Tzom Asarah Tevet

Tzom Asarah Tevet (fast of tenth of Tevet) is on 10 Tevet 5767 (December 31, 2006). The fast starts Sunday morning and ends at nightfall. Asarah B’Tevet Remembering the Siege of Jerusalem Asarah B’Tevet (the Tenth of Tevet) is a minor fast day (observed from sunrise to sunset) that marks the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon (in 587 BC) and the beginning of the battle that ultimately would destroy the Temple and send the Jews into the 70-year Babylonian Exile. This siege is recounted in 2 Kings 25:1-2: “And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month (Tevet), in the tenth day of the month (Asarah B’Tevet), that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about. And the city was besieged...” The Cycle of Minor Fasts and the Fall of Jerusalem Three years after Jerusalem was besieged, Nebuchadnezzar finally broke through the city walls (on the 17th of Tammuz) and destroyed the Temple three weeks later (on the 9th of Av). Asarah B’Tevet is therefore part of the cycle of fasts connected with the events surrounding the destruction of the Temple: 1 - Jerusalem Besieged - The fast of Asarah B’Tevet (Tevet 10) marks the day when Nebuchadnezzer first besieged Jerusalem in 587 BC. 2 - Walls Breached - The Fast of the 17th of Tammuz marks the date when Nebuchadnezzer broke through the walls of Jerusalem and began the 3 week campaign to destroy the Temple (marks the start of the three weeks of sorrow) 3 - Temple Destroyed - The fast of Tish’ah B'Av (Av 9) marks the fateful day when the Temple was destroyed (marks the last day of the 3 weeks of sorrow). 4 - Exile - The fast of Gedaliah (Tishri 3) marks the dreadful consequences of the exile and further rebellion. Fasts Surrounding the destruction of the temple Event Fast (Tzom) Jerusalem Besieged 10th of Tevet (Asarah B’Tevet) Walls Breached 17th of Tammuz (Fast of Tammuz) Temple Destroyed 9th of Av (Tisha B’Av) Self-imposed Exile 3rd of Tishri (Tzom Gedaliah) From Hebrew for Christians