In our calendar, there are four fast days which directly relate to the destruction of the Beit haMikdash and Yerushalayim under the Babylonians during the latter half of the sixth century BCE:
Asarah b'Tevet (Tevet 10 - in the winter), when the siege of the city by the Babylonians began;
Shiv'ah 'Asar b'Tammuz (Tammuz 17 - summer), when the walls of the city were breached, several years after the beginning of the siege;
Tish'ah b'Av (Av 9 - summer), when the Beit haMikdash was destroyed by the Babylonians.
Tzom G'daliah (Tishri 3 - fall) when the Judean governor was assassinated in an Ammonite-generated plot. This brought about the end of Jewish autonomy under the Babylonians.
That also through them TheהאורLight,רפואהThe Healing and TheואהבהLove ofישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back toהארץThe Land of Israel?
"And Bilaam the son of Beor they slew with the sword" (Numbers 31:8)
Tammuz 19, 5771/July 21, 2011
These words, which actually form the latter half of the complete verse, starkly report the demise of the heathen prophet Bilaam. It is mentioned in the context of the war between Israel and Midian, almost as an aside, a not-so-consequential fact.
That also through them TheהאורLight,רפואהThe Healing and TheואהבהLove ofישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back toהארץThe Land of Israel?
Shalom Beloved Chaverim and greetings from the Land of Israel,
It is with such joy and thankstgiving that I am still able to send you this Torah study from Zion, after Adonai spared me from serious injury in a recent 3-car collision this past week. Halleluyah!
I have been filled with such a sense of gratitude for the gift of life and a determination to make the most of my time here while I can.