A minor fast
Perhaps the least important notable date in the Jewish calendar is the Tenth of Tevet , which occurs ten days after Chanukah.
Jeremy Rosen
As if to dampen our enthusiasm for military success by recording the beginning of the process that led to the destruction of both Temples with catastrophic results. Ironic, isn’t it?
The army of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar 2nd began its siege of Jerusalem in 588 BCE, culminating in the first destruction of the Temple and the State in 586 BCE. But the Tenth of Tevet is officially when the first lines of defence were breached. The first reference to the Tenth of Tevet as a fast appears in (Zechariah 8:19) where it is called the “fast of the tenth month”. The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 18b) says that the “fast of the tenth month” refers to the fifth of Tevet, when, according to the prophet Yechezkel (33:21), news of the destruction of the Temple reached those already in exile in Babylon. However, the tenth is the date observed today,
The Romans would break through the walls too, but on the 17th of Tammuz in 70 CE, leading to the destruction on the 9th of Av. In both cases, the disastrous politics of the Jewish leadership were largely responsible. Over time, some rabbis tried to merge the two fast dates. But they did not succeed.
Not surprisingly, the rabbis looked for other reasons for observing this minor fast. On the Eighth of Tevet during the 3rd century BCE, Ptolemy the Greek overlord of Egypt, ordered the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. This work later became known as the Septuagint after seventy-two sages were placed in solitary confinement and ordered to translate the Torah into Greek. Some Jews saw this as a tragedy, a debasement of the divine nature of Torah and a subversion of its spiritual and literary qualities. They argued that the mystical ideas contained in the Torah depended on the original Hebrew. Translations in Greek (or any other language) other than the original Hebrew would be unacceptable. This distrust was accentuated by the fact that the Septuagint, in its Greek and later Latin iterations, was adopted as Sacred Scripture by Christianity. Nowadays, the Torah is translated into many other languages, and no one raises any objection.
Even so, according to Medieval texts, Asarah Be Tevet has been controversial. On the ninth of Tevet, “something happened, but we do not know what it was…” ( Shulchan Aruch: Orach Chaim 549–550, 561–562). Dr Shnayer Leiman has written an article, “Jewish Perspectives on Early Christianity – Nittel, the Ninth of Teves and Pope Simon Peter “. But I haven’t succeeded in getting hold of it.
The Israeli Chief Rabbinate chose to observe the Tenth of Tevet as a “general day of mourning for the Holocaust victims. To some Jews, this day is preferable as a Remembrance Day to Yom HaShoah since that occurs in the month of Nisan, during which mourning is traditionally prohibited. We don’t seem to be able to agree on much.
The ambiguity of Jewish history and politics is well illustrated by this celebrating victory over our enemies one moment and experiencing being hated and defeated the next. As is the distinction between the passivity of the Charedi world and the pro-activism of the Religious Nationalists (Chardal). It was reflected in debate between Rabbi Akiva and other contemporary rabbis as to how to deal with later Roman oppression and the Bar Kochba revolt. Negotiate or fight! Times change, and yet they don’t!
As the Talmud says concerning our fasts:
“Thus said the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall become times of joy and gladness, for the house of Judah” (Zechariah 8:19). It calls them days of “fast”, and it calls them “times of joy and gladness.” When there is peace in the world, there will be times of joy and gladness, but when there is no peace, there are days of fasting (Rosh Hashana 18 b).
Rabbi Jeremy Rosen lives in New York. He was born in Manchester. His writings are concerned with religion, culture, history and current affairs – anything he finds interesting or relevant. They are designed to entertain and to stimulate. Disagreement is always welcome.
