Fast of the 17th of Tammuz (redirected from Shivah Asar be-Tammuz)

Tammuz, Fast of the 17th of (Shivah Asar be-Tammuz)

Between June 17 and July 24; Tammuz 17

The Fast of Tammuz commemorates the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem in 586 b.c.e., when the Babylonians conquered Judah, destroyed the Temple, and carried most of the Jewish population off into slavery. But this destruction had a happy ending: after 70 years the people returned and rebuilt the Temple. Then the Roman army breached the walls of Jerusalem in the year 70 c.e., dooming both the city and its Temple for the second time. This time the destruction and the scattering of the people—known as the Diaspora—had a far more tragic finality. Jews remain scattered over the face of the earth to this day. Other sad events associated with this day are the shattering of the first Tablets of the Law by Moses, and the collapse of the sacrificial system caused by the Roman invasion in 70 c.e.
The Fast of Tammuz begins Three Weeks of mourning lasting until Tisha be-Av.
See also Asarah be-Tevet

CONTACTS:
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
11 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
212-563-4000; fax: 212-564-9058
www.ou.org

SOURCES:
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 159
DictWrldRel-1989, p. 155
OxYear-1999, p. 728