The story of the spies in the desert, who went on a reconnaissance mission to assess the habitability of the Land of Israel is detailed in the Torah portion of Shelach. Their trip, which happened over the entire month of Tamuz and ended tragically upon their return to the camp on the ninth day of Av, lasted a total of forty days. It was on the disastrous day of their return that ten of the spies reported that the Israelites were not strong enough to conquer the various peoples living in the land, thus causing the people to cry to return to Egypt. God was so offended by the people’s lack of faith that he said in response: “You wept needlessly that night, therefore I will establish it as a night of weeping for future generations” (Ta’anit 29a); hence, all of the tragic events that have befallen the Jewish people on the 9th of Av, as commemorated by our collective day of mournful fasting.