Shiva Assar BeTammuz After October 7: Breached Walls and The End of Exile
Today is a complicated day. Not only has it been 291 days since October 7th, but today is also Shiva Assar BeTammuz, the 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz. This minor fast day carries enormous significance as it marks the beginning of the three weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av, ones of the saddest days on the Jewish calendar. Tisha B’Av stood alone as the saddest day until Yom HaShoah was added, and now, October 7th will likely be counted among these tragic days for its own very significant and obvious reasons.
On the 17th of Tammuz, tradition tells us that Moshe broke the tablets when he saw the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. During the Siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, we were forced to stop offering sacrifices. According to tradition, a foreigner burned a Torah, an idol was placed in the Jerusalem Temple, and in 69 CE, just before the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the walls of Jerusalem were breached. These are very sad days, and this is a sad period of time. Some people refrain from shaving, doing laundry, or buying new things during these three weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av. The fast begins in the morning and ends in the evening, and while not everyone observes it, those who do engage in specific prayers and rituals that reflect the somber nature of the day.
What makes this year’s Shiva Assar BeTammuz especially poignant is the breaching of the walls of our holy place, evoking our lived experience of October 7th. On that day, terrorists breached our world with bulldozers and weapons, marking a failure of Israel’s Defense Forces and the government in Israel. It’s a very intense thing to live through the ritual commemoration of an ancient version of what that represented. While it’s not historically accurate to conflate two different times, trauma does trigger trauma. As I stand here in my imagination on Kibbutz Kfar Aza in the south of Israel, where I journeyed with elected officials from Westchester two months after October 7th, I recall the vivid and painful memories of what I witnessed.
Our ancient rituals on Shiva Assar BeTammuz are ways of keeping history alive so we can learn from it, grieve healthily, and grow. Walking through Kibbutz Kfar Aza, I see the markings on the buildings left by the terrorists and the hole in the fence where they breached the walls. Shiva Assar BeTammuz and the three weeks that follow are about seeing what a breach in those walls represents.
We are reeling 291 days later, not only because of the physical breaches and assaults but also because of the deep emotional and communal wounds. The founding of the state of Israel in 1948 was meant to end such stories of exile and vulnerability, but history has shown us otherwise. On days like today, we must remember the lessons of our ancestors and acknowledge that the threat of breaching walls and dehumanization still exists. It’s hard to comprehend how anyone could intend the atrocities committed on October 7th, but we do a disservice to our ancestors if we deny the existence of evil in the world.
As I stand here in my imagination, both in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and Ancient Jerusalem, I’m reminded of the importance of history. Shiva Assar BeTammuz is not just about mourning; it’s about actively remembering and learning from our past. The breaching of the walls of Jerusalem is echoed in the breaches of October 7th. Our ancestors’ resilience and strength must inspire us to protect our future.
Today, we face our history honestly and with heart. We carry the broken heart of our people within us, and while Shiva Assar BeTammuz may be a minor fast day, there’s nothing minor about its lessons. As we remember, we also honor the extraordinary heroism and resilience of our sisters and brothers in Israel. We recognize the necessity of protecting ourselves and learning from our history.
May the Exile end, and may our children and grandparents come home. May we amplify our calls for justice and safety until all our loved ones are home. We are the people who remember, heal, and grow. May we continue to be authentic descendants and worthy ancestors, carrying our people’s history and resilience forward.