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Tammuz, the tenth month of the civil year and the fourth month of the
religious year, always has 29 days. The zodiac sign of the month of
Tammuz is Cancer. The word Tammuz is of Babylonian origin, Tammuz
being the name of a god who figured prominently in the Summerian and
Babylonian pantheon. While the Bible refers several times to the "fourth
month," the word Tammuz appears only in reference to the Babylonian
god: (Ezekiel 8:14). "Then he brought me to the door of the gate of
the Lord's house which was towards the north; and behold, there sat
women weeping for Tammuz."
17 Tammuz: The breachings of the walls of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and by the Roman emperor Titus in 70 CE are commemorated
on this day. [more]
The Talmud also associates this date with several additional sad and memorable
events:
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the day Moses smashed the first tablets of the Law;
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the day that the daily sacrifices in the Second Temple came
to an end;
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the day the Romans set up an idol in the Holy Temple in
Jerusalem.
The date marks the commencement of the annual three weeks of
mourning culminating in the fast of Tish'ah be-Av. According to tradition, Noah
also sent a dove out of the ark of the 17th of Tammuz.
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