The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet

 

Dear JCCP/CBT Family,

Tomorrow, Friday December 25, 2020 is Asarah B’Tevet, the fast day of the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet. It is one of several minor fast days associated with the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC. We observe this fast from dawn until the beginning of Shabbat. 
 
On this day in Jewish history, the Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem. This event marked the beginning of the battle that ultimately destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple. It also sent the Jews into the 70-year Babylonian Exile.
 
The event is chronicled in the Bible. An identical description of the tragic event is found in both the Book of Jeremiah and II Kings:
 
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his (King Zedekiah’s) reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. (Jeremiah 52:4, II Kings 25:1)
 
We fast for many reasons. Fasting is about grief and mourning. We recognize that many Jews died and the Holy Temple was eventually destroyed.
 
Yet fasting is more about repentance for deeds that bring on catastrophic results. Through the experience of fasting, we attain a heightened awareness of the importance of performing Mitzvot and good deeds that can help to transform the world around us.
 
The fast begins at 6:07 AM and ends at 5:09 PM.


Shabbat Shalom,
 
Rabbi Arthur Weiner

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