asarah b'tevet
The tenth of Tevet marks the Fast of Asarah B’Tevet (meaning, surprisingly, "Tenth of Tevet"). This is one of the four minor fast days (the seventeenth of Tamuz, the Fast of Gedaliah, and the Fast of Esther are the others; Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av are considered "major," full-day fasts). Asarah B’Tevet commemorates the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian forces of Nebuchadnezzar. This siege later resulted in the destruction of the first temple and the Babylonian exile.
Because it is a "minor" fast day, eating and drinking are prohibited only from sunrise to sunset on Friday. In addition, fasting is the only restriction imposed; working and bathing are permitted.
Because its historical basis is fairly weak, it has been suggested that we give new meaning to the Tenth of Tevet by proclaiming it as a fast in memory of those who perished in the Holocaust. So far, this proposal had received a fairly mediocre response.
One more item of interest: Due to the arrangement of the Jewish calendar, Asarah B’Tevet is the only fast day which can possibly fall on a Friday.
This page was originally created by John Davis and Michael Kay, and can be found at http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jdd16/guide/.
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