The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet: A Religious Response to Crisis

Today, Friday December 22, 2023 is Asarah B’Tevet, the fast day of the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet. Asarah B’Tevet is one of several minor fast days associated with the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC.

On this day in Jewish history, the Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem. This event marked the beginning of the battle that ultimately led to the destruction of 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)

Two weeks ago, I wrote to the congregation about the celebration of Chanukah in a time of war. The next day, while offering my introduction to the Torah reading on Shabbat morning (December 10th), it occurred to me that the first several observances of Chanukah in antiquity also took place during war. The Maccabees achieved a great victory when they to liberated the Temple (that was destroyed by the Babylonians 400 years earlier) and rededicate it for Jewish sacred worship. That's what Chanukah celebrates. But the war against the Syrian Greeks continued on for at least three more years after the first Chanukah until they were able to re-establish Jewish sovereignty and independence in the land of Israel which had been interrupted by the Babylonian assault on Israel which is ritually commemorated on this fast day today.

As we observe the fast today, I remember a lesson of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, one of the great Jewish thinkers of our time. He taught that the 10th of Tevet represents the Jewish people under siege facing two ways to respond to the crisis and danger around them. One is to assimilate and acculturate to the threatening world around you. The other is to strengthen ourselves internally by turning towards our unique way of life. Rabbi Sacks taught that in the face of the unprecedented tragedy of the destruction of the First Temple, great Jewish leaders laid the foundation for Judaism as a living civilization that could survive defeat, exile, and every imaginable external threat. Their vision helped to sustain, even in the most difficult of times, a Judaism that lasts until this day.

Rabbi Sacks taught this lesson exactly four years ago, at a time when rising anti-Semitism had become a chief concern of world Jewry. But what he said about that growing threat is even more significant during this time of war in Israel, and of heightened danger for world Jewry. Despite all its amazing achievements and powerful army, Israel was dealt a severe blow that in many ways is even more threatening to its citizens than the attack that began the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago. So how do we react to this tragedy? Rabbi Sacks explained that the proper way to respond is to turn toward Israel, and towards our Judaism now.  Because ultimately, as the prophet Zachariah taught:

Lo b’chayil v’lo bakoach, ki im b’ruchi.

The Jewish people survives not by strength or by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6)

Though not a particularly well known or well observed observance, this fast day is an opportunity to offer a religious response to danger and loss. Today we are strengthening our connection to our Judaism and its own unique understanding of how we should respond to crisis. By doing so, we play our part in rebuilding Jerusalem and strengthening the Jewish people.

The fast begins at 6:06 AM and ends at 5:02 PM 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jesus Was Not A Palestinian

Among the most pernicious aspects of Israel’s current war against Hamas has been the assault on truth, facts, and memory. As we have painfully learned, this brutal war is waged not only with military weapons, but also through an extensive disinformation campaign waged by Israel’s enemies, and their willing accomplices throughout the western world. We see this daily in irresponsible reporting in the media, the tolerance and even acceptance of antisemitic rhetoric and behavior on college campuses, and mouthed by politicians. We are told that Israel is a colonial enterprise, denying the 4000 year history of the Jewish people in the land of Israel. We were told that Arab and Muslim narratives regarding Israel must be accepted uncritically lest we be accused of racism and Islamophobia, while Jewish and Israeli narratives are subject to a level of scrutiny unparalleled in modern history. We are told regularly that Gaza is under Israeli occupation when the truth is that Israel withdrew
Read more

Jim Harbaugh Is No Hero

I’m not much of a college football fan. But I wanted to say something about the College Football Playoff championship game last Monday night, which saw the University of Michigan defeat Washington, 34-13. This tremendous victory was Michigan’s first national title since 1997. The Wolverines, as the Michigan football team is known, have a national following that numbers in the millions. They boast one of the premier sports programs in all of college sports. 38 former students are currently playing in the NFL.   The university has the largest stadium in the United States at 107,601seats, larger than any stadium used by an NFL team, and the third largest stadium in the world.   (By comparison, the largest NFL stadium, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford NJ can seat 82,500.) They have sold out every game except one for the past 48 years.   The team deserves praise for their hard work, efforts, and stunning progress on the field.   Yet the Wolverines are not exactly a rags to riches sto
Read more

Now We Know

It has often been said -- were the Arab armies to lay down their arms for a day, nothing would happen. But if Israel were to do so, the response would be brutal and immediate. Sadly, now we know that these words were not just rhetoric or a talking point or an expression of moral superiority. Now we know that this is a statement of fact. The only thing that may have surprised observers was how immediate and how savage that truth would be.   We are experiencing one of the darkest periods in modern Jewish history. I cannot claim any greater insight or understanding than those reading my message today. But I would like to at least add some perspective and context that is often missing despite the sympathy demonstrated toward Israel at this moment.   The events of this past week are the largest single loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. They recall the violence of the Pogroms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that sent so many of our grandparents to these shores. They are r
Read more