From
Ascent Quarterly
Five calamitous
events occurred on the Seventeenth of Tammuz.
- The
first Tablets-of-the-Law were broken, when Moshe descended from the
mountain and saw the golden calf and the accompanying dancing.
- The
daily sacrificial offering ceased in the first Temple (since the cohanim
no longer found available sheep for the offering).
- At the
time of the destruction of the second Temple, the walls of Yerushalayim
were breached.
- Apustumus-the
wicked, burned the Torah.
- An idol
was placed in the Sanctuary.
At the
time of the destruction of the first Temple, the walls of Yerushalayim
were also breached in Tammuz (on the ninth of the month). In order, however,
not to burden the community excessively, the Rabbis did not designate
both days as fast days, because of their proximity. They rather designated
the commemoration of both events for the seventeenth of Tammuz, since
the destruction of the second Temple is to us a greater calamity than
that of the first Temple.
This year
the 17th of Tammuz falls on Thursday, July 2. The fast starts before dawn
and ends after dark. No eating or drinking. Special services at shul morning
and afternoon. The money saved by not eating should go to charity; the
time, to Torah-study and mitzvot-performance.
From the Chassidic Rebbes
Among
the five events which occurred on the seventeenth of Tammuz is the destruction
of the city of Yerushalayim. It is a day when gentiles (and, figuratively,
a gentile lifestyle) broke through the wall that surrounded and defended
Jerusalem.
This concept
has a parallel in our lives. The Hebrew name of the city, Yerushalayim,
is a composite of two Hebrew words, yirah, and shaleim, which combined
mean “complete fear.” This is a level of fear that includes within it
the totality of our service to G-d; affecting every aspect of our behavior.
Complete
fear, as all other aspects of Torah and mitzvos, must be surrounded by
a wall, as our sages said (Avos 1:2), “make a fence around the Torah.”
In our personal lives this wall represents the practice of meditation,
the acceptance of G-d’s yoke and the quality of self-annulment. When the
wall around Yerushalayim is destroyed it is necessary to institute a fast.
Through “losing fat and blood” we can correct the fault of lacking a wall,
The fast is a mitzvah; by fulfilling the mitzvah we reestablish our connection
with G-d and make ourselves one with Him.
There is
another lesson to learn from the destruction of the wall around Yerushalayim.
A wall is intended to separate those inside the city from all the influence
that exist on the outside. Hence, the wall of Yerushalayim separated those
who have complete fear from those who lack this quality. There are gates
and passageways in the wall so that no two Jews will be completely separated
from each other.
The above
is true in normal times. However, in times such as these, the concept
of “the city was destroyed,” and the wall of Yerushalayim being broken
down, has a positive connotation as well. That connotation is that we
must involve ourselves with other Jews, even those outside the wall around
complete fear, over and beyond the call of duty—using the “doors and passage-ways.”
We must show self-sacrifice, not considering any obstacles, and even put
our own lives in danger in order to reach out to a Jew who lives outside
Yerushalayim, and even one who lives outside the holiness of Israel in
general.
(Based on
Sichos in English vol. 6)
From
AskMoses.com: "A Kind Suffering"
The Hebrew
word Chesed, kindness, has a numeric value of seventy-two. Kabbalah
teaches that the last seventy-two days of the Hebrew calendar year are
permeated with Chesed, divine benevolence. This period begins on
the seventeenth day of the Hebrew month, Tammuz.
This day
is also the first of a three-week (plus one day) period during which we
mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple and the exile of the Jewish nation
from Israel in the year 69 CE. Fasting and severe mourning mark the first
and last days of this period as we respectively commemorate the anniversaries
of the breach of Jerusalem's walls and the fall of the Holy Temple.
This begs
a question. How can a period of such suffering be simultaneously permeated
with divine benevolence?
The Hebrew
word Tov, which means "good," has a numeric value of
seventeen. The Bnei Yissachar teaches that this "good"
is tied into seventeen days of this three-week period. What sort of goodness
is connected with these seventeen days? A hidden one. The Talmud teaches
that upon creation of the world G-d withheld a large measure of "goodness"
and kept it in store, to be revealed when the Mashiach comes
These seventeen
days may appear negative on the surface but are in fact fully permeated
with divine goodness. Just below the surface lies an intense measure of
"goodness," yet to be revealed.
The Talmud
teaches that all punishment and suffering are veils drawn by G-d over
kindness that is too powerful to be directly perceived. Yet the Psalmist
promised that when Mashiach comes this veil will be removed and we will
come to understand the positive import of our nation's suffering. At that
time we will recognize the true character of divine benevolence that characterizes
these seventeen days.
What of
the Additional five days of this Period?
These five
days are in fact not sad at all. They are comprised of three days of Shabbat
and one day of Rosh Chodesh, all which fall during this period.
The fifth day is the Ninth of Av, which was declared a festival
by the prophet Jeremiah because the potential for Mashiach was
born on this day.
May we merit the immediate unveiling of this goodness and may these days
of mourning soon be transformed into days of celebration and joy.
[From
an article by Rabbi Eliezer Gurkow on //AskMoses.com; reprinted
with permission]
for more Kabbalah insights
on The Three Weeks
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