The Three Weeks are a time of sadness and introspection for the Jewish people--but, buried within them, there is a message of happiness and positivity for our future. Our member Rabbi Steven Ettinger explains:
The Rabbis manipulated the weekly order of Torah readings within the yearly calendar so that select parshiyot are aligned (or nearly aligned) with certain festivals and fasts. A few examples: Miketz or Vayigash are usually read on Shabbat Hannukah, Bamidbar before Shavuot, and Devarim before Tisha b’Av.
If you stop and think about it, we read from Pinchas
more often than any other parsha in the Torah. Pinchas contains the details of
the musaf offerings for all of the holy days – Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh,
etc. On every sacred day other than for a regular Shabbat, we take out an extra
Torah scroll and read the section corresponding to the offering for that day. Thus,
during the very week that as a nation we begin the descent into deep national
mourning and sorrow—a generational malaise—we receive a booster shot of joy and
hope, a reminder of our best days.
This connection, however, is even more direct. The
unique number of holiday days is…20! (Note: we get there as follows: Shabbat –
1, Rosh Chodesh – 1, Pesach mentioned as a 7-day holiday, Shavuot – 1, Rosh
Hashanah – 1, Yom Kippur – 1, Succot – mentioned as a 7-day holiday, Shemini
Atzeret – 1 – TOTAL – 20). And there are precisely 20 days bridging 17 Tamuz
and 9 Av.
This, perhaps, though, is a pollyannish view. Maybe
the glass is not half full, but rather half empty. After all, during these
three weeks we mourn the fact that we cannot bring these offerings, that we
cannot rejoice since we no longer have the Temple. It seems that the sages
might be tormenting us rather than consoling and inoculating us.
The key to understanding Chazal may well be a verse in
Zechariah (8:19):
כֹּה
אָמַר ה צְבָ-אוֹת צוֹם הָרְבִיעִי וְצוֹם הַחֲמִישִׁי וְצוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וְצוֹם
הָעֲשִׂירִי יִהְיֶה לְבֵית יְהוּדָה לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְמֹעֲדִים
טוֹבִים וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם אֱהָבוּ
Thus said GOD of
Hosts: The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth month, the fast of
the seventh month, and the fast of the tenth month shall become occasions for
joy and gladness, happy festivals for the House of Judah; but you must love
honesty and integrity.
The Rambam in Hilchot Ta’aniyot (5:9), quoting
this pasuk, writes that in the days of Mashiach the four fast days,
including 17 Tamuz (the fast of the fourth month) and 9 Av (the fast of the
fifth month), will be nullified and will become days of happiness and joy—in other
words, holidays. This is likewise prophesized by Yirmiyahu (Jer. 31:12) וְהָפַכְתִּ֨י
אֶבְלָ֤ם לְשָׂשׂוֹן֙ “and I will
transform their mourning into joy,” and expressed in the Book of Eicha itself
(1:15) קָרָ֥א עָלַ֛י מוֹעֵ֖ד “call unto
me a holiday.”
In other words, this is not “mere” tradition, it is a
matter of Divine promise. Our sages know that these days are destined to be
elevated to great heights. This means that they already contain the seeds, the
sparks, the potential for this ecstasy. They used parshat Pinchas to place a
sign, to point a big finger to these weeks that says to our people while you
are despairing reach into your joyful experiences, your Succot, your Pesach,
your Simchat Torah and recognize that very soon these solemn days will feel
just like those.
עתיד
הקב"ה להפוך ט' באב לששון ולשמחה שנאמר כה אמר ה' צבאות לצום הרביעי ולצום
החמישי... ולבנות ירושלים הוא עצמו ולקבץ גלויות ישראל לתוכה שנאמר: "בונה
ירושלים ה' נדחי ישראל יכנס" (מדרש איכה)
In the future,
HKB”H will transform 9 Av to [a day] of joy and happiness…and rebuild Jerusalem
Himself and ingather the exiles, as it says, God will build Jerusalem and
gather the dispersed.
We are witnessing miracles and great salvation; may He
complete this job soon!
