Laws of the Fast of the Tenth of Teves
This year the Fast of the Tenth of Teves falls out on Sunday December 27, 2009.
1. On the Tenth of Teves, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia laid seige to Jerusalem. This seige was the first of many tragedies which befell the Jews, and which ended in the destruction of the First Holy Temple and the Babylonian exile.
The destruction of the Holy Temple has a profound effect on the Jewish Nation to this day. It caused the loss of our people's bountiful spiritual blessings, the lack of which has been keenly perceptible throughout the generations.
2. All the laws pertaining to public fasts apply to the Tenth of Teves. For example, one may not eat or drink from dawn until night, slichos are recited, the Torah is read, and aneinu is added in the Shemoneh Esreh.
A Torah Thought for Today
"When HaShem blesses a human being with wealth, He is in reality appointing that person as a trustee to apportion the funds to the needy. If one fulfills his duty with fidelity, HaShem raises his rank and appoints him over an even greater treasure.".
(Rabbi Shimon Shkop ZT"L - from Sefer Torah Tavlin) |