The seeds of redemption were sown amid the ashes of destruction. [Rav David Cohen (Ohel David, Rus 2:23) makes a fascinating calculation to show that Rus conceived the progenitor of the Davidic and Messianic dynasty on the night of the Seventeenth of Tammuz.] It is not just that destruction and redemption coincide. Destruction initiates the process of redemption.
Maharsha (on Bechoros 8a) observes that the 21 days between the Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tishah B’Av parallel the 21 days between Rosh Hashanah and Hoshana Rabbah. Just as the latter period is one of Divine forgiveness and closeness, so too, the 21 days “between the straits,” when the tribulations of exile and suffering move us to repentance, atone for our sins and bring us closer to G-d.
Moreover, both periods are times when we are keenly aware of the hand of G-d in our lives - whether it is the hand that strikes or the hand that caresses. They are times of mo’ed, appointed times of meeting our Father in Heaven.
