Praying Thru The Month of July 2016
July is the seventh (7th) month of the Gregorian calendar. The fourth (4th) Biblical sacred calendar month called Tammuz begins at sundown on Wednesday July 6, 2016 and ends at sundown on Thursday, August 4, 2016. Tammuz is the tenth (10th) month of the Biblical Civil Calendar.
On the 17th of Tammuz Jews around the world take part in the Fast of Tammuz. This year the fast begins on July 22, 2016 at sundown. The fast is known as Shivah Asar B’Tammuz. It is the start of a three week mourning period for the destruction of Jerusalem and the two Holy Temples. The fast commemorates some tragic events that occurred on this date:
1. Moses broke the tablets when he saw the Jewish people worshiping the Golden Calf.
2. During the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, the Jews were forced to cease offering the daily sacrifices due to the lack of sheep.
3. The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans in 69 CE after a lengthy siege. Three weeks later the Romans destroyed the second Holy Temple on the 9th of Av.
4. The Jerusalem Talmud states that this is also the date when the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem on their way to destroying the first Temple.
Abstaining from food and drink is the external element of a fast day. On a deeper level they believe that it is a day when God is accessible waiting for them to repent.
During the three weeks of mourning the Jewish people mourn the loss of the vision of Israel as a holy nation set apart for the LORD.
Other Important events that occurred in the month of Tammuz
• Joseph the son of Jacob, was born in Mesopotamia on the 1st of Tammuz of the 2100 from creation (1562 BCE).
• Joseph died in Egypt 110 years later on the 1st of Tammuz 1452 BCE.
• In the year 1313 BCE on the 16th of Tammuz the children of Israel made the golden calf. Tammuz 16 is the 40th day following the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Click Here to View as PDF