Tammuz has 29 days. The last 13 days of the month are (temporarily) sad, being the first part of the 3 Weeks, a.k.a. BEIN H'METZARIM. The first 16 days of the month (55% of the month) are not sad. In fact, if we note that 3 Tammuz is the date of the great miracle recorded in Yehoshua 10, then we can say that the month begins on a good note, not just non-sad. Similarly, the first 10 days of the month of Av are sad and the 20 days that follow are ones of consolation and hope for a brighter future. The joyous festival of T”U b’Av shows us the joy-filed potential of the month of Av. Neither Tammuz nor Av are intrinsically tragic or sad. Both are currently associated with the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, and both are part of Zecharya’s prophecy for the better times, happy times, that will be, IY”H speedily in our time, with the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash. [The
Parshat Pinchas Homepage]
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