Historical Background
Throughout Jewish history, the Seventeenth of Tammuz has been a fateful day, and therefore the prophets established it as a day of remembrance and mourning, in which we fast and mourn over the tragedies and hardships that befell our people, particularly focusing on five prominent sad events that occurred on this day.
- The Tablets were broken: A day after the Giving of the Torah, Moses ascended Mount Sinai to learn the laws of the Torah and its commandments from God, and to receive the Tablets of the Covenant. Before his ascent to the mountain, Moses told the people of Israel that he was about to stay there for forty full days and then return with the details of the Torah, its intricacies, and the Tablets of the Covenant in his hands.
The children of Israel miscalculated the days, and when forty days had passed according to their mistaken count, and Moses had not returned from the mountain, Satan tempted them to doubt Moses’s credibility and convinced them that he was gone forever. As a result, groups of rabble and mixed multitude persuaded the congregation to create an idol for themselves – a golden calf, and to sacrifice to it.
The next day, on the Seventeenth of Tammuz, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai and saw what was happening among the people, he broke the Tablets under the mountain in front of all the people.
- The Tamid offering ceased: Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, sent his forces to conquer Jerusalem and the First Temple. His forces cast a severe siege on the city, and when Jerusalem could no longer stand under the siege and its walls were breached – the Babylonian soldiers rushed in and destroyed it.
The wicked tried to break into the Temple and cause chaos, but the priests fortified themselves in it and maintained the continuation of the worship as usual.
The worship of God continued until the seventh of Av, but on the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the supply of lambs suitable for offering the daily sacrifice, which was offered twice a day, ran out, and they ceased offering it.
- Apustamus burned the Torah: At the end of the days of the Second Temple, the Roman Empire ruled the land of Israel. Over time, the conflicts between the Jewish inhabitants of the land and the representatives of the Roman rule in the region intensified, and their power grew stronger. The Roman governor and his soldiers abused the Jewish inhabitants, provoked them, and desecrated the sacred symbols and Jewish religion.
Sixteen years before the great revolt and the destruction of the Temple, a conflict broke out between Jewish inhabitants of several settlements and a Roman military force. The situation escalated into a widespread riot, and a senior army officer named Apustamus blasphemed against God and His Torah, tore a Torah scroll, and threw the parchment into the fire. It was on the Seventeenth of Tammuz.
- The idol was placed in the Temple: On the same day that Apustamus, the wicked, burned the Torah, during those riots that erupted, he also placed an idol of idolatry in the Temple in order to desecrate and profane the sanctities of Israel.
- The city was breached: The Roman Emperor, Titus Flavius, sent military legions to the land of Israel to suppress the great rebellion that had erupted in Judea. On the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the Roman soldiers breached the walls of Jerusalem and began the destruction and devastation of the holy city and the Temple.
The fast
From the beginning of the day, at dawn, until its end, at the appearance of the stars, it is forbidden to eat and drink.
The fast day is intended to serve as a day of solidarity with the difficult and painful memories, to take personal account of our negative actions, and to pray to God to put an end to the troubles of Israel.
- On this day, it is advisable to increase acts of charity, which have special power and ability to arouse heavenly mercy.
Changes in prayers
In the morning prayer (Shacharit):
After the “Amidah” prayer, special “Selichot” prayers are recited for the fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz. In these “Selichot,” there are requests and prayers to God for forgiveness of our sins and redemption from all our troubles.
After the “Selichot,” the long prayer “Avinu Malkeinu” is also added, which is specific to fast days.
In the Torah reading:
A special Torah reading is read for the fast, which begins with the words, “Vayichal Moshe” (And Moses finished), from the portion of “Ki Tisa.” These verses contain the theme of repentance, the thirteen attributes of mercy, and more.
During the Torah reading, there are three times when the congregation participates and recites a specific passage aloud, and then the reader repeats it in the special melody of “Hayamim Hanora’im” (the Days of Awe).
- After the reader says, “Uletamtam me’al panai,” the entire congregation says together, “Shuv me’charon apecha, vehinachem al hara’ah le’amecha.”
- After the reader says, “Vayavor Hashem al panav vayikra,” the congregation says, “Hashem Hashem El rachum v’chanun… vechatalta venakeh.”
- After the reader says, “Ki am kesheh oreph hu,” everyone says, “Vesalachta lenu… vanechalta.”
In the Mincha prayer:
The Mincha prayer begins with the recitation of the Korbanot (sacrifices), and then the cantor approaches the podium and begins with “Ashrei.” The cantor says “Chatzi Kaddish,” takes out the Torah scroll, and reads from the Torah again in the portion of “Vayichal Moshe.”
The third Aliyah says a special section from the book of “Yeshaya” (Isaiah): “Dirshu Hashem Behimatzo, Kar’u Hu Bihyoto Karov.” After the blessings following the Haftarah, the Torah scroll is returned to the Holy Ark, and the prayer continues as usual.
In the “Amidah” prayer, the section “Aneinu” should be added in the blessing of “Shomea Tefillah.”
When the cantor repeats the prayer, between the blessing of “Go’el Yisrael” and the blessing of “Refaeinu,” he says the section “Aneinu” and also adds the formula “Birkat Kohanim” before the blessing of “Sim Shalom.”
Afterward, the “Tachanun” sections are recited, followed by the lengthy prayer “Avinu Malkeinu,” and concluding with “Aleynu Leshabeach.”
