"Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning and repentance on which we recall the destruction of the First and Second Temples, and other tragic events in Jewish history that took place on this day....
"This month is called Av, which is Hebrew for 'father'. Although G-d has hidden His manifest countenance from us, and we are forced to live with all of the consequences that follow from that, the name of the month conveys to us that G-d acts as a loving father...
"Shema Yisrael is the soul of Judaism... Each word of Shema can bring refuah (healing) to its corresponding limb and rectify its spiritual blemishes that resulted from sin....
"The 17th of Tammuz is a fast day commemorating the fall of Jerusalem, prior to the destruction of the Holy Temple. This also marks the beginning of a 3-week national period of mourning, leading up to Tisha B'Av......