Dear Friends,
Every so often, a Jewish holiday pops up on the calendar, and you have no idea what it is. This weekend has one such holiday. It is called the Fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz (this year it falls on July 16).
The Fast of Tammuz is a Jewish fast day commemorating the breach of the walls of Jerusalem by the Romans before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70CE. For observant Jews around the world, the Fast of Tammuz marks the beginning of the three-week period of mourning leading up to Tisha B’Av (which is the fast day commemorating the destruction of the Temple three weeks later on the 9th day of Av).
During this three-week period some people abstain from listening to music, getting married, and cutting their hair. In contrast to Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur, this fast begins at sunrise and ends at sunset.
It is not surprising that most liberal Jews do not observe the Fast of Tammuz and do not even know that it exists. So, what might we make of this obscure observance as Reform Jews today?
One connection that has contemporary significance is rooted in a teaching in the Mishna. According to a rabbinic legend, the walls of Jerusalem were broken on the seventeenth of Tammuz because it was the date on which Moses had smashed the Ten Commandments in response to the sin of the Golden Calf. Thus, the Fast of Tammuz might serve as an invitation to contemplate how our misguided actions can often cause a rupture or a breach in our relationships with each other, with our community, and with God.
L’Shalom,
Steve