Bein haMetzarim: ברית סיני וברית ציון - Jun 30, 2026 - The Mishnah in Ta'anit lists 5 calamities that befell Am Yisrael on the 17th of Tamuz and, correspondingly, 5 tragedies that we experienced on Tish'ah b'Av. It becomes clear that some of these events are clouded in the mists of time and not all of them happened precisely on those dates. We conclude that the Hakhamim are teaching a profound lesson of the significance of each of these days and the breach in our national mission typified by these tragedies. We explore the common feature of the items on each list and propose that each of them speaks to a distinct component of our relationship to HaKadosh Barukh Hu and to our destiny. Exploring these particular crises and the noble calling to which we, as a people, were found wanting. This shiur was given in memory of my father, הרב אשר אהרן בן אברהם בנימין ז"ל, whose yahrzeit is on כא בתמוז. May his memory always be a source of inspiration and ברכה