“Five calamitous matters occurred to our forefathers on the seventeenth of Tammuz…the tablets were broken; the daily offering was nullified; the city walls of Jerusalem were breached; the general Apostemos publicly burned a Torah scroll; and Manasseh placed an idol in the Sanctuary…” (Mishna, Ta’anit 4, 6)
Have an easy and significant fast.
And may these days of “Ben Hameitzarim” between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av be ones of introspection, repentance, and unconditional love.
רב הכותל
What Are We Joyous About? – Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah 5787 Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites On Simchat Torah, we mark the completion of the annual cycle
17 Tishrei 5787
September 28, 2026
