About Asarah B'Tevet
Tenth of Tevet, the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tevet, is a fast day in Judaism.
Asarah be-Tevet is a Jewish fast day commemorating the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. that was a prelude to the destruction of the First Temple.
According to the Second book of Kings Chapter 25, Nebuchadnezzar and his army arrived at Jerusalem and encamped around it on the tenth day of the tenth month. This began the siege of Jerusalem. On the 17th of Tammuz, eighteen months later, he broke through the city’s walls, and on Tisha B’av (9th day of Av), Solomon’s Temple was destroyed.
It is one of the minor fasts observed from first morning light on the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tevet. to nightfall.
In Israel, it is also a day to remember the victims of the Holocaust. However, Jews outside Israel observe Yom haShoah as Holocaust Memorial Day.
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