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WHOME98
This event traditionally has been
viewed as the beginning of a
series of calamities that culminat-
ed in the destruction of the Tem-
ple, the loss of Jewish sovereignty
and an altered relationship
be-ween God and the Jewish
people.
In ancient times, 10 Tevet was
proclaimed a day of fasting, and
so it has been observed ever
since. This year, it comes out on
Sunday, Dec. 19. In Hebrew, the
day is known as Asara b'Tevet.
Unlike the two major fasts of
Yom Kippur and Tisha b'Av,
which are from sundown to sun-
down, the observance of Asara
b'Tevet begins at sunrise and
ends at sunset. In the Detroit
area, this means 6:46 a.m. to
5:50 p.m. Those who wish to
arise especially early can even
have breakfast before the fast
begins.
Like all Jewish fasts, however,
Asara b'Tevet requires total absti-
nence from food and water.
Unlike Yom Kippur and Tisha
b'Av, leather shoes may be worn,
and washing and work are per-
mitted. Unlike Tisha b'Av, tallit
and tefillin are worn in the morn-
ing davening. Pregnant women
and nursing mothers, and those
who are ill, are exempted from
fasting.
The rabbis remind us that the
purpose of fasting is not only to
grieve and mourn. Rather,' the day
should rouse us to repentance
and make us think about the
behavior of our ancestors that
brought about their downfall. We
should examine our own lives and
correct our behavior and atti-
tudes, lest we come to suffer for
our misdeeds, as well. In effect,
each Jewish fast day is like Yom
Kippur.
The liturgy of Asara b'Tevet is
like that of any other minor fast
day.
An additional prayer is inserted
in the Amidah, or Shemona Esrei.
In the synagogue, there is a spe-
cial reading from the Torah with a
haftorah in the morning.
With the exception of Yom Kip-
pur, a public fast day in Judaism
is never observed on Shabbat.
Fasting or any other type of
mourning (even personal) is not
permitted on Shabbat. If the cal-
endar date happens to coincide
with Shabbat, the fast day is post-
poned until after Shabbat.
The Jewish calendar is so
devised, however, that Asara
b'Tevet can never come out on
Shabbat.
The Israeli rabbinate designated
Asara b'Tevet as Yom Ha-Kaddish
HaKlali, The Day of General
Kaddish." That is, a day when
Kaddish (the mourner's prayer) is
recited for those Jews whose pre-
cise date of death is unknown.
Because so many of these Jews
were victims of the Holocaust,
Asara b'Tevet also has taken on
some of the characteristics of Yom
HaShoah, Holocaust Remem-
brance Day, although that is a
separate observance.
Aside from the two days of
Chanukah at the beginning of
Tevet, all other historical days in
the month have a tragic charac-
ter. On the fifth of Tevet, the news
of the fall of Jerusalem reached
the Jewish exiles in Babylonia (as
recorded in the Book of Ezekiel
33:21).
The eighth of Tevet also marked
the completion of the Septuagint,
the translation of the Torah into
Greek. The rabbis regarded the
translation as a subjugation of
Judaism to Hellenistic culture and
the beginning of the misuse of
Torah by the gentile world.
The ninth of Tevet traditionally is
considered the day that Ezra and
Nehemiah died (Ezra and
Nehemiah led the Jewish commu-
nity of Israel after their return from
the Babylonian exile).