After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE, the city was no longer the physical center of the Jewish world. A new Roman city was built by Hadrian on its ruins and Jews were forbidden to enter it. For many centuries, Jews were not allowed to live in the city legally and there were harsh restrictions on Jews even entering it. Jews were only allowed to come to Jerusalem on Tisha B’Av to mourn for the destruction. They would come and mourn for their inability to fulfill so many of the commandments that were only relevant in Jerusalem and in the presence of a Beit Hamikdash. Traditionally Jews would stand on the Mount of Olives and tear their clothing to fulfill the rabbinic obligation of mourning, but even that contained an element of hope following the rabbinic statement, “One who merits to see Jerusalem in her ruin will merit to see her rebuilt and repaired when the Divine Presence returns to her.”
The destruction of the Temple resonates through much of our liturgy and informs many practices. There are traditions of leaving a small part of one’s house unplastered as a remembrance. At weddings, there is a tradition of bridegrooms wearing ashes on their head; the breaking of the glass at weddings has been associated with memories of the destruction. The Talmud also says that, “when a women adorns herself with jewels, she should leave something off in remembrance of Jerusalem.” In Talmudic times, it seems that women would wear a special piece of jewelry on which a picture of Jerusalem was engraved in memory of the destroyed city. We know from Tractate Nedarim (50a) that Rabbi Akiva promised to make one for his wife Rachel. It was called a Jerusalem of Gold or City of Gold. Because of the importance of music and song in the Temple rituals, the rabbis initially imposed a total ban on instrumental music following the destruction, but this has been interpreted fairly leniently.
It is clear that the remembrance of Jerusalem and the Temple is something that is not limited to the period of the Three Weeks but resonates throughout the Jewish year and throughout the life of a Jew in different ways.