Please note: The Fast of the 10th of Tevet will be observed this year on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, from dawn to nightfall.
Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, founder of Jewish Treats' parent organization, NJOP, discusses the Fast of 10 Tevet and why it is significant today. The 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet is the day we observe in commemoration of the siege of Jerusalem that took place thousands of years ago, leading to the destruction of the Holy Temple. The siege lasted for two years and in the year 586 BCE, the Babylonians broke through the wall and destroyed Jerusalem. 10 Tevet is more than just a Fast Day commemorating the siege of Jerusalem. It represents the opportunities that we had, that we missed because we did not do what God asked us to do: To repent, to be loyal to God and to do the right thing. We could have stopped the destruction of the Temple. The Talmud says the First Temple was destroyed because the Jews were engaged in idolatry, adultery and murder. Its hard to believe, but apparently it was true. We have had periods of history where the Jews did horrible things. We today have an opportunity to make sure that that wall is not breached. We have an opportunity to make sure that the Temple, although today we don't have a physical Temple, but the Temple in our hearts is pure and clean and not destroyed. Rabbi Kook once said about the destruction of the Second Temple, if we have been destroyed and the world has been destroyed with us, because of hatred without cause, we can rebuild and the world together with us can be rebuilt with love without cause. If we would love one another without cause, not because of their kindness, but just express love whenever you have the opportunity, we can rebuild the Temple. Rabbi Buchwald and the team at Jewish Treats hope you have a meaningful fast on 10 Tevet!
When does the Fast take place?
1) On 10 Tevet on the Hebrew Calendar. The fast begins at the break of dawn and ends at nightfall.
a) Some people get up before dawn to have an early morning breakfast (but this is only permitted if a decision to do so is verbally expressed the night before).
b) When the fast falls on Friday, most people fast until they drink the wine or grape juice of the Friday night Kiddush at the Shabbat table.
Do's and Don'ts
1) During the duration of the fast, eating and drinking are prohibited.
2) Unlike Yom Kippur and Tisha Ba'Av (The Day of Atonement and the Ninth of Av), brushing teeth (no swallowing!), bathing, annointing and wearing leather are permitted.
3) Pregnant and nursing women, and others with health restrictions may be exempt from fasting (please consult your rabbi). Children under the age of bar/bat mitzvah (13 for boys, 12 for girls) are not required to fast.
4) Special prayers are added to the synagogue services:
a) S'lichot (Penitential Prayers) and Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father, Our King) are recited during the morning service.
b) At Mincha, the afternoon service, Exodus 32:11, containing the 13 attributes of G-d's mercy, is read from the Torah.
c) The Aneinu prayer, asking for special forgiveness, is added to the morning and afternoon services by the cantor. An individual who is fasting includes Aneinu in the silent Mincha Amidah.
More on the Historical Significance
From The Second Book of Kings 25:1-4:
'And it was in the ninth year of [King Tzidkiyahu's] reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth (day) of the month, that Nebuchadnetzar, King of Babylon came, he and all his legions, upon Jerusalem, and encamped upon it and built forts around it. And the city came under siege till the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu. On the ninth of the month [of Av] famine was intense in the city, the people had no bread, and the city was breached.'
* On the tenth of Tevet, the Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem.
* A year and a half later, on the ninth of Av (Tisha Ba'Av), the First Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
When the Fast falls on a Friday, like in 2010:
1) It is a general rule that no Rabbinic fast days fall on Friday so that people will not enter Shabbat while fasting. The exception to this rule is the Tenth of Tevet, which may occur on Friday.
2) That this fast may occur on a Friday, demonstrates the seriousness of mourning on the Tenth of Tevet.
a) Even Tisha Ba'Av, the ninth of Av, on which Jews mourn the destruction of the First and the Second Holy Temple, cannot fall on Friday.
b) The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet is considered more intense since it marked the beginning of the calamities. Had there been no siege, then the walls could not have been breeched (on the 17th of Tammuz), the First Holy Temple would not have been destroyed (on the Ninth of Av), and Gedaliah (the Governor of the Jews) would not have been murdered, causing the remaining Jews to go into exile (the Fast of Gedaliah -- 3rd of Tishrei).
