Historical Background to the Fast
(יט) כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֗וֹת צ֣וֹם הָרְבִיעִ֡י וְצ֣וֹם הַחֲמִישִׁי֩ וְצ֨וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜י וְצ֣וֹם הָעֲשִׂירִ֗י יִהְיֶ֤ה לְבֵית־יְהוּדָה֙ לְשָׂשׂ֣וֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָ֔ה וּֽלְמֹעֲדִ֖ים טוֹבִ֑ים וְהָאֱמֶ֥ת וְהַשָּׁל֖וֹם אֱהָֽבוּ׃ (פ)
(19) Thus said the LORD of Hosts: The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth month, the fast of the seventh month, and the fast of the tenth month shall become occasions for joy and gladness, happy festivals for the House of Judah; but you must love honesty and integrity.
צום הרביעי. צום של תמוז שהוא רביעי לחדשים:
the fast of the fourth [month] The fast of Tammuz, which is the fourth of the months.
צום החמישי. של אב:
the fast of the fifth [month] of Av.
וצום השביעי. שלשה בתשרי שבו נהרג גדליה:
the fast of the seventh [month] The third of Tishri, when Gedaliah was assassinated.
וצום העשירי. של טבת:
and the fast of the tenth [month] Of Teveth.
Six fast days in the year of which four are connected with the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash
Fast days of YK (Torah) - not linked to destruction although BM is recalled in the Avodah Service as well as description of the 10 Martyrs.
9th Av and 10th Tevet (prescribed by the prophets Hagai, Zechariah, Malachi) in addition to 17th Tammuz and Fast of Gedaliah ben Achikam (3rd Tishri)
Originally, fast of 4th Month (17th Tammuz) was fixed for 9th Tammuz - walls of Jerusalem breached (1st BM) -but moved as walls were breached on 17th for 2nd BM - Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and fellow sages
Fast of Gedaliah (3rd Tishri) - debate - his assassination either took place on 3rd or 1st (ie Rosh Hashanah), so agreed on 3rd.
Which fast is missing?
Fast days of YK (Torah) - not linked to destruction although BM is recalled in the Avodah Service as well as description of the 10 Martyrs.
9th Av and 10th Tevet (prescribed by the prophets Hagai, Zechariah, Malachi) in addition to 17th Tammuz and Fast of Gedaliah ben Achikam (3rd Tishri)
Originally, fast of 4th Month (17th Tammuz) was fixed for 9th Tammuz - walls of Jerusalem breached (1st BM) -but moved as walls were breached on 17th for 2nd BM - Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and fellow sages
Fast of Gedaliah (3rd Tishri) - debate - his assassination either took place on 3rd or 1st (ie Rosh Hashanah), so agreed on 3rd.
Which fast is missing?
Origins of Fast of Esther (The Book of Our Heritage - Eliyahu Kitov)
Adopted to recall:
Two fasts:
1. The three day fast that Esther and the Jews of Shushan held after the decree was announced and Esther asked Mordechai to tell the Jews to fast before she went in to see the King.
Adopted to recall:
Two fasts:
1. The three day fast that Esther and the Jews of Shushan held after the decree was announced and Esther asked Mordechai to tell the Jews to fast before she went in to see the King.
(טז) לֵךְ֩ כְּנ֨וֹס אֶת־כָּל־הַיְּהוּדִ֜ים הַֽנִּמְצְאִ֣ים בְּשׁוּשָׁ֗ן וְצ֣וּמוּ עָ֠לַי וְאַל־תֹּאכְל֨וּ וְאַל־תִּשְׁתּ֜וּ שְׁלֹ֤שֶׁת יָמִים֙ לַ֣יְלָה וָי֔וֹם גַּם־אֲנִ֥י וְנַעֲרֹתַ֖י אָצ֣וּם כֵּ֑ן וּבְכֵ֞ן אָב֤וֹא אֶל־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־כַדָּ֔ת וְכַאֲשֶׁ֥ר אָבַ֖דְתִּי אָבָֽדְתִּי׃
(16) “Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast in my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish!”
2. A second fast that was held on the day when Esther, Mordechai and the Jews gathered to defend themselves against their enemies and the fast when Haman ordered their annihilation:
(א) וּבִשְׁנֵים֩ עָשָׂ֨ר חֹ֜דֶשׁ הוּא־חֹ֣דֶשׁ אֲדָ֗ר בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁ֨ה עָשָׂ֥ר יוֹם֙ בּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגִּ֧יעַ דְּבַר־הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וְדָת֖וֹ לְהֵעָשׂ֑וֹת בַּיּ֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר שִׂבְּר֜וּ אֹיְבֵ֤י הַיְּהוּדִים֙ לִשְׁל֣וֹט בָּהֶ֔ם וְנַהֲפ֣וֹךְ ה֔וּא אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁלְט֧וּ הַיְּהוּדִ֛ים הֵ֖מָּה בְּשֹׂנְאֵיהֶֽם׃ (ב) נִקְהֲל֨וּ הַיְּהוּדִ֜ים בְּעָרֵיהֶ֗ם בְּכָל־מְדִינוֹת֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֳחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ לִשְׁלֹ֣חַ יָ֔ד בִּמְבַקְשֵׁ֖י רָֽעָתָ֑ם וְאִישׁ֙ לֹא־עָמַ֣ד לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם כִּֽי־נָפַ֥ל פַּחְדָּ֖ם עַל־כָּל־הָעַמִּֽים׃
(1) And so, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month—that is, the month of Adar—when the king’s command and decree were to be executed, the very day on which the enemies of the Jews had expected to get them in their power, the opposite happened, and the Jews got their enemies in their power. (2) Throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the Jews mustered in their cities to attack those who sought their hurt; and no one could withstand them, for the fear of them had fallen upon all the peoples.
Date of the original 3 day fast was 15-17th Nisan (Pesach) - dictated by the Sanhedrin in Shushan - Pseach suspeneded due to pikuach nefesh. However, for later generations, they fixed it on 13th Adar when the Jews gathered to protect themselves against their enemies:
From chabad.org
- Only fast to be observed on a Friday and into Shabbat - aside from Yom Kippur, it is the only time we fast on a Shabbat.
-Beginning of the chain of events that culminated with the destruction of the Temple and the subsequent exiles, something that we have never fully recovered from, because even when the Second Temple was finally built, it never returned to its full glory.
The 10th of Tevet also commemorates two tragic events that occurred close to that date, which were incorporated into the Selichot of 10 Tevet.
8 Tevet: Translating the Torah Into Greek
In an effort to translate the Torah into Greek (following an unsuccessful attempt 61 years earlier), the ruling Egyptian-Greek emperor Ptolemy gathered 72 Torah sages, had them sequestered in 72 separate rooms, and ordered them to each produce a translation.
On the 8th of Tevet of the year 3515 (246 BCE), they produced 72 identical translations. This was miraculous, especially since there were 13 places where the translators intentionally diverged from the literal translation.4
Despite the miracles, the rabbis viewed this event as one of the darkest days in Jewish history, comparing it to the day the Jews made the golden calf.
Now, translating the Torah is not a bad thing. After all, Moses himself had translated the Torah into 70 languages.
But, unlike that divine endeavor, this was a human project, initiated by a mortal ruler. As such, it could become a “golden calf”—a humanly defined vessel for the divine truth. Instead of faithfully conforming to their sacred content, the foreign garments could allow for distortion of the Torah’s original meaning.
Indeed, the Greek translation advanced the agenda of the Hellenist Jews to bring Greek culture into Jewish life, transforming the holy Torah into just another book of wisdom in Ptolemy’s great library.
9 Tevet: Passing of Ezra the Scribe
Ezra the Scribe passed away on the 9th of Tevet of the year 3448 (313 BCE), exactly 1000 years after the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
It was he who led the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel after the Babylonian exile, oversaw the building of the Second Temple, and helped put a stop to the wave of intermarriage that afflicted the Jews at that time. As head of the Great Assembly, he canonized the 24 books of the Holy Scriptures (Tanach) and legislated a series of laws and practices, including formalized prayer, guaranteeing the continuation of authentic Judaism among the Jewish people to this very day.
A Composite of Sadness
Although the 8th and 9th of Tevet were established as separate fast days, the rabbis consolidated them into the fast of 10 Tevet, a day mentioned in the Bible by the prophet Ezekiel as a day of mourning, so that the month would not be full of sadness and mourning.
Accordingly, in recent times, 10 Tevet became the day to say kaddish for the victims of the Holocaust, many of whose day of martyrdom is unknown.
- Only fast to be observed on a Friday and into Shabbat - aside from Yom Kippur, it is the only time we fast on a Shabbat.
-Beginning of the chain of events that culminated with the destruction of the Temple and the subsequent exiles, something that we have never fully recovered from, because even when the Second Temple was finally built, it never returned to its full glory.
The 10th of Tevet also commemorates two tragic events that occurred close to that date, which were incorporated into the Selichot of 10 Tevet.
8 Tevet: Translating the Torah Into Greek
In an effort to translate the Torah into Greek (following an unsuccessful attempt 61 years earlier), the ruling Egyptian-Greek emperor Ptolemy gathered 72 Torah sages, had them sequestered in 72 separate rooms, and ordered them to each produce a translation.
On the 8th of Tevet of the year 3515 (246 BCE), they produced 72 identical translations. This was miraculous, especially since there were 13 places where the translators intentionally diverged from the literal translation.4
Despite the miracles, the rabbis viewed this event as one of the darkest days in Jewish history, comparing it to the day the Jews made the golden calf.
Now, translating the Torah is not a bad thing. After all, Moses himself had translated the Torah into 70 languages.
But, unlike that divine endeavor, this was a human project, initiated by a mortal ruler. As such, it could become a “golden calf”—a humanly defined vessel for the divine truth. Instead of faithfully conforming to their sacred content, the foreign garments could allow for distortion of the Torah’s original meaning.
Indeed, the Greek translation advanced the agenda of the Hellenist Jews to bring Greek culture into Jewish life, transforming the holy Torah into just another book of wisdom in Ptolemy’s great library.
9 Tevet: Passing of Ezra the Scribe
Ezra the Scribe passed away on the 9th of Tevet of the year 3448 (313 BCE), exactly 1000 years after the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
It was he who led the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel after the Babylonian exile, oversaw the building of the Second Temple, and helped put a stop to the wave of intermarriage that afflicted the Jews at that time. As head of the Great Assembly, he canonized the 24 books of the Holy Scriptures (Tanach) and legislated a series of laws and practices, including formalized prayer, guaranteeing the continuation of authentic Judaism among the Jewish people to this very day.
A Composite of Sadness
Although the 8th and 9th of Tevet were established as separate fast days, the rabbis consolidated them into the fast of 10 Tevet, a day mentioned in the Bible by the prophet Ezekiel as a day of mourning, so that the month would not be full of sadness and mourning.
Accordingly, in recent times, 10 Tevet became the day to say kaddish for the victims of the Holocaust, many of whose day of martyrdom is unknown.
Israelites lived in the land for 850 years (21 generations) from when they entered under Joshua until destruction of 1st BM.
They were constantly warned to stay on the correct path but kept on straying until we read the following:
They were constantly warned to stay on the correct path but kept on straying until we read the following:
(א) וַיְהִי֩ בִשְׁנַ֨ת הַתְּשִׁיעִ֜ית לְמָלְכ֗וֹ בַּחֹ֣דֶשׁ הָעֲשִׂירִי֮ בֶּעָשׂ֣וֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ֒ בָּ֠א נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּ֨ר מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֜ל ה֧וּא וְכָל־חֵיל֛וֹ עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם וַיִּ֣חַן עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּבְנ֥וּ עָלֶ֖יהָ דָּיֵ֥ק סָבִֽיב׃
(1) And in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar moved against Jerusalem with his whole army. He besieged it; and they built towers against it all around.
Dispute as to whether the Babylonian siege lasted 18 or 30 months (1.5 or 2.5 years) as these may have constituted two separate events. The results of the siege are graphically described in Eichah/Lamentations.
Fast of Tevet was therefore the beginning of the exile which would emanate from the ultimate destruction of the first Bet Hamikdash
Fast of Tevet was therefore the beginning of the exile which would emanate from the ultimate destruction of the first Bet Hamikdash
What is the point of fasting?
(א) יֵשׁ שָׁם יָמִים שֶׁכָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל מִתְעַנִּים בָּהֶם מִפְּנֵי הַצָּרוֹת שֶׁאֵרְעוּ בָּהֶן כְּדֵי לְעוֹרֵר הַלְּבָבוֹת לִפְתֹּחַ דַּרְכֵי הַתְּשׁוּבָה וְיִהְיֶה זֶה זִכָּרוֹן לְמַעֲשֵׂינוּ הָרָעִים וּמַעֲשֵׂה אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁהָיָה כְּמַעֲשֵׂינוּ עַתָּה עַד שֶׁגָּרַם לָהֶם וְלָנוּ אוֹתָן הַצָּרוֹת. שֶׁבְּזִכְרוֹן דְּבָרִים אֵלּוּ נָשׁוּב לְהֵיטִיב שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא כו, מ) "וְהִתְוַדּוּ אֶת עֲוֹנָם וְאֶת עֲוֹן אֲבֹתָם" וְגוֹ':
(1) There are days that all the people of Israel observe as fasts on account of the tragic events which occurred on them, the purpose being to appeal to the hearts and to lay open the paths of repentance. This serves as a reminder of our evil doings, and the deeds of our fathers which were like ours now, resulting in the afflictions endured by them and by us. By remembering these things we are likely to repent and do right, as it is written: "They shall confess their sins and the sins of their fathers…" (Leviticus 26:40).
At this difficult time, at the end of an extremely challenging year, the fast gives us an opportunity to look inside ourselves and think about what we can do to improve our behaviour - keep in mind that this is exactly 3 months since Yom Kippur - a quarter of the way through the year - and the fast reminds us of what we said we would do then!
We add additional Selichot in our Shacharit prayers - but what is connection with the Holocaust?
Yom Hakaddish Hakelili - 'General Kaddish Day'
Based on the Talmudic tradition that “Bad things come to pass on an unlucky day” (Babylonian Talmud, Taanit Tractate, 29A), it was decided to turn the Tenth of Tevet into a religious memorial day for Shoah (Holocaust) victims.
On the Tenth of Tevet, Tashat (1949), the Israeli Chief Rabbi Untermann declared that “the day on which the first hurban (destruction) commenced should become a memorial day also for the last hurban,” and two years later (1951) the rabbinate decided officially to turn this day into a memorial day for Shoah victims whose date of death is unknown. The memorial prayer is also recited in synagogues, after the reading of the Torah at the morning services
It was decided that every household should light a Ner Zikharon (memorial candle) to memorialize the Tenth of Tevet.
To some religious Jews, this day is preferable as a remembrance day to Yom HaShoah, since the latter occurs in the month of Nisan, in which mourning is traditionally prohibited.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tenth-of-tevet/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_of_Tevet#cite_note-24
Yom Hakaddish Hakelili - 'General Kaddish Day'
Based on the Talmudic tradition that “Bad things come to pass on an unlucky day” (Babylonian Talmud, Taanit Tractate, 29A), it was decided to turn the Tenth of Tevet into a religious memorial day for Shoah (Holocaust) victims.
On the Tenth of Tevet, Tashat (1949), the Israeli Chief Rabbi Untermann declared that “the day on which the first hurban (destruction) commenced should become a memorial day also for the last hurban,” and two years later (1951) the rabbinate decided officially to turn this day into a memorial day for Shoah victims whose date of death is unknown. The memorial prayer is also recited in synagogues, after the reading of the Torah at the morning services
It was decided that every household should light a Ner Zikharon (memorial candle) to memorialize the Tenth of Tevet.
To some religious Jews, this day is preferable as a remembrance day to Yom HaShoah, since the latter occurs in the month of Nisan, in which mourning is traditionally prohibited.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/tenth-of-tevet/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_of_Tevet#cite_note-24