Seventeenth of Tammuz

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The Seventeenth of Tammuz (also known as Shiv’ah Asar b’Tammuz or Tzom Tammuz) is a half-fast day (ie. a fast which lasts from dawn until nightfall) which commemorates a number of historical events from different times, which can be described as (not in chronological order):

• Moses broke the two tablets of stone on Mount Sinai
• An idol was erected in the first Temple of Solomon
• The daily Tamid offering in the first Temple of Solomon ceased to be brought
• The walls of Jerusalem were breached, prior to the destruction of the second Temple
• Roman military leader Apostamus burned the Torah Scroll, leading to Bar Kokbha’s revolt

The day itself consists of the fast, a Torah reading, a Haftorah reading and special prayers. The laws of mourning are not observed.

The three week period which starts on the Seventeenth of Tammuz and ends at Tisha b’Av are known as the Bein ha Metzarim ("between the days of distress") or just "The Three Weeks". Some of the customs of mourning are observed in this period, which commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem.