The Seventeenth of Tammuz

The 17th of Tammuz, Sunday, July 13

This fast day commemorates five tragedies:

1. The first set of the Luchot (tablets) was broken by Moshe in the year 2448 (-1313 BCE) when he came down Mt. Sinai and saw the Jewish people worshiping the golden calf.
2. The Korban Tamid (daily sacrificial offering in the Temple/Bait Hamikdash) ceased.
3. The walls of Jerusalem were breached in the year 3829 (69 CE) leading to the destruction of the Second Temple.
4. The wicked Apostumus (a Greek Hellenistic ruler) burned the Torah scroll. Some say he burned the scroll which had been written by Ezra, the Scribe. Others say he burned every Torah scroll he could find.
5. An idol was placed in the Sanctuary. Some say this was done by the aforementioned Apostumus in the Second Temple era. Others say it was done by King Menasheh in the First Temple, sometime between the years 3228 (-533) and 3283 (-478).

A Good Day

The Lubavitcher Rebbe pointed out that 17 is the Gematriyah (numerical value) of טוב, which means “good.” The gematriyah is related to the hidden meaning of an object or concept. As such, although the 17th of Tammuz is a negative day in the revealed sense, in a deep way, it’s a positive day as it will be transformed to a holiday when Moshiach comes. In addition, through the breaking of the first set of Luchot on the 17th of Tammuz, we merited to get the second set of Luchot which contained more (of the Oral) Torah than the first set.