Seventeenth of Tammuz · Shiva Asar BeTammuz

Culture of origin: Jewish · Cultural

Holiday sources: Israel · Judaism

The Seventeenth of Tammuz mourns the breach of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple. The Mishnah ties five calamities to the day, among them Moses breaking the tablets of the Law and the end of the daily offering in the Temple. It is a minor fast, kept from dawn to nightfall, and it opens the Three Weeks of mourning that end on Tisha B'Av. When 17 Tammuz falls on the Sabbath, the fast moves to Sunday.