Tenth of Tevet

Posted by Sigal Mendelson on December 28, 2009 under Bible History, Jewish Holidays, Traditions | Be the First to Comment

What is the reasons for this fast day and why the Chief Rabbinate of Israel chose to observe the Tenth of Tevet as a “general kaddish day” for the victims of the Holocaust?

Tenth of Tevet (Hebrew: עשרה בטבת‎), the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tevet, is a minor fast day in Judaism. It falls out either seven or eight days after the conclusion of Hanukkah, depending on whether Rosh Chodesh of Tevet that year is observed for one day or two. The Tenth of Tevet commemorates the onset of the siege that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia laid to ancient Jerusalem, an event that ultimately led to the destruction of Solomon’s Temple (the First Temple) and Babylonia’s conquest of southern Israel’s Kingdom of Judah.History According to II Kings (25:1-25:4), on the 10th day of the 10th month (which is Tevet when counting from Nisan, the “first month” according to Exodus 12:1-2), in the ninth year of his reign, (588 BCE), Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, began the siege of Jerusalem. Two and a half years later, on the 9th of Tammuz (Jeremiah 52.6-7), he broke through the city walls. The siege ended with the destruction of the Temple three weeks later, on the 9th of Av, the end of the first Kingdoms and the exile of the Jewish people to Babylon. The Tenth of Tevet is thus considered part of the cycle of fasts connected with these events, which includes: Shivah Asar B’Tammuz (17th of Tammuz) and Tisha B’Av (9th of Av).Courtesy JerusalemShots.com

Kotel at night after ShabbatCourtesy JerusalemShots.com KotelCourtesy JerusalemShots.com PrayerCourtesy JerusalemShots.com

The first mention of the Tenth of Tevet as a fast appears in Zechariah (8:19) where it is called the “fast of the tenth month.” One opinion in the Talmud (b. Rosh Hashana 18b) states that the “fast of the tenth month” refers to the fifth of Tevet, when, according to Ezekiel (33:21), news of the destruction of the Temple reached those already in exile in Babylon. However, the tenth is the date observed today. Other references to the fast and the affliction can be found in Ezekiel  24:1-24:2 (the siege) and Jeremiah (52:4-52:6).

According to tradition, as described by the liturgy for the day’s selichot, the fast also commemorates other calamities that occurred throughout Jewish history on the tenth of Tevet and the two days preceding it:

On the eighth of Tevet one year during the 200s BCE, a time of Hellenistic rule of Judea during the Second Temple period, Ptolemy, King of Egypt, ordered production of the Septuagint, the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek.[3] Seventy sages were put into solitary confinement and ordered to translate the Torah into Greek. The expected outcome would be a multitude of different translations which would then be compared and critiqued by the Greeks. This would then openly show the meaninglessness of the Torah and the divergent opinions of the rabbis interpretation of its meaning. However, all seventy sages independently made exact translations into Greek. The Greeks saw this as a most impressive feat. However, various rabbinical sources see this event as a great tragedy, a debasement of the divine nature of the Torah, and a subversion of its spiritual qualities. They reasoned that upon translation from the original Hebrew, the Torah’s legal codes & deeper layers of meaning will be lost. Many Jewish laws are formulated by specific Hebrew words the Torah employs; without the original Hebrew code authenticity of the legal system will be damaged. The mystical meanings contained in the Torah are also based upon the original Hebrew. As such, these will not be accessed by individuals learning the Torah in Greek (or any other language) alone. Other ancient sources, such as Philo, consider it a miraculous achievement, a cause for jubilation rather than mourning. Philo in fact suggests that the day was marked by celebration.

Ezra the Scribe, the great leader who brought the Jews back to the holy land from the Babylonian exile and who ushered in the era of the Second Temple, died on the ninth of Tevet.

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel chose to observe the Tenth of Tevet as a “general kaddish day” for the victims of the Holocaust, many of whom lack identifiable yahrtzeits (anniversaries of their deaths).

Courtesy http://en.wikipedia.org

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_of_Tevet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0doOQu6loE&feature=related

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An Analysis of an Archaeological Excavation has Proven for the First Time: Hasmonean Rule Extended South into the Negev Highlands, Israel.

Posted by Sigal Mendelson on December 10, 2009 under Archeology, Bible History | 2 Comments to Read

Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority: “The Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus, great-grandson of Matityahu, conquered Gaza and the Negev and for decades prevented the Nabataeans from using the Incense Road”

It was because of the fortress’ shape that archaeologist, Dr. Rudolph Cohen ז"ל, assumed at the time it was a stronghold from the Roman period (end of the third century CE). But a new analysis of the artifacts which were discovered inside the fortress, and the architectural features of the fortress itself, has led to the unequivocal conclusion that the fortress is Hasmonean.

According to Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who is the scientific editor of the excavation, “We are talking about a revolutionary discovery that will redraw the maps of the region which describe that era and greatly increase the territory governed by the Hasmoneans into the heart of the Negev Highlands as we know it. This is an important discovery from an archaeological and historical standpoint. Despite the evidence of the historian Josephus, according to which King Alexander Jannaeus conquered the southern coast of the Land of Israel and the harbor in Gaza (which was of paramount importance to the Nabataeans) and even further south, no clear archaeological proof of this has been found in the field. And it was because of this lack of proof that historians were inclined to dismiss the possibility that the Hasmoneans did indeed control the Negev”.

It is now clear that the Hasmoneans kept hold of the fortress located on the Nabataeans’ principal trade route until the year 66 BCE, and by means of it, prevented any movement by their Nabataean enemies along the road between Halutza and Northern Sinai. Such a move cut off the trade route between Petra and the ports and in fact commerce in the region received a fatal blow that halted trade through the Negev for several decades.

The discovery also reinforces the claim that another Nabataean site – Nessana, where a multitude of coins of Alexander Jannaeus were discovered, was ruled by him. “Another interesting fact”, says Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “is that the army that Alexander Jannaeus engaged was for the most part a mercenary force that was composed of non-Jewish soldiers. We were able to confirm this based on the imported vessels that were found alongside the Jewish vessels there, and from the wine that was brought there from abroad. Apparently Alexander Jannaeus and his widow Queen Salome Alexandra could not depend on Jewish soldiers because of the sharp political divisions that existed among the people”.

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Coins from the Temple Mount

Posted by Sigal Mendelson on November 15, 2009 under Archeology, Bible History | Be the First to Comment

A New Exhibition of the Israel Antiquities Authority in the Davidson Center

In addition to rare ancient coins that were uncovered in the region, a 2,000 year old sarcophagus lid engraved with the inscription “Ben HaCohen HaGadol” will be presented to the public for the first time

Another extraordinary find that is to be presented to the public for the first time is a very rare shekel that was minted by the rebels during the last months of the revolt, in the year 70 CE.

In addition, a fragment of a large sarcophagus lid is to be displayed for the first time in the Davidson Center. It was found in excavations north of Jerusalem and is engraved with an inscription in square script that is characteristic of the Second Temple period. The lid is meticulously fashioned and the carved inscription on it reads: “…Ben HaCohen HaGadol…” (son of the high priest). Numerous high priests served in the temple during the latter part of the Second Temple period and there is no way of knowing which of the high priests the inscription refers to. However, it should probably be identified with one of the priests who officiated there between the years 30 and 70 CE. Among the high priests we know of from the end of the Second Temple period are Caiaphas the priest, Theophilus (Yedidiya) Ben Hanan, Simon Ben Boethus, Hanan Ben Hanan and others. The excavations were conducted by the Unit of the Archaeological Staff Officer of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, under the direction of Naftali Aizik and Benyamin Hareven, within the framework of the salvage excavations along the separation fence that were conducted with funding provided by the Ministry of Defense.

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