words of Maran Ovadia Yossef zt”l]
<br/>{{Jewish and Israeli holidays}}{{Three weeks}}

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