Understanding the Place of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz in the Jewish Calendar

Grade Level: 3-5
Time: 30 minutes
Setting: Camp or Informal Ed

Objectives:

• Identify the key historical events associated with the fast day of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz (the 17th of Tammuz).
• Explain the place of the 17th of Tammuz as a fast day on the Jewish calendar.
• Explore the role of sadness in Judaism and reflect on its spiritual and communal value.

Materials Needed:

• Emoji cards
• Printed copies of the Shiva Asar B’Tammuz events document for each group
• Post-it notes, pens, or paper

Hook

Begin the session by showing the students the different emoji cards and asking them to identify the different emotions associated with the cards, as well as times when people might feel those specific emotions. The final card should be an emoji that represents sadness.

After showing this emoji, ask the students to consider moments when they feel sad and what they do when they are feeling sad. Following this discussion, explain that while many moments in Judaism celebrate happy occasions, there are also significant days that commemorate sad moments. 

Connection

Highlight for the students that fast days on the Jewish calendar are days that are often used to commemorate a sad event. Ask the students to generate the names of the fast days, then provide them with the full list if they miss any:

• Tzom Gedaliah – This fast day mourns the assassination of Gedaliah, a leader after the destruction of the First Beit HaMikdash, and is considered to be the end of Jewish leadership in Israel during this time period. 
• Asarah B’Tevet – This fast day commemorates the start of the siege on Jerusalem.
• Taanit Esther – This fast day recalls the Jews’ fasting before Queen Esther approached King Achashverosh, to ask for his help in saving the Jews from Haman’s evil plot.
• Shiva Asar B’Tammuz – ​​This fast day marks the beginning of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and four other events; it begins the period of the Three Weeks.
• Tisha B’Av – This fast day commemorates the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and four other tragic events in Jewish History.

Explain to students that the final fast day on the Jewish calendar is Yom Kippur, which is the only fast day not commemorating a difficult or sad event.

*In institutions that commemorate Yom HaZikaron or Yom HaShoah, it might be important to highlight that sad events of more recent times are still commemorated in the Jewish calendar, just not as fast days. 

Connection – Part 2

Explain to the students that Tisha B’Av is the primary day that is used to remember sad events, and that the other fast days (aside from Yom Kippur, which is in a different category) are considered to be minor fast days. 

Ask the students to share key features of minor fast days, including:

• No eating or drinking
• It is from dawn until nightfall
• Certain tefillot are added to the morning and afternoon tefillot, including special Torah readings, slichot, and special haftarot. 

Connection – Part 3

Ask the students to “turn and talk” to each other about the following prompt: 

Why do we have minor fast days? What is their purpose?

Following the turn and talk, debrief with the students and propose some of your own answers. Some might include:

• The fasts give us time to think and reflect, and commit to becoming better people.
• The fasts allow us to remember important moments in our history.
• The fasts provide us with a designated time to express emotion surrounding events that were challenging for the Jewish People. 

Expansion

According to the Mishna, there are five sad events that took place on Shiva Asar B’Tammuz. What were they?

Divide students into groups and hand out the printouts of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz events to each group, asking them to go through the cards together. Each group of kids receives all 5 events.

• Moshe broke the Luchot (Tablets)

When Bnei Yisrael were in the desert, Moshe came down from Har Sinai with the luchot on Shiva Asar B’Tammuz. When he saw the people dancing around the Egel HaZahav (Golden Calf), he was so upset that he broke the luchot. He was upset because Bnei Yisrael were supposed to become closer to Hashem after receiving the Torah, but instead they were doing the forbidden action of Avodah Zarah (idolatry).

• The Korban Tamid (Daily Sacrifice) Stopped

In the Beit HaMikdash, special korbanot (sacrifices) were brought every day as part of the daily service, the goal of which was to keep Bnei Yisrael close to Hashem. On Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, the enemies of Bnei Yisrael knew how important this korban was, so they continually made it very difficult for Bnei Yisrael to do so, until one day, it proved too challenging, and Bnei Yisrael had to stop bringing the Korban Tamid. This was a big loss for Bnei Yisrael, as it felt like they were losing their daily connection to Hashem.

• The Surrounding Walls of Jerusalem Were Broken

In ancient times, many big cities had walls surrounding them, which served as protection for the people inside the city. On Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, when the enemies of Bnei Yisrael broke through the walls of Jerusalem, they were able to come in and cause harm to the people, their homes, and the Beit HaMikdash, which was at the center of the city.

• A Torah Scroll was Burned

On Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, a Torah scroll was burned by a man named Apostomoas. This was a terrible event because we are supposed to honor the Torah.

• Avodah Zarah (Idol Worship) 

On Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, Avodah Zarah was placed inside the Beit HaMikdash, which is meant to be the holiest place for Bnei Yisrael, where we serve Hashem.

When the students are done reading each of the five events, each group should choose one of the five events and create a skit about the event to present to the other groups.

Following the skit presentations, explain to the students that the fast day of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz marks all of these events, but beyond reminding ourselves of our history, these fast days can also be used as an opportunity for us today to think about how we can improve ourselves individually and as a community. 

Conclusion

Conclude this lesson by asking the students to consider ways in which they can improve themselves as individuals. Ask them to brainstorm and record their own thoughts on a post-it note, or have the group make a joint commitment to work on something together as a group.

If you have more time, take the post-it notes and create a collage that is then hung up on the wall. You can also take the “joint commitment” and ask each student to sign their name, and hang it up on the wall as well.