Chodesh Teves: From Darkness to Light — The Meaning of Asarah b'Teves

Topics

• Three Days in Teves: What Are We Mourning?
• The Ninth of Teves: Why Was the Calamity Concealed?
• Why Is Teves Different from Cheshvan?
• Teves and Dan: The Beginning of Trouble
• The Avudraham: What If Asarah b'Teves Fell on Shabbos?
• Yosef and Binyamin Crying Over the Churban
• Aschalta De'Puranusa: Why the Beginning Can Be More Serious
• The Chasam Sofer's Remez in Gid HaNasheh
• Tishah b'Av and Shivah Asar b'Tammuz: Revealed Mercy and Hidden Judgment
• Teves from the Word Tov
• The Chasam Sofer: Asarah b'Teves Is a Judgment About the Future
• The Days Begin to Grow Longer
• Yaakov, Esav, and Chushim ben Dan
• Esther Enters the Palace in Teves
• The Lesson of Teves: Teshuvah Can Change the Future

Transcript

## Three Days in Teves: What Are We Mourning?

We just had Asarah b'Teves, and I would like to speak not only about the fast itself but about the entire month of Teves. Over the years I collected a number of interesting *yedios*—some of them not so well known—about this month and its place in the Jewish calendar. I'd like to share them with the *oilam*.

First, what happened on Asarah b'Teves? The Rambam says in *Hilchos Taaniyos* (5:2): **"ועשירי בטבת שבו סמך מלך בבל נבוכדנאצר הרשע על ירושלים והביאה במצור ובמצוק."** On the tenth of Teves, Nevuchadnetzar, king of Bavel, surrounded Yerushalayim and put it under siege. That was the beginning of the process that led to the *Churban HaBayis*. The Navi calls it **"צום העשירי"**, the fast of the tenth month (Zechariah 8:19).

But there are other days of tragedy in Teves besides the tenth. The Tur and Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim siman 580, bring traditions concerning the eighth and ninth as well.

On **Ches Teves**, the eighth, the Torah was translated into Greek in the days of Talmai HaMelech. The Shulchan Aruch says: **"בשמונה בטבת נכתבה התורה יונית בימי תלמי המלך והיה חושך בעולם שלשה ימים."** The Torah was written in Greek, and darkness came upon the world for three days (Orach Chaim 580:2).

What kind of darkness was that? Physical darkness? Spiritual darkness? The teachings of Chazal associate Yavan with *choshech*, darkness. However one explains the precise meaning here, our sources describe a time of darkness accompanying the translation of the Torah.

What happened on **Tes Teves**, the ninth? Here is something very unusual. The Shulchan Aruch continues: **"ובתשעה בו לא נודע איזו היא הצרה שאירע בו."** A calamity occurred, but what that calamity was is not known from the statement itself.

Think about that. There is a day marked for fasting, but it does not even say plainly what happened! The Magen Avraham (Orach Chaim 580, se'if katan 6) notes the tradition that Ezra HaSofer passed away on that day. So now we have three days: Ches Teves, when the Torah was translated into Greek; Tes Teves, associated with the passing of Ezra HaSofer; and Yud Teves, when Yerushalayim was placed under siege.

These are three different calamities, one after the next. But they are not the entire story of Teves. I want to show you that there is another side to this month.

## The Ninth of Teves: Why Was the Calamity Concealed?

There are additional traditions about Tes Teves. The *Birkei Yosef* brings sources associating the day not only with Ezra HaSofer but also with Nechemiah ben Chachalyah. The Chasam Sofer also has *derashos* on this date and the passing of *tzaddikim*; the precise passage needs to be examined inside.

I also came across a statement attributed to the Raavad's *Sefer HaKabbalah* and transmitted in the later literature concerning a Rabbi Yosef HaLevi who was killed on the ninth. There is discussion of a tradition or foresight concerning the day, as though the *Chachamim* had perceived in advance that calamities were connected with it. We would need to examine the exact wording and chronology carefully, but the thought itself is extraordinary.

What is more interesting is the question: why did the early formulation leave the reason for Tes Teves unknown? Why not just say, "Ezra HaSofer was *niftar*," or name another calamity? The Chida raises the question of whether there is a hidden matter associated with the day.

I found a further explanation cited in commentary associated with *Megillas Taanis* and its additions. It connects Tes Teves to an event in the wider religious history of the nations, and suggests a reason for describing the day obliquely rather than spelling the matter out, so as not to stir up hostility. That is what I found brought there; I would want to check the actual text and its attribution before stating its history as a settled fact.

The main point for our discussion is that the ninth of Teves is presented in the halachic text as a day whose sorrow is concealed. It stands between the tragedy of Ches Teves and the siege of Yud Teves.

## Why Is Teves Different from Cheshvan?

Now let's think about the month as a whole.

We speak about **Mar Cheshvan**—a bitter month, because it has no *Yamim Tovim*. But tell me, how many *Yamim Tovim* do we have in Teves? On the surface, Teves seems to have even more reason to be called bitter. We have one *tzarah* after another.

And yet I want to discuss the very name **Teves**. What does the word mean? There are *Rishonim*, later *sefarim*, and *Midrashim* that discuss the character of the months. It is remarkable how much can be learned from examining those sources.

We find in *sefarim* the twelve months arranged in relation to the twelve *Shevatim*. Teves is associated with the shevet of **Dan**. Why Dan? What does the history of that shevet teach about the month? We'll look at that, and then see how surprisingly positive teachings about Teves emerge alongside its tragedies.

## Teves and Dan: The Beginning of Trouble

In the correspondence of the months to the *Shevatim*, Teves is placed alongside Dan. A teaching connects the month with **Pesel Michah**, the idol that eventually became associated with the territory of Dan. This is called an **aschalta de'puranusa**—a beginning of calamity. Trouble begins before its full consequences can be seen.

So what kind of month is Teves? We have the translation of the Torah into Greek on Ches Teves. We have the calamities associated with Tes Teves. We have Yerushalayim besieged on Yud Teves. Even the symbolism of Dan, in this approach, points to the beginning of trouble.

Tell me, is there anything good about Teves at all?

I want to show you that there is—not just one thing, but several remarkable *yedios*. But first, we have to understand why Asarah b'Teves occupies such a special position.

## The Avudraham: What If Asarah b'Teves Fell on Shabbos?

You have probably heard the famous statement of the **Avudraham**, quoted in the Beis Yosef, Orach Chaim 550. The Avudraham says that if Asarah b'Teves were to fall on Shabbos, the fast would be observed even on Shabbos.

Now, with the fixed calendar, Asarah b'Teves does not fall on Shabbos. This is therefore a hypothetical distinction, and it is a view discussed by the *poskim*, not a practical ruling about a present-day Shabbos occurrence.

But *fragt zich*: why would Asarah b'Teves be different from Tishah b'Av? When Tishah b'Av falls on Shabbos, we push the fast to Sunday. How could the beginning of the siege have a distinction that the day of the *Churban* itself does not?

The Avudraham's explanation is based on a pasuk in Yechezkel. The Navi was told: **"בן אדם כתוב לך את שם היום את עצם היום הזה סמך מלך בבל אל ירושלים בעצם היום הזה"** (Yechezkel 24:2). *Ben adam*, write down this very day, the very day on which the king of Bavel laid siege to Yerushalayim.

Do you hear the repeated expression? **"בעצם היום הזה."** Not simply a general time or a month. This particular day.

The other fasts are described by their months—**"צום הרביעי וצום החמישי ... וצום העשירי"** (Zechariah 8:19)—but Yechezkel emphasizes the exact day of the siege. The Avudraham compares the expression to the Torah's language concerning Yom Kippur, another fast connected to **"בעצם היום הזה."**

That explains the textual distinction. But I still want to ask: what is the *sevara* behind it? Why should the beginning of the siege have such severity?

Now I want to tell you some beautiful approaches in the *sefarim*, especially the Chasam Sofer.

## Yosef and Binyamin Crying Over the Churban

The Torah says that Yosef made preparations to feed his brothers: **"טבוח טבח והכן"** (Bereishis 43:16). Chazal learn from the word **"והכן"** a connection with preparation for Shabbos (Bereishis Rabbah 92:4). On an approach brought in the Chasam Sofer's *derashos*, the meal was on Erev Shabbos, and the events that followed—Yosef revealing himself and embracing Binyamin—were on Shabbos.

The Torah says, **"ויפל על צוארי בנימן אחיו ויבך ובנימן בכה על צואריו"** (Bereishis 45:14). The Gemara in Megillah 16b explains their tears: Yosef cried over the two *Batei Mikdash* that would be built in Binyamin's portion and later destroyed; Binyamin cried over Mishkan Shiloh in Yosef's portion.

Now comes the question. If this occurred on Shabbos, why were they crying over the *Churban*? What place does *aveilus* have on Shabbos?

There are discussions of this question and whether their tears should be understood as sorrow over the destruction or as tears coming from profound spiritual feeling and eventual consolation. Either way, it raises a fascinating question about how deeply the *Churban* is connected with Shabbos—and how that might help us understand Asarah b'Teves.

## Aschalta De'Puranusa: Why the Beginning Can Be More Serious

Let me tell you an approach found in the discussion of these *sefarim*: the beginning of a calamity can be even more frightening than its final expression.

Why? Think of Tishah b'Av. Tishah b'Av is the height of our mourning for the Beis HaMikdash. But by the time we reach *chatzos* on Tishah b'Av, we begin to look in the direction of *nechamah*. We speak about **"נחמו נחמו עמי"**. After the worst destruction, there is already the beginning of a turn toward consolation.

Asarah b'Teves was different. Yerushalayim had only just been surrounded. Everything terrible that lay ahead was still in front of us. That is **aschalta de'puranusa**, the beginning of the tragedy. The first step is terrifying precisely because it opens the door to everything that can follow.

This gives a way to understand why an approach would regard Asarah b'Teves with such unusual severity. Tishah b'Av is the destruction itself, and even there one can speak of future consolation. Asarah b'Teves is the moment at which the trouble began.

That also connects to the character of Teves as the month of Dan and the imagery of *din*, judgment. It is a month in which the beginning matters enormously.

I saw another suggested explanation involving **Shabbos** itself. In that *mahalach*, the enemy understood that a weakening in Klal Yisrael's keeping of Shabbos made them vulnerable. The siege is thus associated with a failure in Shabbos observance. I would have to study the exact *sefer* inside to be sure of the intended argument. One could immediately ask: if Shabbos was part of what needed correction, shouldn't we strengthen Shabbos rather than fast on it? It is an interesting question, and I am not claiming that every detail is settled.

## The Chasam Sofer's Remez in Gid HaNasheh

Let me bring you another *vort* that I saw associated with the Chasam Sofer, drawing on an earlier *remez*. When the *sar shel Esav* struggled with Yaakov Avinu, he struck him on the thigh: **"ויגע בכף ירכו"** (Bereishis 32:26). The Torah later gives the prohibition of **גיד הנשה**—*gid hanasheh* (Bereishis 32:33).

There is a *remez* relating the letters of *gid hanasheh* to the days and months of the fasts connected with the *Churban*: **ג** for Gimel Tishrei, **י** for Yud Teves, **ד** for Daled Tammuz as a reference to the fourth month, and the remaining letters connected with Tishah b'Av. The striking point is that in some places the allusion uses a particular *day*, while for the fast of Tammuz it points to the *month*.

Why does the *remez* change its pattern?

This is not a proof in *halachah*. It is a *remez*, and its details have to be checked carefully. But in the Chasam Sofer's approach it becomes an occasion to consider the nature of different calamities. The struggle with Esav is understood as foreshadowing attacks on the spiritual center of Klal Yisrael, the Beis HaMikdash. The fasts are different stages of that struggle.

The question about the *remez* brings us back to where we began: why does Asarah b'Teves receive emphasis as a particular day, and what does that tell us about this month?

## Tishah b'Av and Shivah Asar b'Tammuz: Revealed Mercy and Hidden Judgment

Let us go back to the *remez* in **גיד הנשה**, because I want you to hear the *kashya* properly. The letters are associated with the fasts: Gimel Tishrei, Yud Teves, and an allusion through the fourth month to Shivah Asar b'Tammuz, together with Tishah b'Av. Why is one of the days hinted through the month rather than through its exact date? What is the *chiluk*?

In the discussion attributed to the Chasam Sofer, there is a remarkable thought about Tishah b'Av. We look at Tishah b'Av as the blackest day in our calendar. But even in the *Churban* there was a revelation of the Ribbono Shel Olam's mercy. Chazal ask about the pasuk **"מזמור לאסף אלקים באו גוים בנחלתך"** (Tehillim 79:1). *Mizmor*? A song over the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash? Wouldn't a *kinah* have been more fitting?

And Chazal explain that Hashem poured His anger upon wood and stone rather than destroying Klal Yisrael. In the terrible moment of destruction, there was also a great *chesed*. We did not lose the people; the people could live to rebuild. That is an extraordinary way to look at Tishah b'Av. Even there, you can already begin to see **"נחמו נחמו עמי"**, the possibility of consolation and a future.

The pasuk says: **"צדקתך כהררי אל משפטיך תהום רבה"** (Tehillim 36:7). Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains; Your judgments are a great deep. There are occasions when Hashem's *tzedakah* is visible, and occasions when His judgment lies hidden, beyond our understanding.

So the *mahalach* suggests that Tishah b'Av, for all its sorrow, also reveals the righteousness and mercy of the Ribbono Shel Olam. But when we look at the beginnings of a tragedy—Shivah Asar b'Tammuz, and certainly the siege that began on Asarah b'Teves—we do not yet know how far the judgment will go. It is concealed from us. That is the frightening character of **aschalta de'puranusa**.

But now a new *kashya*. If we explain the use of the month for Shivah Asar b'Tammuz because the judgment was hidden, why is **Asarah b'Teves** hinted by its precise *day*? Wasn't the siege also only the beginning? Shouldn't it too have been concealed in the allusion to the month?

I am giving you the questions and the *yedios* as I found them. We have not yet finished making the whole picture fit together. And that is precisely why I want to bring you to the other side of Teves.

Ches Teves, Tes Teves, Asarah b'Teves—one calamity after another. We associated the month with Dan, with *din*, and with the beginning of trouble. Everything sounds dark. Yet I want to argue that **Teves is also a good month**.

What does the very name *Teves* mean?

## Teves from the Word Tov

There is a fascinating teaching brought in the writings associated with the Chasam Sofer, referring to **Sefer Karnayim** and the commentary **Dan Yadin**. The interpretation is that **טבת** suggests **טוב**, goodness. Now that's a surprise! After all we have spoken about, how do you call this month *tov*?

I tried to look into the *sefarim*. Some of these writings involve deep *Kabbalah*, and I am not going to pretend that we can work through everything in a few minutes. I am taking one point that helps bring out the theme. There is also a teaching I found attributed to a work called *Midrash Chefetz*, connecting Teves to the fall of **Sichon and Og**. The precise *Midrash* and its dating still need to be checked. But the idea as it is brought is striking: Teves is not only a month when enemies were allowed to besiege Yerushalayim; it is also presented as a time when enemies of Klal Yisrael were defeated.

So which is Teves? A month of calamity, or a month of goodness? *Rabosai*, maybe the answer is that one is connected to the other.

## The Chasam Sofer: Asarah b'Teves Is a Judgment About the Future

Here is another tremendous thought from the Chasam Sofer. I've been bringing so many Chasam Sofers today; it seems that he has a whole *mahalach* about this month.

When Nevuchadnetzar surrounded Yerushalayim on Asarah b'Teves, the Beis HaMikdash was not yet destroyed. The siege had begun. But **it could still have ended differently**. Klal Yisrael could have done *teshuvah*, and the decree of destruction might have been averted. The beginning was a moment of possibility.

The Chasam Sofer develops the idea that every year, Asarah b'Teves is a day when there is a *din* in Shamayim about the Beis HaMikdash and the future of Klal Yisrael. Will we merit the *Geulah*? Will the Beis HaMikdash be restored? The teaching is framed around Chazal's principle that a generation in which the Beis HaMikdash is not rebuilt is regarded as having participated in its destruction. We cannot treat the *Churban* as only a distant historical event.

Do you hear what that means? We thought Asarah b'Teves was about what happened long ago. But in this *mahalach*, Asarah b'Teves is about **what can happen now**. It is an opportunity for *teshuvah*. The future is not closed.

And this offers another understanding of the unusual view of the Avudraham about a hypothetical Asarah b'Teves on Shabbos. The other fasts are principally connected with mourning over what has already happened. But the Chasam Sofer compares Asarah b'Teves to a **taanis chalom**—a fast in response to a troubling dream. Why would someone ever fast on Shabbos in such a situation? Because he seeks to avert a harmful decree. The *taanis* is not only an expression of sadness; it is a plea that the future should change.

That analogy does not by itself settle the *halachah*, but what a powerful *yesod* in understanding the day! On Asarah b'Teves a person is not only remembering the siege. He is praying and doing *teshuvah* so that he and Klal Yisrael will merit something better.

It is *me'ein* the way we think about Yom Kippur: *Sifrei Chaim v'Sifrei Meisim* before the Ribbono Shel Olam, judgment accompanied by the opportunity to return to Him. The expression **"בעצם היום הזה"** becomes especially significant in this light. This very day can be a day of change.

So here is the *chiddush*: Teves is connected with *din*, but **din can be for our good**. Hashem gives us the ability to correct what needs correcting. We can look toward the future rather than only mourn the past. That is what I mean when I say that Teves can be a month of *tov*.

And there are more remarkable allusions that point in the same direction.

## The Days Begin to Grow Longer

I saw another discussion connected with the Chasam Sofer, in a note associated with his writings on *Meseches Megillah*, bringing an observation in the name of the Yaavetz. The thought concerns the seasons and the movement of the sun.

Around the time of Asarah b'Teves the days are beginning to lengthen after the winter solstice. We are in the dark time of the year, and yet the light has already begun to return. The other fasts fall at different parts of the year; here, in the middle of the darkness, the direction has turned toward increasing light.

I'm not going to say that I have worked out every calculation brought there. You know me: in the end I'm a *pashuter mensch*. I like a simple *pshat*.

And the simple thought is beautiful. Asarah b'Teves is not only a commemoration of something that went wrong. It is a time to begin moving toward a better future. Even when it is still dark, the sun is beginning to return. That is the distinction I want you to hear: **a fast about the future, a day on which we can begin to bring back the light**.

## Yaakov, Esav, and Chushim ben Dan

Now let me throw in another *yediyah*. The Chasam Sofer makes a calculation—connected with the days of Yaakov Avinu's passing, the period of mourning in Mitzrayim, and his burial in Eretz Yisrael—and associates the day of Yaakov's burial with **Asarah b'Teves**. He connects this with the tradition that Esav died at the time of Yaakov's burial.

The story of **Chushim ben Dan** is familiar from the Gemara (Sotah 13a). When Esav delayed Yaakov's burial at Me'aras HaMachpelah, Chushim, the son of Dan, intervened and Esav was struck down. Now hear how these ideas come together in the *derush*: Dan, Teves, Yaakov, and the fall of Esav. The very month connected to the beginning of calamity is also connected, in this interpretation, with deliverance from an enemy.

The exact calendar calculation is a *chiddush* attributed to the Chasam Sofer, and I would want to see every step of the *cheshbon* inside. You can ask me all the calendar questions you want, but I am quoting the *Chasam Sofer*, not presenting myself as a mathematician!

And don't imagine that all my *shiurim* consist of *gematriyos* and calculations. Usually I am much more *Litvish*. Today we have collected a number of these extraordinary *remezim* from the *sefarim*. If they lead us to stronger *avodas Hashem*, they have their place.

## Esther Enters the Palace in Teves

I found another remarkable discussion in the **Mechir Yayin**, the Rema's commentary on Megillas Esther. The Megillah says: **"ותלקח אסתר אל המלך אחשורוש אל בית מלכותו בחדש העשירי הוא חדש טבת"** (Esther 2:16). Esther was taken into the king's palace **in the tenth month, Teves**.

The month is explicit. The later defeat of Haman, a descendant of Amalek, will ultimately come through Esther's position in the palace. And Amalek belongs to the line of Esav. Again, see the *mahalach*: in Teves the groundwork is being laid for the downfall of an enemy of Klal Yisrael.

I saw an interpretation ascribed to the Rema that draws a connection between the spiritual work represented by Esther's fasting and the meaning of the fast in Teves. We have to be careful here: **Esther's actual later fast was not in Teves**; the narrative of her fast is associated with a different time. I am speaking about a thematic *remez*, not claiming that the events occurred on one day.

These are the kinds of details that make the Jewish calendar so rich. A month that looks dark on the surface can already contain the beginnings of *yeshuah*.

## The Lesson of Teves: Teshuvah Can Change the Future

So let me bring it together. We think of Asarah b'Teves and immediately say, "Yerushalayim was *b'matzor u'v'matzok*—the city was placed under siege." Of course that is true, and we must mourn what happened. But we have seen how much more there is to this month.

Ches Teves and the translation of the Torah; Tes Teves and the hidden calamity; Yud Teves and the beginning of the siege. Yet Teves is also connected in these teachings with **tov**, with the defeat of enemies, with Esther's entry into the palace, and above all with the possibility of *teshuvah* before destruction becomes inevitable.

What is the lesson, *kipshuto*? **We can do teshuvah now.** We do not have to wait for another Tishah b'Av. The future can be different. If Asarah b'Teves is a day of *din*, then it is also a day when we can change the direction of that *din* by returning to the Ribbono Shel Olam.

And the *oilam* reminds me of another beautiful *remez* about the promise of *Geulah*. Rashi says on **"וזכרתי את בריתי יעקוב"** (Vayikra 26:42) that **Yaakov's name is written with an extra vav in five places, while Eliyahu's name appears missing a vav in five places**. Rashi explains it as an *eravon*, a pledge: Yaakov took the letter as security that Eliyahu would come and announce the redemption of his children. The imagery of a hand and its five fingers gives the promise the character of a firm pledge.

Someone is making a connection with the fact that **Parashas Vayechi begins as a parashah setumah**, a closed passage, and with the future promise of redemption. There is a beautiful thought here about what is hidden from us and what Hashem has nevertheless promised. I don't want to pretend to have worked out every detail of that *remez* right now, but the main point certainly fits what we have been saying.

The Jewish calendar is not a collection of historical dates alone. There is a message in the month, in the fast, and in the *pesukim*. Even when the world appears dark, the possibility of returning to Hashem and bringing the light closer remains.

I'll stop here and leave you to think about it. *Hatzlachah u'vrachah.*