Tammuz // תַּמּוּז
About Tammuz
Tammuz is the tenth month of the civil year and the fourth month of the Jewish religious year on the Hebrew calendar.
Tammuz comes at the same time as the secular months June/July.
During this month, we read Parshat Pinchas which names Machlah, Noa, Choglah, Milcah, and Tirzah as the daughters of Zelophehad and leads to egalitarian inheritance laws.
Holidays in Tammuz
Shiva asar b'tammuz
Tradition ascribes to the 17th of Tammuz a number of tragedies from various epochs in Jewish history. The fast commemorates these catastrophes, the most notable of which are:
Moses’ breaking of the first tablets of covenant upon finding the Israelites worshipping a golden calf,
The breaching of the walls of Jerusalem in the time of both the first and second temples,
According to legend, Noah sent out a dove on the 17th of Tammuz to see if the flood waters had calmed and if the mountaintops were visible. But the bird returned, signaling that there was no dry place to rest.
The Three Weeks
The Three Weeks is a sustained period of mourning over the destructions of both temples. It begins on the 17th of Tammuz, the day of the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem, and ends on Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av), the day of the destruction of the temples. It is customary to refrain from holding weddings or other celebrations during this period.
Tammuz History
circa 1312 BCE
The golden calf was offered by the Jewish people, 40 days after the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai. In response, Moses smashed the first Tablets.
circa 1272 BCE
Joshua stops the sun (Book of Joshua, 10:1–15)
586 BCE
Jerusalem walls breached by Nebuchadnezzar II, a date observed as a fast day until the second breaching of Jerusalem's walls by the Roman Empire on the 17th of Tammuz (70 CE). The korban in Solomon's Temple were discontinued.
70 CE
Walls of Jerusalem breached by the Roman army.
135
The Roman general Apostomus burned the Torah and placed an idol in the Second Temple.
1105
Death of Rashi
1976
Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976.
2020
The last Remaining Jews of Yemen are captured by the Houthi Militia
Tammuz Zodiac
The mazal (Zodiac) for Tammuz is Cancer, the sartan (the crab).