Can the 17th of Tamuz Actually Be a Day of Hope?

The 17th of Tammuz, the day when we begin our mourning over the destruction of the Temple. But we must know one thing about this day. As our sages have said, hidden within it is the day of the birth of our righteous Messiah. On that very day, Boaz took Ruth the Moabite as his wife. On that same day, she conceived Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. This day is a day on which we sit in mourning because of five events that happened to our ancestors. The tablets were broken, the golden calf was made, apostomus burned the Torah, and the wall was breached. But this day also holds within it the revelation of the king Messiah, the emergence of the king Messiah. From what does the Messiah emerge? Because of the 42 sacrifices that Balak offered on the altar, he merited that Ruth the Moabite would come from him. How much more should we add holiness, fear of heaven, and service of God? Let us continue to increase our service of God until we all merit this very year to hear the shofar of our righteous Messiah speedily in our days. Amen and amen.