לרפואת מרים בת שושנה
The 3 weeks [known affectionately as בין המצרים] are really HAPPY DAYS as we are promised that in the future Tisha B'av will be a great happy holiday [people will ask each other "where are you eating your Tisha B'av seudos?"]. In the meantime the כלי for this happiness is אבלות but in the future it will be PURE SIMCHA.
In the time of the Neviim the Jewish people didn't accept rebuke because they felt the simcha of these days. Simcha was in the air because in the world of the spirit there is no difference between past, present and future. Time is an invention of the physical universe. So the future simcha ALREADY EXISTS!!! That is why they ignored the warnings of impending destruction.
That may be the emaning of כל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בשמחתה - it should say "יזכה" future tense?! The explanation is that since this is essentialy a time of happiness, by mourning the destruction one can already taste the simcha!!
But we must not forget to mourn, too....
As we get closer to Tisha B'av, the external absence of happiness should increase while at the same time anticipating the great delights yet to come!!:-)
