Asarah B’Tevet — עשרה בטבת
Starts at dawn December 20, 2026 and ends just after sunset the same day.
Summary
Asarah B’Tevet, the Tenth of Tevet, is a Jewish fast day that remembers the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. The siege eventually led to the destruction of the First Beit HaMikdash and the exile of much of the Jewish population from Eretz Yisrael.
The fast takes place on the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Tevet. Unlike Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, Asarah B’Tevet is a daytime fast. It begins at dawn and ends after nightfall.
During the fast, healthy adults refrain from eating and drinking. Ordinary work is permitted, and the additional restrictions associated with Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av do not normally apply.
Special prayers are added to the synagogue service. Selichot are recited, the Torah is read during Shacharit and Mincha, and additional prayers asking HaShem for mercy and forgiveness are included according to community custom.
Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi communities all observe the same basic fast, but their Selichot, melodies, prayer customs, Torah reading traditions, and ways of breaking the fast may differ.
Asarah B’Tevet is not only about remembering something that happened thousands of years ago. From an Orthodox perspective, it is also a day to think about the spiritual failures that contributed to the destruction of Jerusalem, the importance of Jewish unity, and our continuing responsibility to bring more Torah, mitzvot, kindness, and holiness into the world.
What Happened on the Tenth of Tevet
The events remembered on Asarah B’Tevet took place during the final years of the First Beit HaMikdash.
The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar brought his army against Jerusalem and placed the city under siege.
The prophet Yechezkel records the date:
בעצם היום הזה סמך מלך בבל אל ירושלים
“On this very day the king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem.”
The siege began a process that eventually ended with Jerusalem being captured and the First Beit HaMikdash being destroyed.
The Jewish people experienced death, destruction, displacement, and exile.
Asarah B’Tevet therefore marks the beginning of a national tragedy whose consequences continued long after the siege itself.
Why We Fast
Jewish fast days are not intended simply to make us hungry.
The Rambam explains that communal fasts are meant to awaken us to teshuvah.
We remember what happened to earlier generations and examine whether some of the same spiritual problems still exist within us.
The purpose is not only:
“What happened to them?”
The more important question is:
“What can we learn from what happened?”
A Jewish fast day should lead us toward reflection, prayer, better behavior, and greater awareness of HaShem.
The Connection to the Destruction of Jerusalem
Asarah B’Tevet is one of the fast days connected with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash.
The siege did not immediately destroy the city.
It began a long process.
That is part of what makes the day meaningful.
Large disasters often begin with smaller problems that are ignored.
A relationship may slowly weaken.
A community can become divided.
Jewish knowledge can gradually disappear.
Someone can become distant from Torah one small step at a time.
Asarah B’Tevet reminds us that we should pay attention before a problem becomes much harder to repair.
When the Fast Begins
Asarah B’Tevet begins at alot hashachar, dawn.
The exact clock time depends on location and the halachic calculation being followed.
Unlike Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, the fast does not begin the previous evening.
A person may normally eat during the night before the fast begins.
If someone intends to wake before dawn to eat, there are halachic rules concerning that intention, so someone who wants to do this should check the practice they follow.
When the Fast Ends
The fast ends after nightfall.
Exact times vary by location and halachic custom.
Many observant Jews wait until tzeit hakochavim, the appearance of night according to the accepted local halachic calculation.
Once the fast has ended, people may eat and drink normally.
What Is Prohibited
The main restrictions of Asarah B’Tevet are eating and drinking.
It is not observed with all of the additional restrictions of Yom Kippur or Tisha B’Av.
People may generally wash normally.
Leather shoes may be worn.
Ordinary work may be performed.
People may use electricity and drive.
The purpose is to create a day of fasting and spiritual reflection while normal life largely continues.
Health and Fasting
Jewish law does not require someone to endanger their health in order to fast.
A person who is seriously ill may be exempt from the fast.
There are also special halachic rules concerning pregnancy, nursing, medication, and chronic medical conditions.
Someone who is unsure whether fasting is safe should speak with a doctor and a knowledgeable rabbi.
There is no mitzvah in becoming dangerously ill from a minor fast.
Protecting health is itself part of halachah.
Selichot — סליחות
Special penitential prayers called Selichot are recited on Asarah B’Tevet.
The exact text varies considerably between Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi traditions.
The prayers ask HaShem for mercy and forgiveness.
They also recall the suffering of the Jewish people and our relationship with HaShem.
Selichot help turn the physical experience of fasting into something spiritual.
Without prayer or reflection, it is possible to spend the entire day hungry without understanding why we are fasting.
Aneinu — עננו
A special prayer called Aneinu is added to the Amidah on public fast days.
It begins with a request that HaShem answer us on the day of our fast.
The exact place and timing of Aneinu differ according to community custom.
In many Ashkenazi communities, individuals add Aneinu during Mincha, while the chazzan includes it during the repetition of the Amidah according to the appropriate service.
Sephardic and Mizrahi prayer traditions may include Aneinu differently.
This is a good example of how the same fast is observed through several legitimate Orthodox traditions.
Torah Reading
The Torah is read publicly during both Shacharit and Mincha.
The traditional reading comes from Sefer Shemot and includes Moshe asking HaShem to forgive Bnei Yisrael after the sin of the Golden Calf.
The passage includes the words:
שוב מחרון אפך והנחם על הרעה לעמך
“Turn from Your burning anger and reconsider the harm against Your people.”
The reading is appropriate for a fast day because Moshe is pleading for mercy on behalf of the Jewish people.
It teaches us that prayer, teshuvah, and concern for the community matter.
The Haftarah
In many Ashkenazi communities, a special Haftarah is read during Mincha on public fast days.
It begins:
דרשו ה׳ בהמצאו
“Seek HaShem while He may be found.”
The passage comes from Yeshayahu and speaks about returning to HaShem, abandoning wrongdoing, and caring for others.
Some Sephardic communities do not read a Haftarah during Mincha on minor fast days, while others follow local traditions that do.
Mizrahi communities may follow Sephardic halachic practice or their own established local custom.
Avinu Malkeinu
Many communities recite Avinu Malkeinu on Asarah B’Tevet.
Avinu Malkeinu means “Our Father, our King.”
The prayer asks HaShem for mercy, forgiveness, protection, and help.
The exact practice can depend upon the day of the week and community custom.
The prayer is familiar from the High Holy Day season, but it is also used on several fast days.
Ashkenazi Observance
Ashkenazi Orthodox communities generally observe Asarah B’Tevet with fasting from dawn until nightfall, Selichot during Shacharit, the public Torah reading, Aneinu, and additional penitential prayers.
Many Ashkenazi synagogues also read the special fast-day Haftarah during Mincha.
The melodies used for Selichot and Torah reading may have the quieter, more serious sound associated with Ashkenazi fast-day services.
People generally continue working and carrying out normal responsibilities during the day.
The fast is then broken after nightfall.
There is no required food for breaking the fast.
Many people simply begin with something light and drink water before having a regular meal.
Sephardic Observance
Sephardic Jews observe the same basic fast but often use a different Selichot tradition.
Sephardic Selichot can include piyutim, Biblical verses, and repeated appeals to HaShem’s Thirteen Attributes of Mercy.
The melodies may be very different from those heard in an Ashkenazi synagogue.
In many Sephardic communities, the prayer service reflects the customs associated with the rulings of Maran Rabbi Yosef Karo and later Sephardic authorities.
There can also be differences concerning the Haftarah, the placement of Aneinu, and other details of the service.
Because Sephardic communities developed across places such as Spain, North Africa, Turkey, Greece, and the Ottoman world, there is not one single Sephardic melody or cultural expression for the fast.
Mizrahi Observance
Mizrahi Jews also observe Asarah B’Tevet as a religious fast connected with Jerusalem and the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.
Communities from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Kurdistan, and other parts of the Middle East developed their own melodies and local customs.
Many Mizrahi communities today follow Sephardic halachic rulings while maintaining older community traditions in pronunciation, music, piyutim, and synagogue practice.
An Iraqi Jewish service, for example, may sound quite different from a Moroccan or Yemenite service even though everyone is observing the same fast.
This diversity is part of traditional Orthodox Jewish life.
Breaking the Fast in Different Communities
There is no special halachically required meal for ending Asarah B’Tevet.
Families normally eat according to their own traditions.
An Ashkenazi family might have soup, bread, eggs, or another simple meal.
A Sephardic family may have foods connected with its Mediterranean or North African background.
A Mizrahi family may eat dishes associated with Iraqi, Persian, Syrian, Yemenite, or another family tradition.
The food is cultural rather than part of the mitzvah.
The important observance is the fast itself and the spiritual meaning behind it.
Asarah B’Tevet Can Occur on Friday
Asarah B’Tevet has an unusual feature among Jewish fast days.
It can fall on a Friday.
When this happens, Orthodox Jews continue fasting into Friday afternoon and break the fast only when the proper time arrives after the beginning of Shabbat.
This creates an unusual transition.
A person may spend the day fasting and then move almost immediately into Kiddush and the Shabbat meal.
The fast is not moved to another day simply because it occurs on Friday.
Why Jerusalem Is at the Center of the Fast
The events of Asarah B’Tevet began with the siege of Jerusalem.
For Orthodox Judaism, Jerusalem is not simply an important historical city.
It remains the spiritual center of the Jewish people.
We face Jerusalem when we pray.
We mention Jerusalem repeatedly in the Amidah and Birkat HaMazon.
We remember Jerusalem at weddings.
We pray for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash.
Asarah B’Tevet reminds us that the connection between Am Yisrael and Jerusalem has continued across thousands of years.
The Beit HaMikdash
The destruction remembered through Asarah B’Tevet eventually led to the loss of the First Beit HaMikdash.
The Temple was the center of Jewish national and religious life.
It was a place of prayer, offerings, pilgrimage, and service to HaShem.
Today, Orthodox Jewish prayer continues to express hope for the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash.
The fast therefore looks backward at destruction, but it also looks forward toward redemption.
The Fast and Jewish Unity
Our sages repeatedly connect the destruction of Jewish society with serious spiritual and moral failures.
Later rabbinic teachings concerning the destruction of the Second Temple particularly emphasize sinat chinam, baseless hatred between Jews.
Although Asarah B’Tevet originally marks events connected with the First Temple, the larger season of mourning encourages us to think about Jewish unity.
We should ask ourselves whether our own behavior helps build Jewish community or tears it apart.
Jews will disagree.
We have different customs.
We come from different backgrounds.
But disagreement does not require hatred.
Yom HaKaddish HaKlali in Israel
In the modern State of Israel, the Chief Rabbinate designated Asarah B’Tevet as Yom HaKaddish HaKlali, the General Kaddish Day.
It provides a day to say Kaddish and remember Holocaust victims whose exact dates of death are unknown.
This has special meaning because so many Jewish families lost relatives during the Shoah without knowing exactly when or where they died.
Some families and communities use the day to light memorial candles, recite Tehillim, say Kaddish, or learn Torah in their memory.
This is a modern Israeli observance connected to the older religious fast.
Remembering Without Remaining in Despair
Jewish fast days can appear very sad.
We remember siege, destruction, exile, and death.
But Judaism does not ask us to remain trapped in despair.
We remember so that we can learn.
We mourn because Jerusalem matters.
We fast because our actions matter.
We perform teshuvah because change is possible.
A fast day therefore points toward the future as much as the past.
What Can We Do Besides Fast?
Fasting is important, but the day becomes more meaningful when accompanied by positive action.
A person can learn Torah.
Someone can give tzedakah.
We can examine our behavior toward another person.
We can make peace with someone when possible.
We can reach out to a Jew who may be alone.
We can learn something about Jerusalem or the Beit HaMikdash.
The purpose is not simply to avoid food until nightfall.
The goal is to become a little different because we remembered.
Asarah B’Tevet for Someone New to Jewish Observance
Someone who has never observed a Jewish fast may not know where to begin.
That should not prevent them from learning.
Find out when the fast begins and ends where you live.
Attend Shacharit or Mincha if possible.
Listen to the Torah reading.
Learn why Jerusalem was placed under siege.
Think about something in your own life that needs attention before it becomes a larger problem.
If you are healthy and halachically obligated, observe the fast.
If you have medical concerns, ask a doctor and a knowledgeable rabbi rather than risking your health.
Most importantly, understand why Jews have continued observing this day for thousands of years.
Different Traditions, One People
An Ashkenazi Jew may hear one Selichot melody.
A Sephardic Jew may hear something completely different.
A Mizrahi synagogue may preserve melodies brought from Baghdad, Aleppo, Sana’a, Tehran, or another historic Jewish community.
The pronunciations may differ.
The atmosphere may feel different.
But everyone is remembering Jerusalem.
Everyone is fasting because the loss of the Beit HaMikdash matters.
Everyone is asking HaShem for mercy.
That is one of the beautiful things about Jewish tradition.
We do not need to erase our differences in order to belong to the same people.
A Tevel Zion Lesson From Asarah B’Tevet
Asarah B’Tevet begins with a siege.
A wall went up around Jerusalem.
That image can also make us think about the walls people sometimes build around themselves.
Some Jews feel far away from Jewish life.
Some are uncomfortable entering a synagogue.
Others may have had a bad experience with religion or simply never had anyone teach them.
Sometimes a person feels surrounded by people and still feels completely alone.
A Jewish community should notice those people before the walls become higher.
Reach out.
Invite someone.
Answer a question without making them feel embarrassed.
Share a meal after the fast.
Study some Torah together.
Help someone discover that there is still a place for them among Am Yisrael.
Asarah B’Tevet teaches us to remember what can happen when problems are ignored until it is too late.
It also gives us an opportunity to do something different.
We can strengthen Jewish community while it is still in our hands to do so.
We can repair relationships.
We can perform another mitzvah.
We can remember Jerusalem.
And we can help make sure that another Jew does not have to feel alone while trying to find their way back toward Torah, community, and HaShem.
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