FAST OF TAMMUZ 17 (Tammuz 17) — A day of fasting commemorating the breach made in the
defense wall surrounding Jerusalem in 586
B.C.E. This led to the capture of the city and
the destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, three weeks later
and the exile of the Jews to Babylon.
The months of Tammuz and
Av are the low point of the festival cycle and commemorate the
tragedies which have fallen upon the Jewish people throughout history. The most prominent
of these are the destruction of the first and second temples on the ninth of Av. The
destruction of the second temple not only brought an end to the Temple service but also
brought an end to Jewish sovereignty and the beginning of the galut or
Exile. Beginning with the seventeenth day of Tammuz and concluding with the Tisha
be-Av is
a period of mourning for the first and second Temples.
