Rodef Reads – Fast BuddiesStudy and Practice Guide: The Four Minor Fasts#2 The 10th of TevetCompiled by Cantor Allen Leider, Director of Lifelong Learning

The Rodef Reads “Fast Buddies” Program In My Jewish Year: 18 Jewish Holidays and One Wondering Jew, (pp. 126 and 163-166), Abigail Pogrebin writes about our four minor fasts. In keeping with its selection of My Jewish Year for TRS’ Rodef Reads initiative, the Rodef Reads Committee is offering an innovative way to commemorate and find meaning in any of these minor fasts. So, find a buddy or several buddies and in preparation for one or more of the minor fasts, read and discuss the material, and explore ways in which you might make meaning of the fast. Whether you choose to fast or use the fast as an opportunity to learn and reflect is up to you and your buddy(ies).

The Four Minor FastsIn addition to the major full-day, sundown to sundown fasts of Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av (which commemorates the destruction of 1st and 2nd Temples), there are four minor fasts that were instituted by the Sages to commemorate specific events. These minor fasts last from dawn until dark. There is a great deal of leniency in the minor fasts for people who have medical conditions or other difficulties fasting. The date of the fast is moved to Sunday if the calendar date falls on Shabbat. This year, (5779 or 2018-9), here are the dates of the minor fasts:

Fast of Gedaliah Sep 12, 2018  Wed 10th of Tevet Dec 18, 2018  Tu Fast of Esther Mar 20, 2019  Wed 17th of Tzmmuz Jul 21, 2019  Su

Except for the Fast of Esther, the minor fasts relate to the destruction of the Temple. The Fast of Gedaliah is in memory of the Babylonian appointed governor of Judah, who

was assassinated by a fellow Judean following the destruction of the First Temple. It takes place on the day following Rosh Hashanah.

The 10th of Tevet marks the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E.

The Fast of Esther is observed on the day before the joyous holiday of Purim (Thursday if Purim falls on Saturday or Sunday). In fasting on this day, one is emulating the fast of Queen Esther and her fellow Jews before she went to the king to plead on their behalf.

The 17th of Tammuz commemorates the day on which the Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. It marks the beginning of the three weeks of mourning leading up to Tisha B’Av.

A Reform Point of ViewMany Reform Jews do not observe the minor fasts because three of them (as well as Tisha B’Av) are related to the destruction of the Temple. As Reform Jews, we are no longer mourning and praying for the Temple’s reestablishment. Additionally, the Fast of Esther is seen in Reform as more historical in its connection to the story of Purim. Still, there is much opportunity to find meaning in these fasts by connecting to related themes, and for you and your fast buddy(ies) to plan your day to explore the lessons and particular significance of the fasts for you.

Use this guide as a start for your discussions, but you are encouraged to do further research and exploration!

The 10th of TevetCommemorated on December 18, 2018

Background Information

The 10 of Tevet commemorates the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, in 588 BCE. 18 months later, on the 17th of Tammuz (586 BCE), he broke through the city walls. The siege ended three weeks later on the 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av), with the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jewish people to Babylon. The Tenth of Tevet is the first fast in this cycle of fasts relating to the exile and destruction of the Temple.The day has no relationship to Hanukkah, though it happens to follow that festival by a week. The fast begins at dawn and ends at nightfall.

Related Texts for Consideration

Kings II 25:1-3Zedekiah [king of Israel] rebelled against the king of Babylon [after the Jews were exiled]. In the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month [10th of Tevet], Nebuchadnezzar moved against Jerusalem with his whole army. He besieged it; and they built towers against it all around. The city continued in a state of siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become acute in the city; there was no food left for the common people.

Zechariah 8:14-19Thus said the Lord of Hosts: Just as I planned to afflict you and did not relent when your fathers provoked Me to anger – at this time, I have turned and planned to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Have no fear! These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates, and do not contrive evil against one another, and do not love perjury, because all those are things that I hate – declares the Lord.

And the word of the Lord of Hosts came to me, saying, Thus said the Lord of Hosts: The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth month, the fast of the seventh month, and the fast of the tenth month shall become occasions for joy and gladness, happy festivals for the House of Judah; but you must love honesty and integrity.

For Buddy Study

1) We remember the siege of Jerusalem because it was the beginning of the traumatic process which led to our exile from that city and from the place where we knew how to connect with God. Still, it can be argued that the exile ultimately led to the flowerings of rabbinic Judaism, rooted in portable connections with God, allowing us to create and sustain relationship with God through prayer and study.

Can you think of a time in your life when things began to spiral out of control? Have you ever felt besieged? How did you turn it around or begin to recover?

Describe a time in your life when you resisted change, but it turned out for the better.

2) Fast days are traditionally considered to be days of teshuvah (repentance/return), turning ourselves so that we are oriented toward holiness and toward God. Whether or not your practice includes fasting on the 10th of Tevet, consider how you might use this day for renewal, perhaps a relationship to strengthen or cause to work for. On this day, listen to your heart’s desires.

3) A Day of General KaddishThe Chief Rabbinate of Israel chose to observe the Tenth of Tevet as a "general Kaddish day" to allow the relatives of victims of the Holocaust, and whose yahrtzeits (anniversaries of their deaths) is unknown, to observe the traditional yahrtzeit practices for the deceased, including lighting a memorial candle, studying and reciting the Kaddish. Consider lighting a memorial candle and saying Kaddish for a Holocaust victim, for those who died in the siege of Jerusalem so long ago, or perhaps your own distant relatives of who’s yahrtzeits are unknown. (see text on the following page)

Please share any activity ideas that you come up with and/or pictures of you and your buddy(ies) by emailing one of our Rodef Reads co-chairs:

Tena Nauheim tnauheim1@gmail.com Karen Kaplan karenokaplan@gmail.com