known as the bein hametzarim or as the three weeks. And the reason it starts with שבעה עשר בתמוז because this is the day that הובקעה העיר, that the city was split. And therefore it says in Zechariah kapitl ח פסוק יט that and this day we have the צום הרביעי, which means the fast day of the fourth month. Since Tamuz is the fourth month if we count from Nisan, so the fast day of the fourth month is the day when הובקעה העיר, which is שבעה עשר בתמוז, the 17th day of the month of Tamuz. That's the way it says in Yerushalmi Taanit פרק ד הלכה ה, also in the Sifrei Vaetchanan on the פסוק שמע ישראל, in the Tosefta Sotah the end of פרק ו. The Rambam says that in Perush Hamishnayot in Rosh Hashanah פרק א משנה ג, he says it in Yad Hachazakah Hilchot Taaniyot פרק ה הלכה ד, it's brought down in the Tur סימן תקמט and in many other places. Even though according to the girsa of the Bavli, of the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah דף יח עמוד ב is זה ט בתמוז שבו הובקעה העיר, that this is the ninth day of Tamuz, that's the day that הובקעה העיר, not שבעה עשר בתמוז. And the reason is because the Gemara says in תענית דף כח עמוד ב that the first בית המקדש, the הובקעה העיר happened on the ninth day of Tamuz, and this פסוק is speaking about the first בית המקדש. But nevertheless in all the other places mentioned before, it says that it was שבעה עשר בתמוז, that even by the first בית המקדש the הובקעה העיר also happened on שבעה עשר בתמוז, but קלקול חשבונות יש כאן as the Yerushalmi says. There was mistake in the cheshbon, therefore they thought it was the ninth of Tamuz, but really it was on שבעה עשר בתמוז. But even though in the Bavli it seems according to most girsaot that it was on the ninth day of Tamuz, but some have the girsa even in the Gemara that it was Shiva Asar B'Tammuz, as it's brought down in the Ran and the Ritva. But in addition to that, the Turei Even in Rosh Hashanah says that afilu according to Gemara Bavli it was also in Shiva Asar B'Tammuz. And he explains that even though the Gemara says in Ta'anit that בראשונה, in the first בית המקדש, הובקעה העיר on ט תמוז, so he says that really the Bavli also holds that the people made a mistake in the cheshbon, and since the people thought it was ט תמוז, that's why the Tanna also mentions ט תמוז. But really, even the Tanna holds in the Bavli that it was Shiva Asar B'Tammuz. So from all this comes out that Shiva Asar B'Tammuz is the special day when הובקעה העיר in the time of the חורבן בית ראשון also, even in the time of the first Beis Hamikdash. And from Shiva Asar B'Tammuz till Tisha B'Av, that's when we mourn the חורבן בית המקדש. We mourn the destruction of Yerushalayim, the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, and the fact that we were sent into galus. Since the Beis Hamikdash is not built yet, we are still in galus, and the Chazal say in Yerushalmi Yoma פרק א הלכה א that כל דור שאינו נבנה בימיו, that any generation that the בית המקדש is not built in that time, מעלין עליו כאילו הוא החריבו, we consider it as if that generation was the cause for the חורבן. So it comes out that as long as the Beis Hamikdash is not built yet and we're still in galus, we are still guilty of the same mistakes they made at that time that brought the חורבן בית המקדש, because if we would have done proper teshuvah, then the Beis Hamikdash would have been built now. And since we're still in galus and the Beis Hamikdash is still not built, obviously we are still guilty of the same mistakes that they made at that time. So in order to know what we have to do, we have to see what was the cause of the חורבן בית המקדש, and then we know what we have to do in order to change that and bring about the geulah, the redemption, and the בנין בית המקדש, the building of the third בית המקדש.

There are many things that are written in the Chazal concerning the cause of the חורבן בית המקדש. But one of the things the Chazal say is based on the pasuk in Yirmiyahu kapitel ט פסוק יא and פסוק יב. It says there: על מה אבדה הארץ, why was the eretz, the land, lost, which means why was there a חורבן בית המקדש and why were we sent into galut? And the pasuk says: על עזבם את תורתי, because they let go My Torah. And the Chazal say in Nedarim דף פא עמוד א, also brought in Bava Metzia דף פה עמוד ב, that this is שלא ברכו בתורה תחילה. That means that they didn't make the berachah before they learned Torah. Like this we know that before we do any mitzvah we have to make a berachah. The berachah is אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו, and then we mention the mitzvah that we're going to do. Before we learn Torah we also have to make a berachah, and that's one of the Berachot that we say every morning among the ברכות השחר. We make a berachah that we are commanded to learn Torah, אשר אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו. According to some, the berachah is לעסוק בדברי תורה, according to some, the berachah is על דברי תורה, but there is a berachah which is called ברכת התורה. And according to many, many Rishonim, this berachah is different than other Berachot. Like this, you know, the din that you have to make a berachah before you do a mitzvah, and for the same matter, before we eat something, etc., is only miderabbanan. But ברכת התורה, according to many, many Rishonim, is de'oraisa, because the Gemara says in ברכות, ומניין לברכת התורה מן התורה? How do we know that to make a bracha before we learn Torah is mi-de'oraisa? The Gemara quotes the פסוק, שם השם אקרא הבו גודל לאלוקינו. And according to many Rishonim, the Gemara actually means that, that to make a bracha before we learn Torah is based on this פסוק, and that's de'oraisa. According to some Rishonim, it's de-rabbanan. This פסוק is only what we call an asmachta. The Rabbanan took their din and they connected it, they relied it on this פסוק, but not that this פסוק actually means that. But according to many Rishonim, that's de'oraisa. And this is what the Gemara says was the problem at the time of the חורבן בית המקדש. The churban came because they did not make the ברכת התורה. Now, it's very hard to understand why didn't they make the ברכת התורה? What was so hard about making the ברכת התורה to say that they didn't make a ברכת התורה and because of that there was a churban? What is the meaning behind it?

So the Bach, in Orach Chaim סימן מ״ז, based on the Rabbeinu Yonah, which is brought down in the Ran on Nedarim, as we mentioned before, explains that it doesn't actually mean pashut that they didn't make the bracha. There is something behind it. What was missing by them was the כוונה להתעצם ולהתדבק בקדושת ורוחניות התורה ולהמשיך השכינה. That what was missing was their connection and their uniting themselves with the kedusha, with the holiness, and the ruchniyut, the spirituality of the Torah, and by learning Torah, bringing down the Shechinah. Because a bracha really represents the kavana that you have when you do a mitzvah and you make a bracha before you do a mitzvah, as the Rishonim say in Pesachim, it represents the kavana that you're supposed to have in the mitzvah. That's why the bracha is that you thank השם, אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו, that He made us holy, and He commanded us to do the mitzvah. This is the kavana a Yid is supposed to have when you do a mitzvah. So when we say here that they did not make the Birkat HaTorah, it means that they didn't have the proper kavana when they learned Torah. What was missing? The kavana, as he says, to unite themselves with the Torah, with the kedusha of the Torah, with the ruchniyut of the Torah. And this was a reason enough to bring about the חורבן בית המקדש. And as he says there, that Torah itself they learned a lot at that time, but what was missing was the proper approach to the learning Torah. What is the proper approach a Yid is supposed to have to learning Torah? So the proper approach is supposed to be that he's supposed to feel that the Torah is חכמתו של הקדוש ברוך הוא, the Torah is the chochmah, the wisdom of Hashem, and when you learn Torah, you are מתדבק, you connect yourself to Hashem. Even though the Torah is a chochmah, it is a wisdom, and it is an intellectual subject, and even the גוים להבדיל understand that there is great chochmah in Torah, as the pasuk says, כי היא חכמתכם ובינתכם לעיני העמים, that this is your chochmah and your binah, your wisdom, your intellect, your understanding, לעיני העמים, even in the eyes of all the nations. Nevertheless, when we learn Torah, we're supposed to remember that this is not what really Torah is. Really, the Torah is חכמתו של הקדוש ברוך הוא, it's the chochmah of Hashem. And as the Rambam says that הוא וחכמתו אחד, השם and His chochmah are one, umimela the Torah, which is the chochmah of Hashem, is not only the chochmah of Hashem, but this is Hashem Himself. And this is the whole idea of Hashem giving us the Torah, because in truth, before Matan Torah, the Avot also learned Torah, as the Chazal say that אברהם אבינו זקן ויושב בישיבה, אברהם learned in yeshivah, he learned Torah. It says יצחק זקן ויושב בישיבה, יעקב זקן ויושב בישיבה, מימי עולם לא פסקה ישיבה מאבותינו במצרים. Always there were yeshivot in Mitzrayim, they always learned Torah. Nevertheless, when Hashem gave them the Torah on Har Sinai, there was a major change that took place. Till then they learned Torah, they were told the Torah and they learned the Torah, but this concept that by learning Torah you have actually the chochmah of Hashem, which really means you have Hashem in the Torah itself, that happened only when Hashem gave us the Torah. Because when Hashem gave us the Torah, when He said אנכי השם אלוקיך, השם put Himself into this Torah. So the Torah we have is the chochmah of Hashem, so we could imagine the kedushah and the ruchniyut that is in the Torah. And that's the approach a איד is supposed to have to the Torah, that before you even start learning, you have to remember that The Torah is חכמתו של הקדוש ברוך הוא, and you have to learn the תורה בתכלית הביטול, with a true bitul, with a true self-nullification, with a true ענווה, with a true humility. If a person forgets and doesn't have that in mind, then really he doesn't have what really the Torah represents. Then he might be learning an interesting חכמה, a deep חכמה, a true חכמה, but what the Torah really is, he doesn't have that. And the truth is, not only is it נוגע to have the proper feeling in Torah, but this proper approach is also נוגע, also important, לגבי understanding properly the Torah. Because since the Torah is the חכמה of Hashem, it's self-understood that we, with our minds, are unable to really grasp the true meaning of the Torah. Being that the Torah is the wisdom of Hashem, and Hashem is בלי גבול, unlimited, infinite, so his חכמה, his wisdom is also unlimited. So how is it possible for a limited mind of a person, as great as it may be, to grasp the unlimited חכמה of Hashem? If the Gemara says that פילא בקופא דמחטא, you can't have an elephant go through a hole of a needle because the elephant is big and the hole is small, certainly you can't have the greatness, the infinity of the Torah enter into the finite, limited mind of a human being.

The only way it's possible, the answer is, is if a person puts aside his own abilities, and he has the approach to the Torah that the Torah really is the חכמה of Hashem, and who is he and what is he? He is מבטל himself. When he nullifies himself, that's when he is able to be a keli to receive the Torah. Because as long as he wants to accept the Torah in his mind with his own kochos, thinking that he has to use only his seichel, then since his seichel is limited, it will not really grasp what the Torah really is. But if he puts aside his seichel, meaning he uses his seichel to understand, but he realizes that it's not his seichel that's really supposed to be involved. The seichel is only going to be involved because that's what Hashem wants. So that's why he will use the seichel to the best of his ability, try to understand it to the best of his ability, but the basis behind it is that he has to accept it because this is the kedushah of Torah, not because it's going to go into his seichel because of the seichel itself, then he will be able to grasp the Torah. Because then he's not grasping it with his limits, but he's grasping it getting out of his limits and doing it because Hashem wants. This is the reason why at the end of Shemoneh Esrei we say, ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה פתח לבי בתורתך. I will be like dust to everybody, open my heart to the Torah. What is the connection between these two things? There are two בקשות, two tefillos that have no connection one to another. But the answer is they have a very strong connection. If a person wants פתח לבי בתורתך, that his heart should be opened to the Torah, he should really take from the Torah what he is supposed to, then the introduction has to be ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה. He has to have self-nullification, realizing that he is nothing, then he is able to approach the Torah properly. And this is what the Gemara in שבת דף ל\"א ע\"א says, that in order to learn Torah you have to have the קב חומטין, the yirat shamayim. The yirat shamayim means the true approach to Torah, realizing that this is the chochmah of Hashem. And the Gemara gives a mashal there: Someone sent somebody else to bring him a whole barrel of wheat. And in order for the wheat to exist, not to get rotten, you have to put in a קב, a little bit of what's called חומטין. When he came back with the barrel, he asked him, did you put in the קב חומטין? If he answered yes, he says good, and if not, he says better if you wouldn't have brought it. And the Gemara says, what is this קב חומטין? That is the yirat shamayim. The barrel, that is the Torah, to learn a lot of Torah. But when does the Torah exist, which means when do you have the Torah properly? Only if you have that yirat shamayim, and in this case it means the ברכו בתורה תחלה, first having the proper kavanah, the proper approach. This is the reason that it says in ספרים why the Torah starts with a ב, not with an א. Really, since the first letter of the Aleph Bet is an א, the Torah should have started with an א. Why does the Torah start with a ב? So it says in the Yerushalmi חגיגה פרק ב הלכה א, also mentioned in Tanchuma פרשת בראשית ה, in Bereishit Rabbah in the beginning, in Tikkunei Zohar, Rava, in many places in the Zohar, the beginning of Vayigash, that the reason it starts with a ב is because ב is an abbreviation of the word berachah. א is an abbreviation of the word ארור, and ב is an abbreviation of the word berachah. But Lichorah, for sure we could find a word with a good meaning that starts with א, and a word with a bad meaning that starts with ב. So why do we say the reason it starts with ב because the word berachah starts with ב? So it says in sefarim that the pshat is like this: The reason the Torah starts with a ב, because when you sit down to learn the Torah, that is already the second step. There is a step before that, which is the א, and that is the approach to the Torah, the yirat shamayim, the true feeling that this Torah is חכמתו של הקדוש ברוך הוא, the feeling of the kedushah of Torah, that is א. And that's what the Yerushalmi If you start with a ב', you start learning knowing that this is the ב', then you will have a berachah. If chas v'shalom, a person doesn't have the proper approach, then it is chas v'shalom the היפך הברכה.

This is also the meaning in the Gemara in Yoma דף ע\"ב עמוד ב' where it says, a person learns Torah, זכה, if he is zocheh, he merits, נעשית לו סם חיים, it becomes to him like medicine that gives life. לא זכה, he doesn't merit, נעשית לו סם מיתה, it becomes like poison. What is the pshat if he merits and doesn't merit? The word זכה, which means merit, also comes from the word zechut, pure, that if a person learns Torah with a pure intention, with a pure approach, then the Torah is סם חיים. Chas v'shalom not, then it's סם מות, like we said from the Yerushalmi it becomes ארור. And this was what was missing at the time of the חורבן בית המקדש. They learned a lot of Torah, but their approach to the Torah, that was missing. They did not feel that when they learned Torah, they're learning the חכמתו של הקדוש ברוך הוא, the chochmah of Hashem. They learned the Torah with the feeling that they're learning a very, very smart, very intellectual subject, but they didn't have the proper feeling that this is the chochmah of Hashem. And this is such a terrible thing, עד כדי כך, so much so, that it was the cause for the חורבן בית המקדש. Why? Because if they learned the Torah this way, that means that they were missing the whole point. They didn't have the true understanding of what really the Torah is. And as we know, this is the difference between a Yid's approach to Torah and a goy's approach to Torah. As the famous Midrash says, if someone will tell you תורה יש בגוים אל תאמין, that goyim have Torah, don't believe it. And if they will say חכמה יש בגוים תאמין, that goyim have chochmah, could believe it. And as the mefarshim explain, it doesn't mean only that the goyim have chochmah and they don't have Torah. They could have Torah also, but the Torah that they have is only chochmah, because they have no connection to the kedushah of the Torah, because נתן לנו את תורתו. This fact that Hashem gave the Torah and He gave Himself in, which means He is in the Torah, this is only לנו, that He gave us. So therefore a goy's Torah is really only chochmah. And since the Yidden at that time learned the Torah similar to lehavdil the way a goy learns Torah, that's why Hashem said this is enough reason for the Beis Hamikdash to be destroyed. And therefore, when we have to change our ways and bring about the בנין בית המקדש, the building of the Beis Hamikdash, so the change has to take place in this inyan, that we have to have the proper approach, the proper א' before we start learning.