The Fast of Shivah Asar B’Tamuz

The Fast Begins at 3:52am and ends at 9:07pm

Tomorrow is the fast of 17th of Tammuz, which is devoted to mourning the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls (and other tragic events that occurred on this day) and repenting and rectifying their causes. We refrain from eating and drinking. Special prayers and Torah readings are added to the day’s services.

The 17th of Tammuz also marks the beginning of “The Three Weeks”, a period of mourning which ends on the 9th of Av, commemorating the conquest of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Holy Temple and the dispersion of the Jewish people.
Weddings and other joyful events are not held during this period; like mourners, we do not cut our hair, and various pleasurable activities are limited or proscribed.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe urged that the Three Weeks should be a time of increased giving of charity and Torah study (in keeping with the verse (Isaiah 1:27), “Zion shall be redeemed by law, and her returnees by charity”), particularly the study of those portions of Torah that deal with the laws and the deeper significance of the Holy Temple.

From the Colel Chabad Calander:

Tammuz 17, Thursday, the fast commemorating the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple. See the laws governing a commemorative fast in the section describing the Fast of Gedaliah (Tishrei 3). A person who is not fasting
should not be called up for an aliyah. If he is called up, he may accept the honor in the Morning Service. Similarly, in the Afternoon Service, if refusing it will cause him embarrassment and will compromise the honor of the Torah, he may accept the aliyah.

In the three weeks between this fast and the fast of Tishah B’Av, several customs reflecting a state of mourning are observed:

a) We do not marry; engagements are permitted, however, even on Tishah B’Av itself; it is permitted to hold an engagement party without dancing until Rosh Chodesh Av;

b) We do not cut our hair or shave; cutting nails in honor of the Shabbos is permitted until Shabbos Chazon;

c) We do not recite the blessing Shehecheyanu on new fruits or new garments even on Shabbos.

Since these three weeks are associated with the destruction of the Temple, the Rebbe advised that they be dedicated to the study of the Temple’s structure. Among the sources to be studied are the concluding chapters (i.e., from ch. 40 on) of the Book of Yechezkel, the tractate of Middos, and Hilchos Beis HaBechirah from the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah.