The Three Weeks

The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem is commemorated with a period of mourning.

By Matthue Roth 

The three-week period in summer that begins with the fast of the 17th of Tammuz and climaxes with Tisha b'Av is known simply as "The Three Weeks." It is a time of grieving for the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. This year the Three Weeks begins on June 25th and culminates on July 19th.

This mourning period was first mentioned in the biblical Book of Zechariah in the Prophets--and, since then, it has been observed as a period of sadness.

The Multiple Tragedies 

The 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz is a date in which many tragedies and pitfalls happened, according to the Mishnah (Taanit 4:6). It is traditionally believed to be the date that Moses broke the original Ten Commandments after coming upon the Israelites as they worshiped the Golden Calf. The Roman rulers forbade sacrifices to be made in the Second Temple on this date in 69 C.E., and, in the following year, the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem were breached. This attack led to the destruction of the Temple three weeks later.

In Hebrew, the period of the Three Weeks is known as "bein hametzarim," or, literally, "within the straits" or "within the borders." This name comes from a verse in the Book of Lamentations, or Eicha, which is read on Tisha B'Av: "Judah has gone into exile because of affliction, and because of great servitude. She dwelt among the nations, she found no rest; all her pursuers overtook her within the borders." (1:3) This idea of borders--or "restrictions"--alludes to the additional restrictions of mourning which are traditionally taken on during this period.

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The 17th of Tammuz

The 17th day in the Jewish month of Tammuz, this year July 25th, Jews the world over fast and lament to commemorate the many calamities that have befallen our people on this ominous day.

The purpose of such fasts in the Jewish calendar is, according to Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov's Book of Our Heritage, "to awaken hearts towards repentance through recalling our forefathers' misdeeds; misdeeds which led to calamities..."

A Historic Day of Calamity
Going all the way back to Biblical times, Moses descended Mount Sinai on this day and, upon seeing the Golden Calf broke the first set of Tablets carrying the Ten Commandments (Shemot 32:19, Mishna Taanit 28b).

In the First Temple Era: The priests in the First Temple stopped offering the daily sacrifice on this day (Taanit 28b) due to the shortage of sheep during the siege and the next year 3184 (5186 BCE), the walls of Jerusalem were breached after many months of siege by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces.

During the period of Roman persecution an idol was placed in the holy sanctuary of the Temple (Melachim II 21:7,Taanit 28b), and the heathen Apostomos, captain of the occupation forces, publicly burned the Torah (Taanit 28b) - both acts considered open blasphemy and desecration. These were followed by Titus and Rome breaching the walls of Jerusalem in 3760 (70 CE) and Pope Gregory IX ordering the confiscation of all manuscripts of the Talmud in 4999 (1239).

In later years this day continued to be a dark one for Jews. In 1391, more than 4,000 Jews were killed in Toledo and Jaen, Spain and in 4319 (1559) the Jewish Quarter of Prague was burned and looted.

The Kovno ghetto was liquidated on this day in 5704 (1944) and in 5730 (1970) Libya ordered the confiscation of Jewish property.

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The Etymology of the Knaidel

Because there are no celebratory Jewish holidays this month, we're publishing an article we hope you'll enjoy.

Spelling out Scripp’s winning spelling bee word

By Adam Chandler for Tablet Magazine

Millions tuned in to watch the 11 finalists duke it out for the 86th annual Scripps Spelling Bee title. The winner, two-time third-place finisher Arvind Mahankali, walked away with $30,000–not an insignificant amount of lunch money to get beaten up for–after correctly spelling the word knaidel, from the Yiddish for a dumpling.

Perhaps, it was fitting that the word Mahankali needed to spell prior to knaidel was tokonoma–a Japanese word for a niche–because today Yiddishists and etymologists are kvelling over the public discovery of the winning word. We sought out Allan Metcalf, who brilliantly profiled master etymologist Gerald Cohen for Tablet earlier this month, for his thoughts on the knaidel.

The most interesting points Metcalf raised–after consulting the Jewish English Lexicon–was that there are six acceptable spellings for the word and the spelling of knaidel that Mahankali gave was not the lead one. He explained:

“Knaidel” is not the headword, “knaidle” is. The winning spelling is an alternate.

The intrigue doesn’t end there.

So that raises the question, would there be six possible correct answers at the spelling bee?

The answer is probably “no” because (I think) the bee uses Merriam-Webster dictionaries as its authority, and “knaidel” is the spelling in the M-W Unabridged. But that doesn’t mean the others are wrong, except possibly at a spelling bee.

No matter what, there may be nothing more cliché than a kid from Queens winning the national spelling bee with a Yiddish word for dumpling.

Nevertheless, congrats Arvind!

 

Who said that?

Because there are no holidays this week, we're publishing an article we hope you'll enjoy.

 By John Rosengren © 2013

an excerpt from HANK GREENBERG: The Hero of Heroes

The Chicago White Sox, led by manager Jimmy Dykes, were notorious for their bench jockeying. Dykes was an early edition Archie Bunker, in appearance and attitude. "Hey, Hank," Dykes used to shout at Greenberg. "How are you playing with three Catholics and one Hebe?" During a doubleheader at Briggs Stadium on July 1, Dykes lit into Greenberg with criticism about him skipping last year's All-Star Game. Someone-maybe Dykes-shouted at Hank when he was running down the first base line, "You big, yellow Jew bastard!"

The Chicago bench continued to harass Greenberg throughout the afternoon while he was in the field. When Joe Kuhel, a skinny guy with big ears, reached first base in the sixth inning of the second game, Hank heard the White Sox bench yell for Kuhel to spike Greenberg. Kuhel took a large lead, certain to draw a throw. When it came, he slid hard into Hank and spiked him in the foot. Hank punched Kuhel in the face. The players spilled out of both dugouts, but umpire Ed Rommel squeezed between Greenberg and Kuhel before either could throw any more punches. He ejected Hank and shepherded the players back to their positions and dugouts.

The Detroit crowd took up the attack. "Spectators started throwing anything throwable at the Chicago players," the Detroit News reported. The players shouted at them. One fan tried to jump the White Sox, but an usher wrestled him back on top of the dugout. Uniformed policemen scurried to the area to restore order. They ejected several spectators. Just when things had calmed down and play resumed, Kuhel scored and the fans renewed their attack. One chucked a bottle at Kuhel. "The policemen again invaded the warring section and once more restored order," according to the Detroit News, which deemed the incident a "minor riot."

Still upset afterward, Hank stripped off his jersey, stuffed it in his locker, swapped his spikes for his shower slippers and left without a word. He crossed the hallway to the White Sox clubhouse, walked in and announced, "I want the guy who called me a 'yellow Jew bastard' to get to his feet and say it to my face."

No one moved. Hank walked slowly around the room and looked at each of them. Kuhel. Dykes. The others. Not one of them dared stand up. Hank walked out, paused at the door to look back, then left.

"The guy with the big mouth was the luckiest guy in the world, because Greenberg would have killed him," Elden Auker said later.

Before the next day's game, Hank received a telegram from American League president William Harridge fining him fifty dollars for striking Kuhel. Dykes said he thought Greenberg should have been suspended. Harridge also upbraided the White Sox for "unsportsmanlike conduct and use of insulting and abusive language to members of the opposing team." He warned Dykes that he would have any of his players who repeated such insults ejected and suspended. In a sarcastic gesture, Dykes sent all of his reserves out to the bullpen and said, "I guess that Greenberg won't be able to hear what they say out there, and no one will get run out for saying something uncomplimentary about him taking all those called strikes."

Hank hadn't said anything to his teammates about crossing the hall, but word of him challenging the White Sox in their clubhouse spread around the league. Other players took note. They respected Hank for standing up for himself. Years later, players like the Yankees' Tommy Henrich and the Red Sox's Ted Williams repeated the story in admiration of Greenberg. "You know who stood up?" Williams liked to say as the punch line. "Nobody."