Tenth of Tevet Date in the current year: December 22, 2024

The siege of Jerusalem ultimately culminated in the destruction of the First Temple, also known as Solomon's Temple, and the conquest of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonian empire. The fast of the tenth month also commemorates other calamities that occurred throughout the history of the Jewish people on the eighth, ninth and tenth of Tevet. On the eighth of Tevet Ptolemy ordered to translate the Torah into Greek, and on the ninth of Tevet two important historical figures, Ezra the Scribe and Nehemiach, died.

As the Tenth of Tevet is a minor Jewish fast, it begins at dawn and concludes at nightfall. Fasting is the only physical constraint on this day; bathing, washing, wearing leather shoes, using lotions and perfumes are not prohibited by the Shulkhan Aruch. Those who are ill as well as pregnant and nursing women are exempt from fasting.

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel proclaimed the 10th of Tevet a “general kaddish day”, that is a remembrance day. On this day, the deaths of the victims of Holocaust are commemorated.