This fast day commemorates the start of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, which eventually led to the destruction of the First Temple.

The fast commemorates five tragic events in Jewish history:

1. Moses breaking the tablets at Mount Sinai in response to witnessing the sin of the Golden Calf
2. The ceasing of the daily offerings in the First Temple as a result of the siege of Jerusalem
3. The breaching of the walls of Jerusalem after a lengthy siege, prior to the destruction of the Second Temple
4. The burning of a Torah scroll by Roman General Apostamos 
5. The placement of an idol in the Temple. 

This day begins a three-week mourning period over the fall of Jerusalem that culminates in the fast of the Ninth of Av.

The Fast of Esther commemorates the fasting of the Jewish people in response to Haman’s evil decree to murder all of the Jews of the Persian Empire.

Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of Av, commemorates the destruction of the first (587 BCE) and second (70 CE) Temples in Jerusalem, the exile of the Jews from the Land of Israel and Jewish tragedies and suffering throughout the ages. The Scroll of Lamentations, describing the horrors that accompanied the destruction of the first Temple, is read publicly at the beginning of the fast. Because fasting on Shabbat is prohibited (with the exception of Yom Kippur) when this fast falls on a Saturday it is postponed to Sunday.

Commemorates the assassination of Gedaliah, the governor of Judah in 582 BCE, as recounted in II Kings 25.

This day in Israel is marked with nationwide memorials to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust. The date chosen commemorates the start of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

On the day before Israel’s Independence Day, the nation remembers the Israel Defense Forces soldiers and civilian victims of terror who sacrificed their lives for the State of Israel.