The fast of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz (the 17th of Tammuz) begins an annual period of mourning in the Jewish calendar culminating with Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av), which marks the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem, as well as other tragedies of Jewish history.
Rabbinical Student Frankie Sandmel created this 17th of Tammuz resource for the grieving we find ourselves doing in 2020. As we navigate a global pandemic, we also mourn the lives of so many refugees and asylum seekers, people of color targeted by racist violence, and those whose homes and livelihood have been destroyed by climate change. We grieve, too, over personal losses — the death of loved ones, our own loss of safety and security during COVID-19, loss of jobs and economic security, and the loss of the old “normal” as our everyday lives change drastically.
Sandmel explores old and new Jewish texts that invite us to mourn and to feel the pain of what has been lost.
