Information about the Month of July

July is the seventh (7th) month of the Gregorian calendar. The fourth (4th) Biblical sacred calendar month called Tammuz began at sundown on Saturday 24th of June and ends at sundown on July 23, 2017. This is the eleventh (11th) 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 10, 2017 at sundown and ends at sundown on July 11, 2017. 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 worshipping the Golden Calf.

2. During the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, the Jews were forced to cease offering the daily sacrifices dues 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.

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.