Tenth of Tevet · Asara BeTevet

Culture of origin: Jewish · Cultural

Holiday sources: Israel · Judaism

Asara BeTevet, the Tenth of Tevet, mourns the start of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, which ended with the destruction of the First Temple. It is a minor fast, kept from dawn to nightfall, and unlike the other minor fasts it is kept even on a Friday. Israel's Chief Rabbinate made it the general Kaddish day for those whose date of death is unknown, among them many victims of the Holocaust. It can fall twice in one Gregorian year, in January and again in December.