What is the significance of Asara BeTeves, the Tenth of Teves? It is one of the fast days on the Jewish calendar, but I think even many of those who fast that day don’t really know why!

The Tenth of Teves was the day that the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar, laid siege to Jerusalem. Considering that there were other seiges of Jerusalem, why does this one warrant a fast day? The answer is that because nearly three years later, the First Temple was destroyed.

Very frequently, the true significance of a day is only revealed much later — after the chain of events set into motion that day have reached their conclusion. The Tenth of Teves was especially tragic not because of what happened that day itself, but because of how the siege would end. Many have noted that the chain of events leading to the rise of the Nazis, and the Destruction of European Jewry, began with World War I. And World War I began on the day mourned by Jews as the Day of Destruction — the Ninth of Av.