TAMMUZ:
Month 4 | Tammuz: See the good in all things—guard your eyes.
- Prayer Request
- Praise Report
Focus: Seeing the good/blessing in all things—guarding your eyes
Letter: Chet (ח)
Tribe: Reuben
Sense: Sight
On the 3rd day of this month, the Lord miraculously stopped the sun in its tracks (allowing for sustained vision), allowing Joshua and his armies to deal a decisive blow to their enemies.
The sages declared Tammuz 17 a day of fasting and mourning for the terrible events associated with this day:
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- Moses broke the tablets when he saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf.
- During the siege of Jerusalem, the Babylonians forced the Jews to cease offering daily sacrifices due to the lack of sheep.
- Apostomos (possibly a Roman soldier or philosopher) burned the holy Torah.
- An idol was placed in the Holy Temple.
- The Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem in A.D. 69 after a lengthy siege.
The 17th of Tammuz starts a period of minor mourning known as the “three weeks,” concluding on the 9th of Av. This time is considered spiritually hazardous, as most of the major calamities that afflicted Israel happened during this period.
Major Jewish and Biblical Events in History in Tammuz:
03 Tammuz: Joshua Stops the Sun (1273 BC)
09 Tammuz: Jerusalem walls breached by Nebuchadnezzar II (423 BC)
17 Tammuz:
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- Golden Calf Offered / Moses Broke Tablets (1313 BC)
- Jerusalem Walls Breached (AD 69) – Roman conquest of Jerusalem and their destruction of the Second Temple
- The walls of the besieged city of Jerusalem were breached
- Roman general Apostomus burned the Torah
- Placed an idol in the Holy Temple
18 Tammuz: Golden Calf Destroyed
ELUL: The King is in the Field
The human mind will never be able to fully comprehend, at least not this side of the Resurrection, how great a sacrifice it was to lay down all the energies of divinity, to descend from the glorious fullness of eternal infinitude to humbling limitations of an impoverished baby (lacking bladder control!).
Av: The Month of Comfort in the Hebrew Calendar
The month of Av is also referred to as “Menachem Av.” “Menachem” means “consoler,” and “Av” means “father.” Due to the tragic events that occurred during this month, its name reminds us that God is there to comfort us in times of tragedy. Tu B’Av signifies rebirth after destruction and is a day for new beginnings.
Tammuz: The Month of Vision in the Hebrew Calendar
On the 3rd day of this month, the Lord miraculously stopped the sun in its tracks (allowing for sustained vision), allowing Joshua and his armies to deal a decisive blow to their enemies.