Shavuot is in the past, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are in the future, and as the Jewish calendar works its way through the summer months, the Three Weeks, the period of various levels of mourning over the destruction of the two Temples and other Jewish tragedies, is soon to be observed.
The period begins with Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, the Fast of the 17th Day of Tammuz, on Tuesday, July 15, from before dawn to after sundown, and culminates with the 24-hour-plus fast of Tisha B’Av on Tuesday, August 5. The Nine Days, beginning with Rosh Chodesh Av when mourning intensifies, begin on Sunday night, July 27/Monday, July 28.
Once again this year, the Orthodox Union will partner with Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future to produce a DVD with shiurim to bring deeper meaning and spirituality to the Three Weeks. On Tisha B’Av, OU Executive Vice President, Emeritus Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and Senior Managing Director Rabbi Steven Weil, will present their annual multi-hour shiurim on www.ou.org.
The DVD is being sent to all congregations that request it in advance online.
“In light of the tragic events in Israel during the last few weeks, the Three Weeks will be a time of deep introspection for the Jewish community,” said Rabbi Judah Isaacs, OU Director of Community Engagement, who is working with YU CJF’s Director of Operations Jonathan Cohen and Rabbi Robert Shur on the DVD presentation. “The jointly prepared video classes by the Orthodox Union and Yeshiva University will provide a forum on Tisha B’Av for synagogue members to learn about the tragedies of the day, and how they resonate in our times.”
The presenters include the following:
- Rabbi Steven Weil, Senior Managing Director of the Orthodox Union
- Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, David Mitzner Dean of CJF and University Life, Yeshiva University, and former Director of the New Jersey Region of NCSY, the international youth movement of the OU
- Rabbi Ari Lamm, William Fischman Rabbinic Intern at The Jewish Center in Manhattan
- Rabbi Menachem Penner, Max and Marion Grill Dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University
- Mrs. Shoshana Schechter, Director of the Mechina (Pathways) Program of Stern College for Women of YU
Further details of the Tisha B’Av programs of Rabbis Weinreb and Weil will be provided as the Ninth of Av approaches.