Rabbi Heller's Blog

The Jewish calendar is adjusted, with leap years and extra days, so that it is almost impossible for a fast day to fall on Friday and extended into Shabbat. Yom Kippur is the only fast that can fall directly on Shabbat,  but it cannot fall on a Friday or Sunday. Almost all other fast days are pushed off if they fall on Shabbat, and cannot fall on Friday either! Tzom Gedaliah, which falls on the same day of the week, a week earlier, by definition cannot fall on a Friday. Tisha B’av  and 17 Tammuz, exactly three weeks apart, can fall on Shabbat, in which case they are pushed to Sunday, but cannot fall on Friday. This year, when first Seder is Saturday night, the fast of the firstborn does not happen on Shabbat, but rather is pushed back to Thursday. I did say *almost*. When Seder is Friday night, the fast of the firstborn starts Friday morning but is canceled out by a siyyum celebration. The only exception is the fast day observed tomorrow, the 10^th of Tevet, which starts at dawn tomorrow and ends at 6:17PM (about 45 minutes after candle lighting). What is this ancient fast about, and what does it have to teach us.

The 10^th of Tevet is one of a series of 4 fasts that commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem. In the summer, the 17^th of Tammuz commemorates the breaking down of the walls of Jerusalem (among other disasters), and Tisha B’av commemorates the final destruction of the city and the temple three weeks later. Tzom Gedaliah, which falls the day after Rosh Hashanah, commemorates the aftermath, when the Babylonians had allowed the Jews some autonomy, but then Jews murdered their Jewish governor, leading to a more massive exile and the end of Jewish leadership in the land of Israel. These three all cannot fall on Friday, and if they fall on Saturday, they are pushed off to Sunday. The final of these fasts is the 10^th of Tevet, which commemorates the beginning of the cycle.  It marks the date that these tragedies all began, the start of the siege of Jerusalem, some two years earlier.

The 10^th of Tevet never falls on Shabbat, but it can extend into it, and  a 14^th century commentator, Abudraham, gives a technical explanation why it is the only fast (other than Yom Kippur) that could override Shabbat.  He says that the 10^th of Tevet is first described in Ezekiel 24:2, which says that the siege began “B’etzem hayom hazeh”- on the essence of this day.”  This verse implies that the fast must be observed on its actual day.  This is further backed up by the fact that the other fasts are referred to primarily by the month in which they fall and do not have another verse that specifies their date, suggesting that they can be pushed to a different date of the month.

However, other commentators suggest that there is a spiritual meaning to this unique aspect of Friday’s fast. It marks the beginning of the cycle of destruction, the first step of the beginning of the siege. It took place when the awareness of danger was at its smallest. The city had been besieged before and escaped, and so now, even though existential danger loomed, life within continued almost as normal. That date was when there was still the greatest chance, however small, of averting the disasters to come, but there was the least interest in doing so.

How often in life do we see the signs of an impending disaster, but then discount them and choose not to act, leading to far greater suffering in the years that follow?  In Israel, many are asking whether politicians and generals ignored key warning signs of the October 7^th attacks, and the suffering that started on that day still afflicts so many. While the fires still burn in Los Angeles, and the horrific damage to lives and homes has not yet even concluded, let alone been counted, the debate already rages as to what could have been done differently to mitigate their destructive force. In our personal lives, how often do we get a warning of illness, or of a breach in a relationship, but we paper it over in hopes that it will resolve itself? 

While we sometimes roll our eyes at the words “out of an abundance of caution,” those who remember the disruptions of "snowmaggedon" understand why we are taking tomorrow’s weather so seriously.

Those who are fasting tomorrow are reminding themselves of the importance of vigilance, and of not taking the small (or even large) warning signs for granted. The fast extends into Shabbat telling us that the consequences of ignoring the first signs of danger extends suffering into times that should otherwise be times of peace and healing. Tomorrow night, when we do finally end the fast and enter Shabbat, having already begun, let it be with the hope that our vigilance has led to a world where further suffering is averted.