Today Is The Tenth Of Tevet
Above: Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem circa 1900, roughly 2,000 years after the destruction of the First Temple!
Today is the Tenth of Tevet an important day on the Jewish calendar, and a minor fast day. The fast begins at dawn and concludes at nightfall and there are no other physical constraints beyond fasting, in contrast to the major fast of Tisha B’Av. Because it is a minor fast day, there are many exemptions from the fast, many women do not fast, and certainly those who are nursing or with young children are exempt. Whether or not one is fasting we certainly do keep in mind the importance of the day, which I why I generally try to remember this day, and all mourning days associated with the ultimate destruction of the Holy Temple on this blog.
What does this day commemorate exactly? How is it possible that we are still observing an occurrence related to an event that occurred 2,608 year ago? Keep on reading……
According to II Kings, on the 10th day of the 10th month (Tevet), in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign (588 BCE), the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, began his siege of Jerusalem. Eighteen months later, on the 17th of Tammuz at the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign (586 BCE), he succeeded in breaking through the city walls.The siege ended with the destruction of the Temple three weeks later, on the 9th of Av (Tisha B’Av), resulting in the exile of the Jewish people to Babylon. The Tenth of Tevet is thus considered part of the cycle of fasts connected with the destruction of the Holy Temple, which includes Shivah Asar B’Tammuz (17th of Tammuz) and Tisha B’Av (9th of Av).
Regarding how it is possible that despite attempt after attempt to wipe out the Jewish people we are still 2,608 years later remembering these events? Well, it is indeed hard to fathom, but lets just say that we value the gifts we’ve been given (The Torah) and take our commitment to contributing light to the world very seriously. Meaning very very seriously. As one can see from history, even the greatest evil force can not succeed (despite causing huge trauma) and we will continue as always until there is peace in the entire world, at which point goodness will prevail. Amen!
