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The Spies dispatched 40 days earlier by Moses to tour the Promised Land return to Israel's encampment in the desert, bearing a huge cluster of grapes and other lush fruits. But even as they praise the land's fertility, they terrify the people with tales of mighty giant warriors dwelling there and assert that the land is unconquerable.
Links:
Generation Gap
The Spies
Fighting breaks out inside the besieged city of Jerusalem between Jewish factions divided on the question of whether or not to fight the Roman armies encircling the city from without. One group sets fire to the city's considerable food stores, consigning its population to starvation until the fall of Jerusalem three years later.
The fast of Tishah B'Av begins this evening at sunset.
Some of the fast's mourning practices--such as refraining from Torah study other than texts related to the events and nature of the fast day--are observed beginning from midday today.
The final meal before the start of the fast, eaten shortly before sunset, is called seudah hamafseket. Only one cooked food is eaten at this meal, customarily an egg dipped in ashes.
"Eichah"--the Book of Lamentations--is read tonight in the synagogue after evening prayers.
See "Laws and Customs" for tomorrow, Av 9, for the particular observances of the fast day.
During the “Nine Days" from Av 1st to the Ninth of Av, we mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple. We abstain from meat and wine, music, haircutting, bathing for pleasure, and other joyous (and dangerous) activities. (The particular mourning customs vary from community to community, so consult a competent halachic authority for details.)
Consumption of meat and wine is permitted on Shabbat, or at a seudat mitzvah (obligatory festive meal celebrating the fulfillment of certain mitzvot) such as a brit (circumcision), or a siyum celebrating the completion of a course of Torah study (i.e., a complete Talmudic tractate). The Lubavitcher Rebbe, of righteous memory initiated the custom of conducting or participating in a siyum on each of the Nine Days (even if one does not avail oneself of the dispensation to eat meat).
Citing the verse "Zion shall be redeemed with mishpat [Torah] and its returnees with tzedakah," (Isaiah 1:27) the Rebbe urged that we increase in Torah study (particularly the study of the laws of the Holy Temple) and charity during this period.
Links:
Nine Days laws and customs
Daily live siyum broadcasts
Learn about the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
In the month of Elul, the month before Rosh Hashanah, a signal goes out to every Jewish soul that it is time to return to the palace that is home.
It is a signal both subtle and loud.
Subtle, because it does not awaken even those who are closest—every soul must awaken itself. Loud, because it reaches those who have been thrown to the edge of the universe.
Loud, because it is a signal of love and joy. Subtle, because it is an intimately personal call.
Loud, because it provides immeasurable powers to break out of whatever holds you back, lift you above all obstacles, and carry you all the way home. Subtle, because the power is there, but latent, quiet, awaiting your determination.
How can a signal be both subtle and loud, joyful and intimate, empowering and latent?
Because this signal originates from the very origin of your own soul, that place from which your soul was torn but has never truly abandoned. And as distant as a soul may stray, as lost as she may be, she will always remain one with her Beloved.
And now she hears her Beloved call, from a place deep within herself.