Dear NILI Community,
As we enter the month of Tevet, we find ourselves at a transition point. We are concluding our celebration of the last days of light of Chanukah, while also heading into a month that has historically contained darker periods of our Jewish history commemorated by three different fasts.
While we are most familiar with the fast of the Asara B'Tevet, which marks the start of the Babylyonian siege on Jerusalem that led to the destruction of the First Temple, the month of Tevet actually contains three fast days. The other two lesser known fast days, referred to as "fast days for the righteous," are on the eighth of Tevet and ninth of Tevet (The Book of Our Heritage).
The fast on the eighth of Tevet commemorates the translation of Tanach into Greek during the reign of King Ptolemy II in Alexandria, Egypt. According to our Sages, this was as catastrophic for the Jewish people as the sin of the Golden Calf, due to the amount of Torah understanding that was lost in translation.
The fast on the ninth of Tevet commemorates the loss of Ezra and Nechemia, the two figures who led delegations of Jews back to Israel from Babylonian exile to rebuild the Temple. Their visionary leadership and establishment of core practices in Jewish life help us maintain our commitment to Torah observance and values to this day.
Why is it that out of all of the fast days in Tevet, Asara B'Tevet is the only one that remains obligatory, so much so that it is also the only fast day that can be observed on Erev Shabbat? In fact, Asara B'Tevet is the only other fast day where you would even be technically permitted to fast on Shabbat aside from Yom Kippur.
What is it about Asara B'Tevet that it holds this special commemorative status?
While Asara B'Tevet marks the start of the events leading to the destruction of the First Temple, Rambam maintains that the purpose of the fast, nevertheless, is not to mourn but to inspire the Jewish people to repent (Hilchot Ta'anit 5).
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes that Asara B'Tevet represents Jewish life under siege. While not necessarily a literal military siege, Asara B'Tevet represents times in our Jewish history where the Jewish people are under siege: our values, our commitments, and our story. This idea of siege goes back to the historical fast on the eighth Tevet, marking the translation of Tanach into Greek. This was a siege on our values and civilization: "Do you attempt to acclimatise and acculturate yourself to the world around you, the world that seems threatening? That's the translation enterprise. Or do you strengthen yourself internally by strengthening Torah and spirituality in the life of the people?"
Perhaps, as Rabbi Sacks suggests, the antidote to living a life of Judaism under siege is to embrace the lessons and values imparted by Ezra and Nechemia. It is precisely when we feel like the Jewish way of life is under attack and we are living in an increasingly hostile world, that we must double down on our commitments to our Torah values and our bonds of Jewish peoplehood.
This month, let us harness the redemptive spirit of Tevet and embrace living committed Jewish lives.
Hope to see you all at our upcoming Mid-Winter Yarchei Kallah where we will be exploring the topic of "Jewish Peoplehood in Our Times."
Chodesh Tevet Tov!
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