The Three Weeks
The Three Weeks is a period of mourning that extends from the 17th of Tammuz through the Ninth of Av. Also known in Hebrew as bein ha-meitzarim (between the straits; i.e., between the two fasts), it commemorates the period leading up to the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.
The traditional mourning rites during the Three Weeks include abstention from weddings and other joyous celebrations, instrumental music, and entertainment and the prohibition against the purchase or wearing of new clothing or the eating of new fruit, for which the Shehecheyanu blessing (an expression of joy) must be recited.1
Beginning with the First of Av, the mourning customs become intensified. During this period, known as the Nine Days, eating meat and drinking wine are forbidden, except for Sabbath meals. Also prohibited are cutting hair, shaving, bathing, swimming, washing clothes, or wearing freshly laundered garments. Traditional Jews generally avoid any activities that could bring joy—such as going to a concert or the theater and redecorating a room. On the Sabbaths of the Three Weeks, special haftarot are read from Jeremiah (1:1–2:3, 2:4–3:4) and Isaiah (1:1–27), in which the prophets warn the people that their unfaithfulness to God will lead to the impending punishment of Israel at the hands of its enemy.2
The Sabbath immediately preceding Tisha b’Av is called Shabbat Hazon (Sabbath of the Vision). It takes its name from the opening words of the Haftarah of Admonition, which is filled with such harsh language hurled against the people by the prophet Isaiah that in Yiddish it became known as Schwarz Shabbos (Black Sabbath).3
1 Strassfeld, 87.
2 Ibid.
3 Trepp, 206.
Eisenberg, Ronald L.: The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. 1st ed. Philadelphia : The Jewish Publication Society, 2004, S. 304
