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The new month with the old fast day
BY: HERB GEDULD Contributing Writer
On Wednesday, Dec. 19, a small, but growing, segment of Cleveland Jewry will observe A’Sara b’Tevet, the 10th day of Tevet, as the oldest minor fast day in Judaism.
A’Sara b’Tevet commemorates the day in 588 B.C.E. when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem, which led to its downfall and the destruction of the First Temple two years later.
The fast commemorates an event which took place almost 2,600 years ago but which had a profound and lasting effect on Jewish life. A’Sara b’Tevet marked the demise of Judah and the end of Jewish independence in Israel.
The Hasmonean reign, begun in 164 B.C.E., ended only 101 years later with the subjugation of Aristobulus II in 63 B.C.E. by the Romans. An independent Jewish state was not established in the land of Israel until the present state of Israel, some 2,000 years later.
The actual destruction of the First Temple, according to tradition, occurred on the 9th of Av, or Tisha b’Av in 586 B.C.E., and is commemorated on that day. Unlike Tisha b’Av, which is a 24-hour fast, the minor fast of A’Sara b’Tevet begins at sunrise on the 10th and ends that day. It is observed in the synagogue by special selichot (penitential prayers) and Torah readings.
In retrospect, the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple could have been avoided had the people and the king at the time, Zedekiah, listened to the prophet Jeremiah. The Babylonians were at constant war with Egypt, forcing Judah to become a pawn between the two great powers. Jeremiah had constantly preached submission to Babylonian rule as the only way to save Judah; at one point, he walked through the streets of Jerusalem wearing an oxen’s yoke on his back to symbolize submitting to the yoke of Babylon.
Jeremiah’s messages were not well received by the people, who accused him of being a traitor. He, in turn, denounced the Temple priesthood and the general wickedness of the people and their hypocrisy.
Despite Jeremiah’s warning to avoid foreign entanglements, Zedekiah, with Egyptian aid, rebelled against Babylon but was defeated and captured by Nebuchadnezzer. The sons of Zedekiah were killed before his eyes. He was then blinded and led in chains to Babylon. Jeremiah was permitted to stay in Israel with the remnant of the people.
If the concluding days of Chanukah did not occur in Tevet n the eighth day of Chanukah falls on the 3rd of Tevet n the month would probably be known as Martevet, or bitter Tevet (as Heshvan is known as Marheshvan), since no holidays originate in Tevet.
For many centuries, the 10th of Tevet was not the only fast day observed during that month. The sages in 260 B.C.E. designated the 8th of Tevet, the day the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek was completed, as a fast day. This translation, classically known as the Septuagint, from the 70 Jewish biblical scholars who translated it, opened the Bible to the gentile world. That fast was eventually forgotten.
Two major Jewish leaders died in the month of Tevet n Ezra the Scribe, who revitalized the exiled community in Israel in 429 B.C.E., and the Rambam, or Maimonides, whose Code of Jewish Law and Guide to the Perplexed serve as major sources of knowledge of Jewish law and ethics.
A’Sara b’Tevet commemorates the day in 588 B.C.E. when Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem, which led to its downfall and the destruction of the First Temple two years later.
The fast commemorates an event which took place almost 2,600 years ago but which had a profound and lasting effect on Jewish life. A’Sara b’Tevet marked the demise of Judah and the end of Jewish independence in Israel.
The Hasmonean reign, begun in 164 B.C.E., ended only 101 years later with the subjugation of Aristobulus II in 63 B.C.E. by the Romans. An independent Jewish state was not established in the land of Israel until the present state of Israel, some 2,000 years later.
The actual destruction of the First Temple, according to tradition, occurred on the 9th of Av, or Tisha b’Av in 586 B.C.E., and is commemorated on that day. Unlike Tisha b’Av, which is a 24-hour fast, the minor fast of A’Sara b’Tevet begins at sunrise on the 10th and ends that day. It is observed in the synagogue by special selichot (penitential prayers) and Torah readings.
In retrospect, the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple could have been avoided had the people and the king at the time, Zedekiah, listened to the prophet Jeremiah. The Babylonians were at constant war with Egypt, forcing Judah to become a pawn between the two great powers. Jeremiah had constantly preached submission to Babylonian rule as the only way to save Judah; at one point, he walked through the streets of Jerusalem wearing an oxen’s yoke on his back to symbolize submitting to the yoke of Babylon.
Jeremiah’s messages were not well received by the people, who accused him of being a traitor. He, in turn, denounced the Temple priesthood and the general wickedness of the people and their hypocrisy.
Despite Jeremiah’s warning to avoid foreign entanglements, Zedekiah, with Egyptian aid, rebelled against Babylon but was defeated and captured by Nebuchadnezzer. The sons of Zedekiah were killed before his eyes. He was then blinded and led in chains to Babylon. Jeremiah was permitted to stay in Israel with the remnant of the people.
If the concluding days of Chanukah did not occur in Tevet n the eighth day of Chanukah falls on the 3rd of Tevet n the month would probably be known as Martevet, or bitter Tevet (as Heshvan is known as Marheshvan), since no holidays originate in Tevet.
For many centuries, the 10th of Tevet was not the only fast day observed during that month. The sages in 260 B.C.E. designated the 8th of Tevet, the day the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek was completed, as a fast day. This translation, classically known as the Septuagint, from the 70 Jewish biblical scholars who translated it, opened the Bible to the gentile world. That fast was eventually forgotten.
Two major Jewish leaders died in the month of Tevet n Ezra the Scribe, who revitalized the exiled community in Israel in 429 B.C.E., and the Rambam, or Maimonides, whose Code of Jewish Law and Guide to the Perplexed serve as major sources of knowledge of Jewish law and ethics.
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| Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) news |
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