Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman spoke this week on the topic of the Nine Days of  mourning, and Tisha B’Av, the fast day in mourning for the Temple. “It isn’t enough that we eat bread with salt on the eve of Tisha B’Av, rather, every day of the year we must raise ourselves up… that every act and word is as it should be, and in that way we will really grow close to Hashem, Blessed is He,” he said.

“When we are particularly strong in this regard – especially these days when the trait of judgment hangs over us, G-d forbid – strong in our relationship to God, in Torah and prayer, and between one another, to be sure that one does not say anything that could hurt someone, or do anything that could hurt someone,” he added.