Seventeenth of Tammuzשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר בְּתַמּוּז

According to the Mishnah, five calamities occurred on 17 Tammuz: the Tablets of the Covenant were broken, the daily offering (tamid) ceased, the walls of the city were breached, Apostomos burned the Torah and an idol was set up in the Temple.¹

The Bible states that during the Babylonian siege the walls were breached on the 9th day of the fourth month. The Talmud and later tradition relate 17 Tammuz to the breaching of the walls in the time of the Second Temple (70 CE); the Jerusalem Talmud also offers another explanation of the discrepancy.^2,3,4

The Talmud identifies "the fast of the fourth month" in Zechariah with 17 Tammuz.^5,6

According to traditional chronology, the breaking of the Tablets of the Covenant after the golden calf took place on 17 Tammuz (40 days after the giving of the Torah). The day thus links national catastrophe with spiritual failure.⁷

A minor fast from dawn until nightfall. The sick and pregnant or nursing women usually do not fast; the local rabbi determines the details.¹⁰

Anenu, selichot, Avinu Malkeinu and the afternoon reading of Exodus 32:11–14 and 34:1–10 with the haftarah Isaiah 55:6–56:8 (Ashkenazi rite).^11,12

The day has no objects of its own. In tradition, the broken Tablets of the Covenant and the breached wall become the images of the day.

There are no established special dishes.

In Orthodox communities the three weeks are kept strictly; Conservative and Reform communities mark the day in various ways, often only liturgically or not at all.

On this day Jews remember how enemies broke through the walls of Jerusalem. Three sad weeks begin, when there are no weddings or big celebrations.