This seemingly innocuous juxtaposition needs to be assessed properly to impact our personal travels through the Jewish year.

Dark and Gloomy

The long nights of Teves are thick with darkness representing the hester Heavenly concealment that characterizes our long and bitter galus. Rav Moshe Wolfson in his Emunas Itecha explains that it’s not a coincidence that we fast in this month. We’re mourning the limited vision we have in a world where the Shechinah is hidden.

The Jewish year contains several fast days ranging in intensity and strictness. Although some may consider Asarah B’Teves one of the less strict fasts Rav Avraham Schorr in his Lekach V’halevav (Vayigash) explains that it’s one of the more stringent.

He quotes the Avudraham who comments that the Tenth of Teves is the only fast observed on Erev Shabbos. Furthermore the Avudraham mentions a fascinating albeit theoretical halachic concept: If the Tenth of Teves fell out on Shabbos it would be permitted to fast on that Shabbos! (The way the calendar is currently set this never happens.)

In contrast even Tishah B’Av the most stringent of the fasts commemorating the Churban is postponed when it falls on Shabbos. What then separates the Tenth of Teves as the most tragic of fasts with a status similar to Yom Kippur?

A Day of Din

The Chasam Sofer describes the Tenth of Teves not merely as a physical day of siege but a Heavenly day of judgment. It’s on this day that the Heavenly courts decide the potential life and death of the Beis Hamikdash. Therefore even at the time when the Second Beis Hamikdash was in its prime Klal Yisrael fasted on this day as the future of the Temple was hanging in the balance.

We know that every generation that doesn’t merit seeing the Beis Hamikdash rebuilt it’s as if they destroyed it anew. Therefore we should utilize this day of judgment to beseech Hashem for the eternal rebuilding of the Beis Hamikdash.

Rabbi Schorr cautions that it does not befit any Jew to think: “Who am I what would make me worthy of davening about the Churban?” As the Mesilas Yesharim cautions us each person was created as an individual and it is every individual prayer that Hashem seeks.

A Day that Lives in Infamy

To properly mourn our loss we must explore the events we commemorate on the Tenth of Teves. Besides the infamous laying of siege by the Babylonians and Romans we are also remembering the tragic translation of the Torah which actually preceded the Chanukah story by 78 years.

There were three days of darkness that began on the 8th of Teves when Ptolemy II (the Greco-Egyptian King Ptolemy II reigned 283–246 BCE) ordered the translation of the Torah.

This translation became known as the Septuagint or in Hebrew the Targum Shivim.

The Talmud (Megillah 9a) recounts the incident: “It happened that King Talmai gathered 72 [Jewish] sages and housed them in 72 houses. The king did not reveal to them the purpose for which he’d gathered them. He visited each one of them individually and said ‘Write for me the Torah of Moses your teacher!’ ”

All of these tzaddikim placed under tremendous pressure merited Divine intervention; each made identical changes within their translation. The new Greek translation prevented the literal reading of the text in 15 places to avoid misunderstandings that would result in a heretical or slanderous interpretation of concepts and personalities in the Torah. This was no coincidence but the clear Hand of Heaven.

Despite that Heavenly intervention the actual completion of this translation is a black day in our history. Chazal (Sofrim 1:7) declare that this day was “as hard for Israel as the day of the making of the Golden Calf.”

People of the Book

What was so tragic about this event? Did not the famous ger Onkelos translate our Torah and the great Tanna Rabi Yonason ben Uziel translate much of Nach? Haven’t the tremendous strides made by ArtScroll in translating so much of our scripture into English enabled many more Jews access to bona fide Torah study?

Rav Aharon Leib Steinman shlita in his sefer on Chanukah writes that this step of translation was the first in the ultimate goal of the Greeks. In the words of the al hanissim their aim was “to make them forget the Torah.”

The Greeks wanted to deny both the uniqueness of Torah as the ultimate wisdom and the uniqueness of the relationship between the Jewish People and the Torah.

Every morning in birchos hashachar we reaffirm our unique relationship with Hashem and His Torah: “that He chose us and gave us his Torah.” We further bless Hashem as the “Nosein HaTorah” the Giver of the Torah.

Rav Dovid Cohen shlita of the Chevron Yeshivah points out that the relationship with Torah is one that’s contingent on the relationship with its Giver. This is a package deal. The Yalkut illustrates in parshas Terumah (25:1):”The Torah was Mine [says Hashem]. You took her — take Me with you!”

The Chasam Sofer explains that with this momentous translation the Greeks “stripped” the Torah of its identity. What is a Torah that’s not a Jewish Torah? It’s just a string of letters and words without Hashem!

Rav Yitzchok Hutner (Pachad Yitzchok on Chanukah) explains that the Greeks wanted access to our Torah as part of their quest for supremacy over all wisdom in the world. They wanted to demonstrate that our “book” is but another tome to master and bolster knowledge. By allowing easy access in their language they could reduce it to a menial manual for all to read and use for self-aggrandizement.

The translations of Onkelos and in our times ArtScroll were done to bring Torah closer to the Jewish People and make it a living book that can speak to them. But for our Torah to sit on the table of Aristotle says the Chasam Sofer is the ultimate desecration. Such a humiliation of Torah is a degradation of the core fundamental value of what qualifies the Jewish People as Am Segulah.

Asarah B’Teves is a reminder to bolster our confidence in the uniqueness of the Jewish people. It highlights our relationship with Torah and with He Who deigned us worthy of receiving it.

Light in the Darkness

Herein lies the connection to the Chanukah celebration and the mourning of Asarah B’Teves. Both are marking our battle in defense of Torah and our position as Am Segulah.

The weekly parshiyos during this time period (Mikeitz Vayigash Vayechi) describe the descent of Klal Yisrael to their very first galus — Mitzrayim. Yet we move through these three bleak days in Teves with the comfort of knowing that light can once again shine on this darkness.

To deserve the Geulah we must believe we truly deserve it.

Tragically we see many of our generation struggling with this concept the test of modern-day Greece. We feel unworthy and as such don’t work to optimize our potential as a chosen nation.

On the Tenth of Teves we should use our abstinence from food to proclaim that our physical bodies acknowledge and are subjugated to their higher purpose. Our connection to Torah is eternal and its light continues to shine in our batei medrash batei knesses and each and every mikdash me’at — our Jewish homes.

May Hashem see our earnest struggle within the hester our resilient pride in being His Chosen Nation living His Chosen Torah and may He turn all of Teves into a time of happiness joy and light.

Rebbetzin Aviva Feiner is the rebbetzin of Congregation Kneseth Israel (The White Shul) and menaheles of Machon Basya Rachel Seminary both in Far Rockaway New York.