Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XVIII, pp. 308-309

Why We Fast On The Seventeenth Of Tammuz

The Rambam states:[1]

There are days when the entire Jewish people fast because of the calamities that occurred on those dates, to arouse their hearts and inspire them to the paths of teshuvah.

The Rambam continues,[2] mentioning the four dates on which fasts were instituted because of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Beis HaMikdash: the third of Tishrei, the tenth of Teves, the seventeenth of Tammuz, and the ninth of Av. He explains[3] that these fasts are specifically mentioned in the prophetic tradition, for Zechariah refers[4] to "the fast of the fourth month [i.e., Tammuz], the fast of the fifth month [Av], the fast of the seventh month [Tishrei], and the fast of the tenth month [Teves]," indicating that the practice of fasting was not ordained by the Sages after the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash, but was observed in Babylon after the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash. Even after the return of the people to Eretz Yisrael, these fasts were still observed.[5]

With regard to the seventeenth of Tammuz, the Rambam[6] mentions five reasons for the fast:

1. The tablets [of the Ten Commandments] were broken;

2. In the era of the First Beis HaMikdash, the offering of the daily sacrifice ceased;

3. In [the war leading to] the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash, the walls of Jerusalem were breached;

4. Apostumus, the wicked, burnt a Torah scroll,

5. and he[7] erected an idol in the Sanctuary.

With this wording, the Rambam reconciles a difficulty in the words of our Sages. The Jerusalem Talmud[8] and other sources[9] interpret the phrase "the fast of the fourth month" in Zechariah's prophecy as referring to the seventeenth of Tammuz on which "[the walls of] the city were breached." Since Zechariah was speaking before the destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash, it would appear that the Jerusalem Talmud is implying that the walls of the city were breached in its destruction by the Babylonians on the seventeenth of Tammuz. This contradicts explicit statements in the Book of Yirmeyahu[10] which state that the walls of the city were destroyed by the Babylonians on the ninth of Tammuz.

From the Rambam's wording, we can explain why the fast is commemorated on the seventeenth of Tammuz despite the fact that the walls were breached by the Babylonians on the ninth of that month. Our people were unwilling to accept two communal fasts in one month.[11] Therefore, even during the era of the Second Beis HaMikdash, the fast was observed on the seventeenth of Tammuz, and not on the ninth. For the severity of the destruction of the Tablets and the cessation of sacrificial offerings outweighs that of the destruction of the city's walls.[12]

The Ninth Or The Seventeenth?

The Jerusalem Talmud[13] itself recognizes the contradiction from the verses in Yirmeyahu and explains: "Confusion exists with regard to the dates." Generally,[14] that statement is interpreted simply: Because of the tremendous travail - both material and spiritual - suffered by the Jewish people at the destruction of Jerusalem and the Beis HaMikdash, the people erred in reckoning the dates. Although the walls of the city were breached on the seventeenth of Tammuz, they thought that this occurred on the ninth. When the Tanach recorded the matter, it did not desire to deviate from the popular tradition, and therefore also stated that the walls were breached on the ninth.

The Maharsha offers a different interpretation,[15] explaining that the Jerusalem Talmud's intent is not that there was an error in calculations, but a difference in approach. The gentiles follow a solar calendar, and according to their reckoning, the walls were breached on the ninth of Tammuz. The Jews, however, follow a lunar calendar, and according to the lunar calendar, it was on the seventeenth that the walls were breached.[16]

Based on Rashi's commentary on the Book of Yirmeyahu, a slightly different interpretation can be offered. On the verses:[17] "I see a rod of an almond tree. G-d said to me: 'You have seen well, for I will diligently pursue[18] My word to perform it,' " Rashi explains that just as an almond tree produces fruit in 21 days, so too, there was a 21-day interval between the breaching of the city's walls on the seventeenth of Tammuz, and the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash on the ninth of Av. This prophecy refers to the destruction of the First Beis HaMikdash by the Babylonians.

In order that this interpretation not run contrary to the verses which describe the walls as being breached on the ninth of Tammuz, we are forced to explain that the city was conquered in stages. On the ninth of Tammuz, the outer wall of Jerusalem was breached, and afterwards, on the seventeenth of Tammuz, the inner wall surrounding the Beis HaMikdash fell.

The prophecy of Zechariah mentioned at the outset states that in the future, the communal fasts will be transformed "into holidays and days of celebration." One may infer that according to the severity of the calamity for which we fast, so too, will be the intensity of the joy with which the day is celebrated during the Era of the Redemption.[19] Thus the recurrence of tragedies on the seventeenth of Tammuz indicates that ultimately it will be revealed as a great festival. May this take place in the immediate future.

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Taanios 5:1.

2. (Back to text) Ibid.:2-3.

3. (Back to text) Ibid.:4.

4. (Back to text) Zechariah 8:19.

5. (Back to text) See Rosh HaShanah 18b which describes the manner in which these fast days were observed.

6. (Back to text) Interpreting the Mishnah, Taanis 4:6.

7. (Back to text) I.e., Apostumus, a Greek official in the era of the Second Beis HaMikdash. Others interpret this as a reference to the idol erected by King Menashe in the era of the First Beis HaMikdash (Jerusalem Talmud, Taanis 4:6).

8. (Back to text) Ibid.

9. (Back to text) Sifri 6:4; Tosefta, Sotah, the conclusion of ch. 6. Some authorities also accept this as the correct version of the text in the Babylonian Talmud, Rosh HaShanah, loc. cit.

10. (Back to text) Yirmeyahu 39:2, 52:6-7.

11. (Back to text) Jerusalem Talmud, loc. cit.

12. (Back to text) See the gloss Tzafnas Paneach to the Mishneh Torah, loc. cit.

13. (Back to text) The Babylonian Talmud (Taanis 28b, and most versions of Rosh HaShanah, loc. cit.), by contrast, follows the simple meaning of the verse which states that the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Babylonians on the ninth of Tammuz.

14. (Back to text) See the gloss of the Turei Even, Rosh HaShanah, loc. cit., and the Gevuros Ari to Taanis, loc. cit.

15. (Back to text) Chiddushei Aggados, Taanis, loc. cit.

16. (Back to text) There is an eleven-day difference each year between the lunar calendar and the solar calendar. Thus in the month of Tammuz, the difference is eight days, the difference between the seventeenth and the ninth (ibid.).

17. (Back to text) Yirmeyahu 1:11-12.

18. (Back to text) The Hebrew term for "diligently pursue," shokaid, shares the same root as the Hebrew for almond tree, shakaid.

19. (Back to text) See the essay entitled "Support for Jerusalem," Timeless Patterns in Time, Vol. I, p. 135 where this concept is explained.