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"In 598 Nebuchadnezzar himself came westward, took Jehoiakim (II Chron. xxxvi. 6) and probably slew him, casting out his dead body unburied (Jer. xxii. 19, xxxvi. 30), and carried captive to Babylon 3,023 Jews (Jer. lii. 28). He placed Jehoiachin, the dead king's son, on the throne. Three months were sufficient to prove Jehoiachin's character (Ezek. xix. 5-9). He was taken with 10,000 of the best of the people of Jerusalem and carried to Babylon. His uncle Mattaniah, whose name was changed to Zedekiah, was put on the throne by Nebuchadnezzar in 597.
Egypt was continually intriguing with southwestern Asia, and was now courting the friendship of Zedekiah. This became so noticeable that Judah's king made a journey to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign (Jer. li. 59), probably to assure Nebuchadnezzar of his loyalty to him. But by the ninth year of his reign Zedekiah became so friendly with the Egyptians that he made a league with them and thereupon rebelled against the King of Babylon. With due despatch Nebuchadnezzar and his army left for the Westland. He placed his base of action at Riblah in the north, and went southward and laid siege to Jerusalem. By some message the Egyptians learned of the siege and hastily marched to the relief of the beleaguered ally. The Babylonians raised the siege (Jer. xxxvii. 3-5) long enough to repulse the Egyptian arms, and came back and settled about Jerusalem. At the end of eighteen months (586) the wall yielded. Zedekiah and his retinue fled by night, but were overtaken in the plains of the Jordan. The king and his sons were brought before Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah; the sons were slain, and the king's eyes bored out; and he was carried in chains to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar caused Jerusalem to be destroyed, and the sacred vessels of the Temple to be carried to Babylon. He placed Gedaliah in authority over the Jews who remained in the land. In the twenty-third year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar's captain of the guard carried away 745 Jews, who had been gathered from those scattered through the land. Nebuchadnezzar entered Egypt also (Jer. xlvi. 13-26; Ezek. xxix. 2-20), according to his own inscriptions about 567, and dealt a severe blow to its supremacy and power."1
Asarah B'Tevet is a Rabbinic fast day that occurs on 10 Tevet (in December or January) and is celebrated as a day-fast. It is a day of grief and mourning over the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem that led to the destruction of the Temple. It has become a day of mourning for those lost in the Shoah (Holocaust). It is a time of fasting, prayer, and self-reflection. "'The essential significance of the fast of the Tenth of Tevet, as well as that of the other fast days, is not primarily the grief and mourning which they evoke. Their aim is rather to awaken the hearts towards repentance; to recall to us, both the evil deeds of our fathers, and our own evil deeds, which caused anguish to befall both them and us and thereby to cause us to return towards the good. As it is said (Vayikra 26): 'And they shall confess their transgressions and the transgressions of their fathers.' (Rambam: Hilchot Ta'anit Chapter 5)."2
Fasting begins at dawn and ends at sundown. This is one of the public fast days (the others being Tzom Gedaliah, Shiva Asarah B'Tammuz, and the Fast of Esther). If Asarah B'Tevet falls on Shabbat, the fast is delayed. Eating and drinking are not permitted. Those in ill health, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children are exempt from the fast. In Israel, Kaddish (prayer for the dead) is said for those whose date or place of death is not known (and this, is a day of mourning for those lost in the Shoah).
Additional Information: Israel News Radio: Fast of Tevet :: Tevet 10 :: The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet :: The Tenth of Tevet
Family Activities: Asarah B'Tevet Word Search
1 Nebuchadnezzar 2 OU: The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet |
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