THE 3 WEEKS & 9 DAYS

Grappling with Loss

The 3 Weeks and the 9 Days leading up to Tisha B'Av are a time of mourning, when we remember some of the greatest tragedies that have ever befallen the Jewish people. In the face of that, we find ourselves grappling with a difficult question: Why does God let us suffer? This question may be impossible to answer, but, on as Tisha B’Av 2025 approaches, it’s just as impossible to ignore.

Watch Now

Most watched

Reversing Tisha B’Av: How To Actually Rid Ourselves Of Sinat Chinam

We sit on the floor, we cry – but sometimes it feels like we’re just going through the motions. Rachel Imenu shows us a deeper way to mourn — that actually changes us, that banishes sinat chinam, baseless hatred, from our hearts.

Video series • Part 1 of 5 • 8 min

Rabbi David Fohrman

Making Sense of Our Times

Tisha B'Av After October 7th

How can we transform our mourning into hope? One year since October 7 discover how our past can help us navigate the pain of the present.

Video series • Part 1 of 5 • 14 min

Rabbi David Fohrman

When Do The Three Weeks & Nine Days Start?

This year (2025), the Three Weeks begin with the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz on Sunday, July 13.

The Nine Days begin with Rosh Chodesh Av on Friday, July 25.

How Am I Supposed To Appreciate The Loss Of The Beit HaMikdash?

Video series • Part 1 of 7 • 9 min

It’s one thing to mourn the suffering of actual people, but how are we supposed to feel genuinely sad over the loss of a building?

Kamtza And Bar Kamtza: What Is Baseless Hatred, Anyway?

Video series • Part 1 of 5 • 3 min

When was the last time that you hated someone for absolutely no reason? Could it be we’ve been misunderstanding the true meaning of “baseless hatred” this whole time?

How Israel Split And The Road To Tisha B’Av

Video series • Part 1 of 8 • 7 min

God gave King Solomon unprecedented wisdom, which Solomon used to build a glorious kingdom. But just a mere generation later, that kingdom splits and the road to Tisha B’Av begins. Why didn’t God give Solomon the wisdom he really needed… the wisdom to keep Israel united?

How The Sin Of The Spies Led To Tisha B’Av

Video series • Part 1 of 6 • 10 min

The Talmudic Sages tell us that the first great tragedy to occur on Tisha B'Av was the sin of the spies in the desert. How can this seemingly unrelated event help us understand the deeper reasons for the Temples’ destruction?

Mourning: What Death Teaches Us About What It Means to Live

Video • 1 hour, 53 min

How are we supposed to make sense of loss? In this deep dive Premium course, Rabbi Fohrman shares how he has come to understand mourning and loss in the larger context of life, death and living a purposeful life.

Megillat Eicha And Its Secrets

Video series • Part 1 of 2 • 57 min

What does Eicha have to do with the garden of Eden? At first glance, not much. But if we look closer, it turns out that the Megillah is actually echoing language first used in the beginning of Genesis. Uncovering the deeper meaning of this connection can shift the way you think about Tisha B’Av.

The Mysterious Connection Between Mashiach And Tisha B’Av

Video series • Part 1 of 7 • 12 min

A few generations before the destruction of the Temple, there was a king who, the Talmud tells us, could have been the Messiah. How did the Jewish people get so close to redemption, only to end in exile? If we can answer this question, perhaps we can come to understand the power of our own potential and to reshape our destiny.

Yochanan Ben Zakkai And Yavneh: The Secret Of Jewish Survival

Video series • Part 1 of 5 • 10 min

How can we feel connected to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple when these tragedies happened thousands of years ago? The answer may lie in understanding what still links us to these past events and how, against all odds, exile didn’t put an end to the Jewish people. This story starts in a place called Yavneh.

What Jacob And Joseph Teach Us About Returning Home

Video series • Part 1 of 6 • 8 min

Can mourning bring us closer to redemption? This series dives deep into a connection between Shir Hamaalot (Psalm 126) and the story of Jacob and Joseph to uncover the connection between the depths of grief and unassailable hope.

Acher: He Who Must Not Be Named

Video series • Part 1 of 5 • 25 min

Can we ever do something so bad there’s no coming back from it? In this series, Rabbi Fohrman grapples with the nature of atonement through a close reading of the story of Elisha ben Avuya, the famous apostate “Acher,” and his fiercely loyal student, Rabbi Meir.

Of Soldiers And Slaves: Divine Justice In The Face Of Great Human Evil

Video • 2 hours, 58 min

What can we expect of God, by way of justice, in the face of great human evil? That question was always pertinent, perhaps, throughout history -- but in the shadow of the Holocaust, it seems especially pertinent and troubling. Is justice on any level something we should be looking for, from the Almighty? Or: Are these divine secrets that humans really have no business asking about?

Kinot Live With Rabbi Fohrman

Video series • Part 1 of 4 • 3 hours, 42 min

Join Rabbi Fohrman and the Aleph Beta team for in-depth readings and discussions of select Kinot. These videos are live recordings from our annual Tisha B'Av morning "Kinot Unlocked" events. You can catch up on all past years here. We hope these beautiful texts will take on new meanings and allow you to experience a more connected Tisha B'Av.

The 3 Weeks & 9 Days Halacha & Dvar Torah

What Are The Three Weeks & Nine Days?

The fast of Tammuz begins the three-week period of mourning known as Bein HaMetzarim (“between the straits”), a phrase taken from the book of Eicha, or simply “the three weeks.” The Three Weeks start on 17th of Tammuz (or 18th of Tammuz if the 17th is on Shabbat), also known as the fast day Shiva Asar B’Tammuz. This period begins and ends with fasting, and throughout the three weeks, Jewish practice serves to reduce the joy and comfort experienced during this time.

After the first of Av, on Rosh Chodesh, the nine days before Tisha B’Av are observed with particularly strict mourning and sadness. These days of intense mourning are often referred to as “The Nine Days”. The Mishnah says that “When the month of Av begins, we reduce our joy”, and therefore several additional restrictions and mourning practices are adopted during this time.

The three weeks and the nine days commemorate the loss of the First and Second Temples, and atone for the sins – like sinat chinam, baseless hatred – that led to the collapse of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel. Exile and diaspora followed the destruction of the Holy Temples, and began the exile ("galut") that will one day be brought to an end in the days of Moshiach. Rabbi Fohrman inspects several interesting connections in the Torah that hint at a messianic era that almost happened.

In 2024 (5784), the Three Weeks will start at dawn on Tuesday, July 23, and end at sundown on Tuesday, August 12. The Nine Days will start on Sunday, August 4, at sundown.

Laws Of The Three Weeks & Nine Days

During the Three Weeks, many Jews adopt practices of mourning. These can include refraining from holding public celebrations, haircuts and shaving, and buying new clothes, similar to mourning practices observed during the Omer period.

The Three Weeks are considered a time of tragedy on the Jewish calendar. Therefore, many Jews refrain from potentially dangerous activities like swimming or adventure sports during this time.

Listening to music and attending performances such as theater or concerts is prohibited during Jewish times of mourning. Some Jews do listen to music that is performed a cappella, without instruments or percussion.

During the Three Weeks and Nine Days, it is traditional to recite “Al Naharot Bavel” (“By the Waters of Babylon”), a mournful song about the loss of the Temple and Jerusalem, before saying grace after meals.

It should be noted that many of these customs are held primarily by Jews of Ashkenazic descent. Sephardic Jews often observe these practices only during the week of Tisha B’Av itself.

There aren’t halachot during the three weeks like there are during the nine days or Tisha Ba’v itself.

Halachot of the Nine Days

The laws of the Nine Days, which begin on Rosh Chodesh Av, intensify the prohibitions of mourning.

During the Nine Days, many Jews do not eat meat or meat products (except on Shabbat) to deprive themselves of that pleasure. Laundry is not washed except in extreme need, and many Jews take short, cold showers to avoid the comfort of bathing.