Today, Jews (really really observant Jews) fast during the daylight hours to recall a devastating event of over 2500 years ago. This, the 10th day of the month of Tevet, is remembered as the anniversary of the Babylonian king’s assault of Jerusalem. Tradition maintains that it was on this day in 587 B.C. that Nebuchadnezzar began his siege against the capital of Judah. The Babylonians ultimately prevailed, taking down not just the nation but also its glorious temple, remembered as built by King Solomon and dedicated to God who would be mysteriously present for God’s people from that place. The Babylonians also removed a number of the most important people from Jerusalem and brought them back to Babylon, where they remained until Cyrus II conquered Babylon and allowed them to return. Many stayed for generations after that, and a vibrant Jewish community grew up in the region in what is present-day Iraq.
Now, I don’t know how many Jews actually do fast on this day or even note it at all (the actual destruction of the Jerusalem Temple is a different anniversary). It certainly isn’t as uplifting as Hanukkah… then again, such deprivation isn’t alien to Jewish practice. But this event — Nebuchadnezzar’s attack — little appreciated outside of Jewish practice, was a crucial moment in the development of the ideas that predominate in the Bible, indeed of the Bible itself. I’m not suggesting that it’s a good thing, the bloodshed, destruction, and forced migration that followed; but I’m not sure we would have the Bible’s rich theology or the incredibly influential literature of the Bible at all had it not been for the Babylonian assault on Jerusalem.
