The 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, which was on Thursday, began a period in the Jewish calendar known as the Three Weeks: a time when we remember the events that led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple.

One of the tragedies associated with this day is that the walls of Jerusalem were breached. Once the walls fell, the destruction that followed became almost inevitable.

But there is another event remembered on that day that receives less attention: the daily offering in the Temple, the Korban Tamid, came to an end. The word tamid means constant. Every single day, morning and afternoon, this offering was brought. It was not dramatic. It was not once-in-a-lifetime. It was simply steady, faithful, and daily.

And that connects beautifully to this week’s Torah portion, Parshat Pinchas. Toward the end of the parsha, the Torah describes the daily offering: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Before the Torah speaks about the special holiday offerings- Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot- it first speaks about the daily offering.

The message is powerful.

Judaism is not built only on the big moments. Of course, we need the High Holidays. We need Passover seders. We need weddings, bar mitzvahs, Yizkor, and milestone moments. But the soul of Jewish life is built through small, steady acts of connection.

A wall does not usually collapse in one moment. It weakens slowly, brick by brick. And rebuilding also happens the same way- brick by brick.

Many Jews today feel that if they cannot do everything, perhaps there is no point in doing anything. But the Torah teaches the opposite. The Tamid reminds us that one consistent act has enormous power.

One Shabbat candle. One blessing. One visit to shul. One Jewish book. One act of tzedakah. One phone call to a child or grandchild to share a Jewish memory. One moment in the day to remember that we are part of something ancient, precious, and alive.

Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, as the 17^th of Tammuz is known as, is a day about broken walls. Parshat Pinchas reminds us how those walls are rebuilt: not only through grand gestures, but through steady commitment.

The Jewish people have survived not because every Jew always did everything, but because in every generation there were Jews who kept one more flame burning, taught one more child, said one more prayer, gave one more coin, opened one more door, and took one more step.

As we enter the Three Weeks, perhaps the question is not, “Am I doing enough?” but rather, “What is one small Jewish act I can make part of my life more consistently?”

Because sometimes one small act, done with sincerity, becomes the beginning of rebuilding.

Shabbat Shalom, Shmuel Klein