In the history of the Jewish people, the summer again and again proved to be a very real trial. It was during the summer that traditionally the twelve spies returned from scouting out the land of promise, ten of them return confused and disenchanted as to the hope of taking the land. Later on, both the temple of Solomon and of Herod are destroyed during these same summer months. Later in history, the Jewish people were expelled from the very countries they had fled over this same period of the year. Again and again the enemies of Israel have used this time to attack the people and try to bring the annihilation of the Jewish people.

The most difficult period is known as the Three Weeks or Bein HaMeitzrim— between the breaching of the walls and the destruction of the temple. This is the period that begins on the 17th of Tammuz until the 9th of Av (called the fasts of the fourth and fifth months in Zechariah). During this period, Jews everywhere but especially in Israel cut back on the festive elements of life and seek to understand what caused these calamities to fall upon the people in previous generations. For many this is an opportunity to make steps to change our ways as individuals and corporately, so that we can live more in line with the ways of Hashem. With the intensity of the summer months being so great in Israel, it is not surprising that in modern Israel a large percentage of the population seek to travel from this special land of promise to other parts of the world for a respite of summer, immediately after the Three Weeks.

For the last few years, one way that some of us are treating this intense time of introspection is through the gathering of a group of Jewish followers of Yeshua mostly from within Israel for the Israel Hashivenu Forum. At this Forum we are working together to understand the role of Jewish followers of Yeshua, living renewed Jewish lives fully engrained within the wider Jewish community. This is a part of our return to the faithful paths of Hashem.