What happened on the 17th Day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz (known in Hebrew as Shivah Asar B’Tammuz) in Jewish history that made it a day of sadness and the beginning of a three-week period of mourning for the destruction of Jerusalem and the First and Second Temples.
Five tragic events happened on this date.
1. Moses broke the first set of the tablets of the 10 commandments because saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf.
2. When the Babylonians were seiging Jerusalem, there were no sheep for the sacrifices (korbonot) in the holy Temple (the Beit HaMikdash).
3. Apostomos burned the Torah (in a period of oppression of Jews by the Romans).
4. An idol was placed in the Beit HaMikdash in a period of lacking in Torah observance.
5. The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans which eventually led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the 2nd Beit HaMikdash. According to the Jerusalem Talmud, this was also the date when the Babylonians breached the walls of the Jerusalem leading to the destruction of the first Beit HaMikdash.
Although we have returned to Jerusalem in the modern State of Israel and there is much to celebrate, the Beit HaMikdash is still not rebuilt. Therefore, the day is still observed as a fast day and a day in which we can take the opportunity to think about how we can improve our society so that we are not commiting the same mistakes as the ones that led to the destruction of Jerusalem. Today is a day to focus on Jewish unity and working on ourselves to be better people.
By doing so, we can make a difference. May we merit, as our sages tell us, to see days of sadness become days of joy.
