Tenth of Tevet
On Thursday the tenth of Tevet (January 5, 2012) will be the tenth of Tevet fast.
Why we are fasting?
In 3336 from creation (425 BC), the tenth of Tevet, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, laid siege to Jerusalem in order to conquer. It was shortly after he was defeated disabled Pharaoh King of Egypt in the fight, and he wanted to complete the conquest of the Middle East.
The siege lasted a year and a half, and on 9 Tammuz the city walls were breached. On Tisha B'Av of that year the first temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and Jews were exiled to Babylon in brutal torture.
Commemoration of this sad event is determined Tenth of Tevet fast day - fasting public.
Other events that occurred close to the Tenth of Tevet
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On the eighth of Tevet the Torah translated into Greek - It was seventy sages who wrote to Talmay the King of Greek the Torah, and it was same hard for Israel like the day was done the gold calf, the Torah cannot be translated properly. Although, the Torah translated to Greek - the major language at that time could help spreading and preservation, the translation is perceived as an action that could change the meaning of the Torah.
Told; the King Talmay brought to his palace 70 sages from Israel and did not tell them what the objective is. Each one is given a separate room equipped with all. He turned to wise separately in his room, and ordered him to translate the Torah into Greek, though wise not to know that his friends were ordered to the same command. So reluctantly they began to translate the Torah.
In some places during the translation, all separate sage, consider a little change of the language of the Torah, in order that do not hurt Ptolemy and the Greeks. For example: the first verse, "Genesis created G-d the heavens and the earth" They changed the word order so that the Greeks did not understand that is another God that his name is "Genesis" Who created the heavens and the earth. So they wrote: "In the beginning G-d created..."
Another example: Leviticus Chapter 11 Verse 6 speaks to those animals not kosher says: "And the rabbit that chews the cud ..." Ptolemy's wife called "rabbit" and to not hurt him, they wrote: "And light feet that chews the cud ..." And became a miracle that everyone changed those words and those places, even though there was no connection between them to coordinate things.
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On the ninth of Tevet Ezra died. Ezra was great Tzaddik and he moved to Israel with the Jews that went to Babylonian exile, after exile of 70 years back to Israel and began building a temple and rebuilding Jewish life.
What to do the tenth of Tevet
Tenth of Tevet is a fast day, men from the age of Bar Mitzvah (13) and older and women from age of Bat Mitzvah (12) and up fasting, do not eat or drink. The fast begins at dawn of day the tenth of Tevet, and ends at nightfall.
Pregnant women, breastfeeding women and those who fast is too difficult for health reasons rabbi will rule them what to do.
Tenth of Tevet these days
After the Holocaust, that killed six million Jews; stated Chief Rabbinate of Israel the day tenth of Tevet as "a general Kaddish day". On this day, families of victims, the day of death is not known say Kaddish, learn Mishnayos and light a memorial candle in their memory.
