Seeking historical connections to present events.
The siege of Jerusalem, 589-587 BCE, was the final event of the Jewish revolts against Babylon, in which Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, besieged Jerusalem, which was the capital city of the Kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem fell after a 30-month siege, following which the Babylonians systematically destroyed the city and the Temple King Solomon built.
The period of the siege is described in the sources as a time of cruel and unprecedented suffering for Jews in the land of Israel. A few weeks after the breach of the walls and the end of the siege, on the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av, the First Temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed, the Kingdom of Judah came to an end and many of its inhabitants were exiled to Babylon, what is known today to be Iraq.
The 10th day in the Hebrew months of Tevet is permanently assigned fasting day, one of four days of fasting each year in memory of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Some speculate that on this day, in 588 BC, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, imposed a siege on Jerusalem that ended a year and six months later, on the 10th or 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, when the walls of Jerusalem were breached.
In 1949, 5709 in the Hebrew count, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel decided to also establish the 10th of Tevet as the general day of Kaddish – the prayer for the dead, in memory of the Holocaust victims whose date of death is unknown.
This article was written on the 12th day in the Hebrew month of Tevet. This week, Jews commemorated the 10th of Tevet.
Past and Present Meet
If we review current events in the world, it seems that the historical distance suddenly shortens. This historical event, from almost 3000 years ago, is still deeply present within the Jewish people and has implications beyond it.
All that is needed is to internalize all of this.
The historical lines that shaped humanity are long. The people of Israel must not truncate their history by thinking that the beginning of their journey occurred a hundred years ago with Benjamin Herzl’s vision of re-establishing a Jewish home on the land of historic Israel.
Theodor Herzl Zionist Efforts
Theodor Herzl began his efforts to establish a Jewish state in the Land of Israel in the late 19th century.
In 1896 Herzl published “The Jewish State,” a pamphlet that proposed a world council of nations to settle the “Jewish question.”
In 1897 Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, where the Zionist Organization was established and the Basel program was approved. The goal was to establish a Jewish homeland in the Land of Israel.
In 1896-1898 Herzl sought support from wealthy Jewish financiers and met with the Ottoman Empire’s Sultan and Grand Vizier to obtain a charter for a Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel.
With Herzl’s efforts an international political and diplomatic movement began that led to the British Lord Balfour Declaration, in 1917, to establish a Jewish homeland in the land of Israel.
Accountability and Morality, Past and Present
Everything counts and everything is counted because everything concerns today.
Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem became a warning sign. Although the Temple was destroyed thousands of years ago, the people of Israel mourn its destruction every year on Tisha B’Av, the ninth day in the Hebrew month of Av. The destruction of the Temple is deeply etched in the national heart and consciousness of the Jewish people.
According to the sages of the Jewish people, the First Temple was destroyed because of moral corruption, which not only removes the supreme providence, it first of all dismantles the social structure that is supposed to breathe and act from honesty and truth.
Therefore, we must pay attention to what is happening around us today. A siege was placed on Jerusalem. The people eased their minds and relaxed and got the Tisha B’Av.
Consequently we must ask, is it thousands of years since, when the Jewish people returned to their land, they faced their national destiny and were required to correct the path before a disaster? Will these historical events repeat themselves?
Change In Mindset
Due to the war the State of Israel is currently fighting on seven fronts, one must ask what is actually happening beyond the shooting and bombing.
The people of Israel are undergoing a process of change after the events of October 7, 2023.
Organizations and individuals are working tirelessly to deepen their grip on the Israeli public. Working to change the consciousness of the delusional thinking that preceded October 7.
Consulting systems, built on a completely different mindset, have been established and are operating in national public relations. Moreover, they are engaged in building a large perspective structure that must endure for decades to come, and laying solid foundations, a necessary step because the entire strength of the structure depends on it.
But how does all this relate to the mourning of the 10th of Tevet?
Seeking Truth
It’s difficult to be exposed to the public eye and remain real and honest. People want, maybe even prefer to be sold some magic, to be given hope. They want to see results of ripe fruit in the first season for the investment they’ve made. It’s difficult for them to hear about “processes,” about stages of progress.
And what does a public figure do who is faced with these demands? Well – he/she lies.
And what does it mean to lie? It’s not necessarily saying things that are completely untrue. It is painting reality in a populist way, which is what public figures do so well. Painting something that will do people good and then they hope they will leave them alone.
California’s Case
The fires that engulfed Los Angele county California and destroyed lives and property to the value of billions of dollars, began on January 7, 2025, 7 Tevet 5785 in the Hebrew calendar.
For decades the Californian politicians and high ranking, outlandish salary-guzzler bureaucrats, pulled the wool over the public’s eyes and were successful. Californians were addicted to the Democrat-turning Marxist party and kept on voting for it blindly.
These politicians and bureaucrats did not have the public’s interest at heart, rather their own.
The fires burst beyond all control, interestingly enough on the week the siege on Jerusalem began, which led to the destruction of the Temple, the city and the Kingdom of Judea.
Immediately Californians started to seek the truth that lies beyond the fires’ disaster. What they found out is that these politicians and bureaucrats did not care for the people who elected them and for whom they work. They only cared for their own existence and not the truth.
Do the California fires resemble the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem event, destruction then and now because of moral corruption?
Aristotle And Truth
Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas is a Latin phrase, translating to “Aristotle loved Plato, but loved the truth more.” Plato is my friend, but truth is a better friend, literally, Plato is a friend, but truth is more friend to me than he is. The maxim is often attributed to Aristotle, as a paraphrase of the Nicomachean Ethics, bekker page 1096a 11-15.
While Aristotle deeply respected his teacher Plato, he prioritized the pursuit of truth above all else, even if it meant disagreeing with Plato’s ideas; essentially, his dedication to finding truth was greater than his loyalty to a single person, even his mentor.
The Truth Must Not Be Blurred
Love, interests, and dreamy eyes must not blur and distort the truth. This is an essential key to the creation of any society with critical thinking.
I hope the world is in a process of changing. People in every democratic country, including Israel, now want different leadership; leadership that cares about their needs and the needs of their country. The public owes to seek the truth.
The public needs to understand the issues and the correct pace at which things are developing and happening. A public that demands that its leaders tell the truth, no matter what it is.
