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The
Historical Significance of the
Tenth of Tevet
The
Second Book of Kings 25:1-4:
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'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.'
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On the tenth of Tevet, the Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem.
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A year and a half later, on the ninth of Av (Tishah Ba'Av), the
First Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
A
Friday Fast:
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).
An
Added Meaning
In Israel, the Tenth of Tevet is also Yom HaKaddish HaKlali, a
day on which Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, is recited
for people whose date or place of death is unknown, such as the
victims of the Holocaust.
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