The siege
of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, which culminated with the destruction of the
First Temple 19 months later, started on the tenth of Teveth 3336 AM* . For
this reason this date is marked as a fast day. Jeremiah was the prophet who
witnessed the destruction. However his first vision came in the thirteenth year
of the 31 year reign King Yoshiyyahu.
In a real
sense, though, the siege began with the death of the greatly righteous king of
Judah, Yoshiyyahu in 3316 AM. He was succeeded by his sons Yeho’ahaz, Yehoyaqim,
Tsidkiyahu, and his grandson Yehoyakhin, whose collective reign is best viewed
as a single period. All of them were disasters and scripture condemns each of
them as doing evil in the sight of Hashem. The end of the last king, Tsidkiyahu
is especially harsh and reckoned by the Shulchan Aruch as fast day in and of
itself (see Orech Chaim 580:2, “on the seventh of Marcheshvan”). After a long
period of imprisonment some mercy and comfort is extended towards King
Yehoyakhin.
The years
of Yoshiyyahu were very good years and prepared Jeremiah for the trials that
were coming. The nation did follow Yoshiyyahu, but not wholeheartedly, rather their
hearts were with the evil of his grandfather Menashe. This evil resurfaced
after the King Yoshiyyahu perished. King Menashe in fact repented; however, in
this the nation did not follow him. The sons of King Yoshiyyahu did not repent;
consequently they suffered the horrible retributions.
When
Yirmiyahu is appointed to be a prophet, the Holy One Blessed be He, tells him
first of all not to be afraid of them. His basic mission is to destroy and the
idea is expressed in four words to give it emphasis. However the verse
concludes saying that he is to build and to plant meaning that in the end good
will come out of this miserable calamity. G-d tells Yirmiyahu that He is making
him like a fortified city and an iron pillar with a wall that is to stand
against the entire country. They will fight him but not prevail. G-d tells the
prophet to energetically and tenaciously engage them. Under no circumstances is
he to be intimidated and if he is, HaKadosh Baruch Hu will make his fears come
true.
Jeremiah
rebukes the nation mainly for wholesale abandonment of faith in G-d which is
paired with total trust in man causing them to become worthless and miserable.
He condemns them for being liars, adulterers, thieves, and murders (see
Lamentations). He also expresses optimism that even though the land is plagued
with desolation and war the day will come that the sound of wedding joy and
celebration will be heard again in Jerusalem.
Jeremiah’s
prophesy of exile and advice that the nation surrender to Nebuchadnezzar are
immensely unpopular and cause him to be thrown in jail. There he writes a
megillah (scroll, article) lamenting the destruction of Israel. It is delivered
by a friend to King Tsidkiyahu, who listens to for a short time then has it
burnt. Later the king takes Yirmiyahu out of jail and discusses the situation
with him. Yirmiyahu tells him to surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and G-d will be
with him. The king rejects the advice and returns Yirmiyahu to jail, where he
stays until being freed by the Babylonians.
The unique
message of the Tenth of Tevet is what to expect from very bad times and how a
good person should deal with them. Often a person will have a store of
knowledge of how things should be and will be able to see how far his
countrymen have strayed. The main lesson is that one should not allow himself
be intimidated into becoming a malevolent person. If he must endure suffering,
he should have trust that G-d will give him strength to withstand the test. If
he is in a position to give advice, he should do so, even though it probably
will not be followed. Finally he should know that the present evil, misery, and
grief will surely pass and that the joy of sanctity will return.
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* Anno Mundi (Latin for
"in the year of the world"; Hebrew: לבריאת העולם,
"from the creation of the world"), abbreviated as AM or A.M.,
לע"נ, הסבא ,אהרן בן יוסף ז"ל
נלב"ע כז טבת תשכ"ו
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