Jews Mourn, Fast on 17th Day of Tammuz

The Three Weeks of gradually-increasing mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temples and Israel's exile begin Tuesday, with the fast day of the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz. This is the day on which Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces breached the walls of Jerusalem, after many months of siege on their way to destroying the Holy Temple.The Three Weeks end on the 9th of Av-Tisha B'Av-the date on which both the First and Second Temples were destroyed, roughly 2,500 and 2,000 years ago, respectively.The 17th of Tammuz is also the date on which Moses, having descended Mount Sinai and seeing the people sinning with the Golden Calf, broke the first set of Ten Commandments. During the First Temple Era, the priests were forced on this day - a year before the Temple's destruction - to stop offering the daily sacrifice due to the shortage of sheep.In addition, the Talmud tells us, on this date some decades earlier, the evil King Menasheh had an idol placed in the Temple's Holy Sanctuary. Later, during Second Temple times, a Roman general placed an idol in the same place and publicly burned the Torah.
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(by Hillel Fendel -Israel National News)
As in the days of Noah....