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Harav Hagaon Moshe Ahron Friedman Shlita

From Darkness to Light

Parashas Vayechi/Asarah B’Teves

Harav Hagaon Moshe Aharon Friedman shlita

The passuk in Zechariah (8:19) states, צוֹם הָרְבִיעִי וְצוֹם הַחֲמִישִׁי וְצוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וְצוֹם הָעֲשִׂירִי יִהְיֶה לְבֵית יְהוּדָה לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה וּלְמֹעֲדִים טוֹבִים, and Chazal derive that from divrei nevi’im there’s an obligation to fast in the fourth month (17 Tammuz), the fifth month (Tishah B’Av), the seventh month (Tzom Gedaliah) and the tenth month (10 Teves).

The Gemara explains, however, that in Teves there are actually three days of darkness: ches, tes, and yud. On the eighth of Teves, Talmai Hamelech decreed that the Torah should be translated to other languages, which brought darkness to the world. The Torah, in Lashon Hakodesh, is composed of the Names of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, and from that the light of Torah radiates, but when the Torah is translated in a way that does not follow the mesorah, darkness ensues.

Regarding the ninth of Teves, the Tur says that we don’t know what happened on that day, although the nosei keilim in the Shulchan Aruch wonder why that is the case, considering that the Selichos of 9 Teves mention that Ezra Hasofer passed away on that day. Perhaps the basis for the confusion is that the Sephardi Selichos give 10 Teves as the date of Ezra’s passing, so according to that view we don’t know what happened on 9 Teves. Some explain, however, that oso ha’ish was born that day.

Others say that although we fast on 17 Tammuz because the walls of Yerushalayim were breached, that was the date of this event during the time of the second Beis Hamikdash, but during the time of the first Beis Hamikdash it occurred on 9 Tammuz. We know that each six months of the year parallels the other six: Tishrei corresponds to Nissan, Cheshvan to Iyar, and so on. There are many specific dates that parallel each other as well: 15 Av and 15 Shevat, 10 Nissan and 10 Tishrei, etc., so perhaps 9 Teves parallels 9 Tammuz, when the walls of Yerushalayim were breached during the time of the first Beis Hamikdash.

The third day of darkness, 10 Teves, is when the siege of Yerushalayim began.

The Gemara notes that there is actually a fourth day; according to R’ Shimon bar Yochai, the צוֹם הָעֲשִׂירִי refers not to the tenth of Teves, but to the fifth of Teves, when the news of the churban reached the communities outside Eretz Yisrael.

The Chasam Sofer notes that these four days are alluded to in the phrase, in Parshas Metzora, אַחֲרֵי הִטֹּחַ אֶת הַבָּיִת, which appears in relation to nigei batim. The Chasam Sofer says that this word, which he spells היטח, alludes to the days of hei, tes, yud, and ches Teves.

Now, we don’t pasken according to R’ Shimon; we follow the view that the fast of the tenth month is on 10 Teves, commemorating the siege of Yerushalayim. But there is an interesting story in this regard about the Kozhiglover, who led the Lublin yeshivah after R’ Meir Shapiro’s passing. At one point, he visited Eretz Yisrael, and the fifth of Teves found him in Meron, at the grave of R’ Shimon bar Yochai. “We certainly have to fast here on this day,” he said, “since he holds that the fast of this month is on the fifth of Teves.”

Accessing the Ohr Haganuz

There is a remez in the halachos of Chanukah to the eighth, ninth, and tenth days of Teves. The mitzvah is to light נר איש וביתו, and these three words correspond to the three days of darkness in Teves: The word ner, a light, corresponds to the eighth day of Teves, the day when the Torah was translated to Greek, which, Chazal teach, caused the world to go dark. The word ish, a man, corresponds to the ninth day of Teves, which is when oso ha’ish was born. And the word u’veiso, “His house,” corresponds to the tenth day of Teves, which marked the beginning of the siege around Yerushalayim, leading to the churban habayis.

The neiros of Chanukah begin in the month of Kislev and continue into the month of Teves, and even into Shevat. According to the custom to light mehadrin min hamehadrin, we light a total of 36 neiros. This corresponds to the 36 days between 25 Kislev, the first day of Chanukah, and Rosh Chodesh Shevat, which means that the 36 neiros light up the dark days until the end of Teves.

Chazal say that the Eibishter saw that the light that He created during the six days of Creation was not suitable for the world, so He concealed it for the tzaddikim in the future. Where did He hide this light? In the 36 neiros of Chanukah, in the 36 masechtos of Talmud Bavli, and in the neshamos of the 36 tzaddikim.

People mistakenly assume that this hidden light was put away for when Moshiach will come, le’asid lavo, but really, at the very beginning of the world’s existence, the Ribbono Shel Olam hid this light for the tzaddikim of the future – meaning all the tzaddikim, including those of the past and present. Tzaddikim always see the light — it’s in the 36 neiros and 36 masechtos, and that’s the ohr that supposed to light us up during the galus and the dark days of 8, 9, and 10 Teves. We are supposed to draw illumination from the neiros of Chanukah, which should radiate in these days of darkness.

A Most Severe Day

There is another passuk (Yechezkel 24:2) that refers to Asarah B’Teves as בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה:

בֶּן אָדָם כְּתָב לְךָ אֶת שֵׁם הַיּוֹם אֶת עֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה סָמַךְ מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל אֶל יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.

In total, the phrase בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה appears three times in connection with Asarah B’Teves, and that’s why it’s the only fast day that we observe even on Friday. In truth, says the Beis Yosef, citing the Avudraham, even if would fall on Shabbos — which can’t happen, according to our calendar — we would fast on Shabbos. That’s because Asarah B’Teves is not only the fast of the tenth month (in which case we could theoretically fast on a different day of the month), but is also described as בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה, so it is linked to this particular day.

What is so severe about Asarah B’Teves that makes it override Shabbos?

The Chasam Sofer explains that Asarah B’Teves is 98 days after Rosh Hashanah, corresponding to the 98 curses of the Tochachah. He notes that Cheshvan and Kislev are unique in that both can be either 29 or 30 days; if both are malei, then the 98th day falls on 8 Teves; if one is malei and the other chaser, then the 98th day is 9 Teves; and when both are chaser, then the 98th day is 10 Teves. The year that the siege of Yerushalayim occurred, he says, was a year when the 98th day from Rosh Hashanah fell on 10 Teves; the year when Talmai ordered the translation of the Torah was a year when day 98 was 8 Teves; and the year when Ezra Hasofer died, or oso ha’ish was born, day 98 was 9 Teves. The בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה refers to the 98th day, and we have to counteract that.

The tenth of Teves is considered the beginning of the puranus. Not only was it the day when the siege of Yerushalayim began, but some say that the sale of Yosef occurred on that day as well, marking the beginning of that ancient puranus.

On the other hand, the besurah of the geulah is supposed to happen on the Asarah B’Teves as well. The Chasam Sofer writes that the reason we would fast even on Shabbos is that this day is the yom hadin, when Hakadosh Baruch Hu decides if He is going to bring the geulah or not. Since, each year, this decision is made on Asarah B’Teves, this day marks the full circle, the beginning and the end of the galus. That’s why it is considered so severe, to the extent that we would fast and cry even on Shabbos.

The Chasam Sofer adds another point. When Yosef and Binyamin cried on each other’s necks, as they contemplated the churban of the Mishkan in Shilo and the Batei Hamikdash, Yosef saw that the churban would happen due to sinas chinam, and he knew that the way to restore the Beis Hamikdash is through ahavas Yisrael. Chazal calculate that this encounter between Yosef and Binyamin occurred on a Shabbos, a day when normally we are not allowed to cry, but they cried over the churban because they realized that hisorerus for the geulah has to come בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה, even on Shabbos.

Keeping the Love Alive

Besides the count of 98 days from Rosh Hashanah until Asarah B’Teves, there is also another count of 147 days from Tishah B’Av until Asarah B’Teves, which is reminiscent of the 147 years of Yaakov Avinu in this parshah.

In this parshah, Yaakov also gives a berachah to Yosef’s sons and declares that Klal Yisrael will forever bentch their children to be like them, as we say, יְשִׂמְךָ אֱלֹקִים כְּאֶפְרַיִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁה. Why don’t we bentch our children to be like Reuven and Shimon?

Ephraim and Menashe were born and raised in galus, but even so, they were not subject to yeridas hadoros, and were on the same level as Reuven and Shimon: אֶפְרַיִם וּמְנַשֶּׁה כִּרְאוּבֵן וְשִׁמְעוֹן יִהְיוּ לִי. That is an ability we have to hold onto, so that we can connect back to earlier generations. Furthermore, Ephraim and Menashe could have been the ultimate example of jealousy, after Yaakov crossed his hands and gave Ephraim precedence over Menashe, the bechor, but even so, there was ahavah between them. From here we should learn that even if there is room for hatred and jealousy, we have to foster ahavas Yisrael, and through that we can bring back the light and turn these dark days into ohr, so that they can truly be transformed לְשָׂשׂוֹן וּלְשִׂמְחָה.

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