Tevet is the tenth month in the Hebrew calendar, the word shares the root with the word tov, good. There are two notable historical commemorations: at the beginning of the month, the Chanukah festival continues from the previous month; the 10th of Tevet is a fasting day, commemorating the siege of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar which started in 425 BC (2 Kings 25:1-3).
The siege started on that day and it continued until two years later when the walls were breached (on the 17th of Tammuz) and finally the Temple was destroyed on the 9th of Av. The Jews commemorate all three calamities with a day of fasting and prayer, Tisha be Av being the most well-known one. Why they do so? Why remember a calamity, a defeat? I don’t know of a corresponding Christian practice: Christians do fast on Good Friday or on Christmas Eve, but it is always done with the positive outcome in mind, actually commemorating the ultimate victory of our Lord. Likewise, most nations celebrate their victories, the positive moments in their history: Independence Day, V Day, Reunification Day.
The Jewish tradition of commemorating past events is based on the Bible. The commandment to “Remember” is very powerful. For instance, they are called to “remember what Amalek did to you” (Dt 25:17). What is the purpose? To learn from the experience.
In the case of 10th Tevet, remembering the destruction of the Temple means remembering the cause, namely that the people did not obey God and did not listen to the prophets. Then they ask the question how they can learn from that. For instance, according to Jewish tradition, one of the reasons for the destruction of the Temple was sinat chinam, baseless hatred among their own people, division in society. Then they apply it to today’s society and call for repentance.
Can we as Christians learn from this tradition? Is there nothing in the history of the Church that we should repent of? The history of antijudaism should certainly be remembered, and commemorating the Shoah with the role of Christian teaching in mind could be an appropriate way of doing it.
What other Biblical events occurred during the month of Tevet?
In the book of Esther 2:16, we read that “Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tevet, in the seventh year of his reign.”
So began the story of the Queen who by her personal courage saved the Jewish people from genocide at the hands of Haman, an Amalekite. What started as a looming calamity, Haman’s intention to annihilate the Jewish people, turned upside down and ended with the destruction of the enemy and joyful celebration for the Jewish people. It is commemorated until today in the festival of Purim.
So, commemoration of events that happened during the month of Tevet seems to include two different types of experience: Chanukah is the story of the victory of the Maccabees; Esther is the story of the victory of the Jews over their arch-enemy. On the other hand, 10th Tevet signals the beginning of the defeat, and also both stories of Esther and Chanukah contain persecution, threats and anxiety. The Hellenists killed women who circumcised their children. Haman wanted to kill all the Jews.
So, we have victory and persecution; mercy and judgement. What is the takeaway? Remember the cause of destruction, repent and put your trust in the mercy of God.
An old Christian tradition has it that Peter was martyred on 9th of Tevet. This is another dark moment, another tragedy - but it can cause us to think about the nature of victory and defeat. Was it a defeat? Or was it the will of God, which has caused the Gospel to spread even more? What appears as defeat in the eyes of men, may in fact be a victory for the Kingdom of God.
So, we can see that negative, hard experience can have two reasons: in the case of destruction of the Temple, it was the sin of the people; in the case of martyred Peter, it was the will of God which ultimately brought about blessing. In order to discern that, we need to see it as God sees it, we need the eyes of God, we need the mind of Christ.
Therefore, the mere fact that we are suffering is no indication whether we have sinned or not. In other words, even if we live righteously, it is no guarantee that we will always win in this world. In fact, Paul says something quite different:
“All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim 3:12)
There is no guarantee that we will escape suffering. But we need to make sure that we do not suffer for our sin (see1 Peter 4:12-16). This is the battle we are fighting every day: battle against sin. The battle to show Christlike character in every situation. And in that fight, we have the promise of victory. The one who is in us is stronger than the one who is in the world.
May the Lord strengthen you with might through His Spirit in the inner man, so that you are transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom 12:2)
The lessons of Tevet then are: remember the good that the Lord has done, learn from history, and remember that defeat and victory may appear differently from human perspective and from God’s.
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