The 17th of Tammuz

The Mishna in Ta'anit 4:8 associates the 17th of Tammuz as the "Fast of the Fourth Month" mentioned by the prophet Zechariah. According to this Mishna, the 17th of Tammuz will be transformed in the messianic era in a day that"shall be joy to the House of Judah" full of "gladness and cheerful feasts."

The fast of the 17th of Tammuz is observed from the break of dawn until dusk, one of only two Jewish fasts to be observed in this manner.

Expecting or nursing mothers and those who are ill are expected to observe the fast but with lenience, refraining from meat, luxurious food and hard liquor.

Minors that are old enough to understand, though exempt from fasting, should also be fed only simple foods as a manner of education.

Unlike many Jewish fast days, washing and wearing leather is permitted.

Special prayers (vayechal and anenu) are added to the morning and afternoon prayers. Ashkenazim add the latter only in the afternoon service (mincha).

This day is the beginning of the Three Weeks, an annual period of mourning over the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem.

Tradition Today: The limits of mourning

The fast of the 17th of Tammuz, which begins the three-week period of mourning, is the first of four fasts associated with the destruction of the Temple. It commemorates the breach of the wall of Jerusalem by the Romans. According to Jeremiah 39:2 the Babylonians breached the wall on the 9th of Tammuz, the original date of the fast of Tammuz. The others are the 9th of Av commemorating the destruction of both Temples, the fast of Gedaliah, when the last Jewish ruler, Gedaliah, was murdered by Jews in 586 BCE, and the fast of the 10th of Tevet, which marks the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem. Over time other calamities were associated with these dates.

Sundown July 19- sundown July 20. The fast would be dawn to dusk Sunday.
http://www.jewfaq.org/current.htm


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Magnitude 5.0 - SOUTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA
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'Israel declines Nasrallah's offer to negotiate Schalit deal'

Israel has turned down an offer by Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah to take Egypt's place as mediator between Israel and Hamas for the release of captive soldier Gilad Schalit, Channel 2 reported Friday evening.

Obama's Globetrotting

Senior advisers to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, deigned to take a few minutes to share with us some information about the senator's pending visit to Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and the UK. Any possible pending trip the senator may make to Iraq and Afghanistan was not mentioned.

"This is not a political trip," said senior Obama adviser Robert Gibbs. "This is a trip of substance."
...
What's the campaign's response to the assertion that this would seem like a political rally abroad?

“That’s not what we’re doing," Gibbs said. "The speech in Berlin will be a substantive speech about American and European relations. This trip is not at all a political trip. Or a rally of any sort. It is a series of substantive meetings with our friends and our allies to talk about the challenges we face and the national security demands for the 21st century.”

Mmm-hmm. I'm sure.



FDA Clears Suspect Tomatoes
Salmonella Investigation Now Turns to Raw Jalapeño and Serrano Peppers

Consumers got the go-ahead this afternoon to eat tomatoes again, following months of concern that the produce was linked to more than 1,000 cases of salmonella.
...
Still, the FDA said today that tomatoes may have been responsible for illnesses at the start of the outbreak. When asked if the outbreak could have been due to peppers all along, FDA and Centers for Disease Control officials Thursday declined to speculate.

Food safety officials instead said there could have been cross-contamination between tomatoes and peppers at packing or washing stations before the foods made its way to restaurants and grocery stores. They said that has never happened before in previous outbreaks.

Very, very strange.