The Seventeenth of Tammuz is
one of the four fasts mourning the destruction of the Temple. From time to time
it falls on Shabbos as it does this year. When this happens the practice is to
push it off until, Sunday, the next day. The fact that we are eating, drinking,
and celebrating on the 17th of Tammuz hints at the way the day
should be and in the future will be observed.
When the Jews returned
from exile in Babylon they asked the prophet Zechariah if they should fast on
the ninth of Av for the destruction of the first Temple as they had been doing
previously (see Zechariah 7:3). The prophet gives a somewhat lengthy answer
that seems to come down to the idea that the fast is not to mourn a world that
is lost and never will return. Rather it is to stir our hearts to repentance by
recalling the bad deeds of our ancestors which are like our own bad deeds, and are
causing much of our misery today (Cf. Shlomo Ganzfried, Code of Jewish Law
121:1). He basically concludes by saying that the four fast days marking the
destruction of the Temple shall be celebrated as joyous festivals when the
people love truth and peace as it says “Thus says the Lord of Hosts: The fast of
the fourth [month], the fast of the fifth [month], the fast of the seventh
[month], and the fast of the tenth [month] shall be for the house of Judah for
joy and happiness and for happy holidays; and truth and peace you are to love” (Zechariah
8:19).
The Gemara (Rosh
Hashana 18b) brings a discussion among the sages about this verse saying that
these days are called fasts and called joy and celebration. Rabbi Shimon the
Hasid interprets this to mean that when there is peace they are to be joyous
celebrations but when there is war they are to be fasts. Rabbi Poppa says when
there is peace they are to be joyous celebrations but when there is government
persecution (גזרת מלכות) they are to be fasts. If there is no
persecution but there is not peace those who want to fast may do so and those
that do not want to fast need not do so.

The reason we joyfully
celebrate a day of pain is because we have learned something from it. Sometimes
our journey on the straight and honest path starts with a hard knock. Not long
after World War 2 there were many movies made about it. It was common to have a
scene with a panic stricken soldier screaming hysterically. His commanding
officer would approach him and slap him in the face. The soldier would
immediately regain his composure and with a responsible tone in his voice say,
“Thanks Sarge, I needed that”. King David expressed the idea profoundly when he
prayed that his heart should not be seduced into an evil way of life as it
says, “May a tsadik slap me as an act of kindness and rebuke me, oil from my
head do not hold back, for my prayer is still for their bad”, (Psalm 145:5).
The Talmud teaches us
that the first Temple was destroyed because of murder, adultery, and idolatry
and the second temple was destroyed because of gratuitous hatred. These are
things that no intelligent decent person would want any part of. On the
contrary we should attach ourselves to the three pillars of the world --
pursuit of knowledge, getting our hearts in the right place, and doing kind
things for each other (Ethics of our Fathers 1:2) . If we haven’t learned these
lessons we really should be mournfully fasting on these days. If we have
learned these lessons, the day we learned them should be a celebration.
לע"נ הדוד לייב הערש בן אהרן ז"ל נלב"ע יז תמוז תש"ל.
ניתן באתר
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