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The Three Weeks 5786 in West Hempstead

We're still building our West Hempstead listings for The Three Weeks 5786. The Three Weeks (Bein HaMetzarim, literally 'between the straits') is the 21-day mourning period that runs from the 17th of Tammuz through the 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av). The phrase is drawn from the verse in Lamentations 1:3 describing Jerusalem's pursuers overtaking her 'between the straits.' Historically, the period spans the time between the Romans breaching Jerusalem's walls in 70 CE and the subsequent destruction of the Second Temple. Throughout the Three Weeks, traditional Jewish law observes mourning customs: weddings are not held, live music is avoided, haircuts and shaving are restricted, new clothes are not purchased, and the Shehecheyanu blessing is generally not recited on new fruits or garments. The mourning intensifies in the final Nine Days, from Rosh Chodesh Av through Tisha B'Av, when meat and wine are also avoided by most communities and laundering, swimming, and bathing for pleasure are added to the restrictions. The period is meant to draw Jews into a state of communal reflection on what was lost and what is yet to be rebuilt.