Bein HaMetzarim 5785, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom. In memory of my father - הרב אשר אהרן בן אברהם בנימין ז"ל -Tammuz 21

Why do chakhamim set up a parallel between the events that befell our ancestors on each of 17 beTammuz and 9 beAv? 

The Mishna in Ta'anit presents a literary parallel between the events that befell our ancestors on 17 of Tammuz and those that happened on 9 beAv. We explore the lists and identify three types of events on each list - and the common features which all of the items on each list share. Using this analysis, an approach to understanding the underlying failure that led to each of these tragedies is proposed, one which does much to shed light on how Chazal want us to view these fasts and our expected response to them. This shiur was given to the staff of Machaneh Stone on 17 beTammuz.