Yesterday was The 17th of Tammuz, the beginning of a three week mourning period for the destruction of Jerusalem and the two Holy Temples which where destroyed on the 9th of Av ( Tisha B’Av) the saddest day for the Jewish people.
The First Temple was destroyed 586BC by the Babylonians. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in70 CE.
Since Yesterday was Shabbat, the fast of the 17th of Tammuz was postponed for today.
This fast actually commemorates five tragic events that occurred in different years on this date:
1.Moses broke the tablets when he saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf.
2. On this day the daily sacrifices stopped during the Babylonian siege due to a lack of sheep.
3.Apostomos burned the Holy Torah.
4. An Idol named Tammuz was placed in the Holy Temple.
5. The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, in 69CE, after a lengthy siege. The Jerusalem Talmud also states that on this day many years before the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem on their way to destroy the Temple.
The sages explain “every generation for which the Temple is not rebuilt, it is as though the Temple was destroyed for that generation”. A fast day is not only a sad day, but most important it is an opportunity to rectify our past mistakes which cause so much pain. The root of the problem is lack of faith in our creator which began with the crushing of the first tablets. May we work on having a relationship with G-d in which we make His will our will and He in return will make our will His will. When we will be able to recognize this truth and we stop living as if He doesn’t exist this long exile will be ended and we will find ourselves living in Messianic times, may it be very soon.
Live a little higher
