The Tenth of Tevet: Time to Lift the Siege

The Tenth of Tevet: Time to Lift the Siege

Tevet 9, 5766/January 9, 2006



"In the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it; and they built siegeworks against it round about." (Jeremiah 52:4; II Kings 25:1)

The Tenth of Tevet, (Tuesday, January 10th), is sometimes referred to as the "easiest" of all the fast days which commemorate the destruction of the Holy Temple. On a strictly physical level, this is certainly true: The fast of the Tenth lasts only from just before dawn to just after nightfall. Falling out always near the winter solstice, the day is the shortest of all fast days. And being a winter month, a faster doesn't have to contend with intense heat or dehydration. And yet, on a spiritual level, the Tenth of Tevet may well be the most difficult of all fast days to contend with; even more than the Ninth of Av, the most well known and universally observed of all the Temple related fast days. Why is this?

The Tenth of Tevet marks the beginning: the beginning of a three year siege that led to the destruction of the first Holy Temple in 586 BCE by the Babylonians; the beginning of the end. Beginnings contain within their internal character a certain logic, a dynamic process that will lead inexorably to the fulfillment in time of that very beginning. Creation itself has a beginning, and that beginning contains within it every bit of information necessary to fulfill creation's purpose in time. We are each born containing within us the genetic material that will guide and shape us throughout life. Similarly, we are imbued while still in the womb with the knowledge of G-d's truth that will lead us through this earthly journey, inasmuch as we tap into that truth and seek it out, and fill our days and shape our deeds in accordance with the Divine truth. There are a few among us, true Tzaddikim - righteous ones - whose lives are an ever upward trajectory, never marred by error or sin. Yet for that vast majority of us, making errors, and overcoming errors, is part of a day to day struggle to raise ourselves up, to better serve G-d, to better perform His commandments. Each error, each misguided step we take is in itself a new beginning. Left unchecked, this morning's error will necessarily evolve in time into an ever spreading net of mistakes and missed opportunities. At the end of the day, looking back, we see the chain of misdeeds, and feel the pangs of remorse. At the end of our life we might likewise reflect on all that was, and all that was not, and find ourselves immersed in regret. But is the end of the day the time for our tears? Is the end of our final day the hour for regret?

Our sages teach us that even before the creation of our world, G-d created the capacity for teshuva - for repentance. According to the Talmudic expression, G-d "created the cure before the affliction." For G-d knew in His infinite wisdom what we learn from experience, day after day: the world cannot proceed without teshuva. The Divine purpose of creation cannot be fulfilled without the capacity for, and the endeavor to do teshuva - to improve ourselves, to draw ourselves ever closer to the Divine will: to make His will our will.

So what day is more worthy of our tears? The Tenth of Tevet, when the walls of Jerusalem were first laid siege upon, or the Ninth of Av, three years later, when the Holy Temple was destroyed, and its priests and vessels driven into exile? Jeremiah, the quintessential "prophet of doom" forewarned the people of Judea, but they listened not. For thirty one months they resisted mending their ways, until the calamity contained in the initial siege of Jerusalem blossomed into the full fledged disaster of the destruction of the Holy Temple. No doubt the Tenth of Av was a day of great teshuva. Imagine if the Tenth of Tevet had been?

The month of Tevet opens in the bright light of Chanuka. The second day of Tevet is already the eighth day of Chanukah - Zot Chanuka. Eight lights are kindled on this day, and eight lights are revealed. These lights are nothing less than a glimpse into the supernal light of creation - hidden away after Adam Rishon - the first man - ate from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yet a mere eight days later, again, the Tenth of Tevet, we come to a day of profound darkness. Should we write this off as some kind of cruel cosmic joke? Should we end this day with yet another sigh and regret? Or should we internalize that light and call upon it on the day of great darkness. The Tenth of Tevet comes around every year. It is time that we grasp the opportunity it affords us to do teshuva ; to direct our energies toward making the world a suitable haven for the Divine presence; to repair the breach and to return Jerusalem to its rightful glory, as the city in whose midst G-d will dwell.

Updates

Rabbi Richman is currently in the USA on a speaking tour, and will return in two weeks time. The Temple Institute's weekly Temple Talk internet radio broadcast will not be broadcast live again until Monday, January 23rd. Israel National Radio will be running previously taped shows over the following two weeks. This may be a good opportunity to catch up on a missed broadcast, or to listen again to a favorite show. All Temple Talk shows can be accessed and downloaded from our archives.

Israel National TV's Israeli Salad show is currently running an interview with Rabbi Chaim Richman, in which he discusses the recently completed me'il techelet. Click here to get to Israel National News, where you will find the link to the January 5th segment of Yoni Kempinski's Israeli Salad, (#120).

Temple Talk can now be automatically downloaded directly to your computer via RSS feed, thanks to our hosts at Israel National Radio. To learn more about RSS podcasting, and to attain the link necessary to paste into your RSS reader, please click here.

The Temple Institute now also has adopted RSS technology. To have all updates to templeinstitute.org downloaded directly to your computer in real time, just add the following link to your RSS reader:
http://www.templeinstitute.org/rss/Temple_Institute.xml

Final note: Rabbi Richman will not be accessing his email while away and will endeavor to catch up on correspondence upon his return to Israel. He urges all who wish to contact him by email to do so via our online form. This will best insure that he sees your message when he returns.

Wishing all an "easy" fast: May our mourning be turned into dancing, our sackcloth be replaced with joy,

Yitzchak Reuven
THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE
PO Box 31876
Jerusalem, Israel 97500