Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz
This year, the fast of Asara B’Tevet (the Tenth of Tevet) is on Friday, and I’ve noticed that this is the only fast on our calendar that falls on Friday. Why do our rabbis expect us to enter Shabbat on an empty stomach?
Rabbi Chaim Mintz responds:
Asara B’Tevet – The Only Friday Fast
It is indeed interesting that Asara B’Tevet is the only fast on our calendar that can fall on a Friday, which means that we enter Shabbat fasting. But let me add to your question. Not only do we fast as we enter Shabbat, but according to some opinions, even if Asara B’Tevet were to actually be on Shabbat we would have to fast, just like when Yom Kippur is on Shabbat.
What is so significant about Asara B’Tevet, which is merely a commemoration of the beginning of the siege of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem)? Why, even if Tishah B’Av (the 9th of Av) – the fast marking the anniversary of the actual destruction of the Beit Hamikdash – falls on Shabbat, it is postponed until Sunday!
The Siege on Yerushalayim – A Message to Repent
I once heard Rabbi Moshe Feinstein explain this with the following powerful thought. Although Asara B’Tevet only commemorates the beginning of the siege of Yerushalayim, with the actual destruction of the Beit Hamikdash not taking place until almost three years later, on some level it was the beginning of the end. The Jewish nation at that time was not conducting themselves the way they should, and the prophets had repeatedly warned them that they must repent or they would lose the merit of having the Beit Hamikdash in their midst. But sadly, they didn’t heed these warnings, and Hashem (God) sent Nevuchadnetzar to lay siege on Yerushalayim.
This siege was the final warning, intended to wake them up from their slumber. With the enemy at their doorstep, they should have realized that it was now or never, and they could no longer ignore the reality of the impending tragedy. But the Jews still didn’t get the message, figuring they still had time to repent and could change their ways at a later time. Tragically, this never happened, and a short while later the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed.
Procrastination – The Root of Their Sin
Fast days are not just for remembering tragic events of days gone by; they are also meant to be a part of the teshuvah process, to rectify the sins that caused these terrible tragedies in the first place. When we fast on Asara B’Tevet, we must look to rectify the sins of our ancestors that caused the siege, and that ultimately led to the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. Since the root of their sin was procrastination and lack of urgency to repent, it is our duty to fast and repent immediately – on the very day we received this severe warning – and not to even postpone the fast until after Shabbat.
Although on our calendar, Asara B’Tevet can never actually fall on Shabbat, if we would fast on Shabbat, we certainly fast when it falls on Friday. We are expected to enter Shabbat with these last bits of hunger pangs, as the urgency of the fast does not allow it to be postponed. This is a powerful lesson to think about as we fast on Asara B’Tevet, as well as a message to take with us throughout the year. When a person sins, he must not wait for Yom Kippur to repent, but he must do his best to repent immediately.
In short: We enter Shabbat fasting, and we would even fast if Asara B’Tevet were to fall on Shabbat. Since the fast is to teach us not to delay repentance, we must fast immediately, not waiting until after Shabbat.
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