The Tenth of Tevet II: Divine Protection

“Jerusalem has mountains round about her, and God is round about His people from this time forth and forever.” (Psalms 125:2) Even as the mountains round about Jerusalem convey to the physical eye the idea that the City of the Lord is well protected, so the spiritual eye can see that the Lord is “round about” Israel, that He protects His people at all times. (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Commentary to Psalms.)

The Tenth of Tevet is the date on which the Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem. When the people of the city looked out and saw the Babylonian hordes, they ceased to see the mountains that surrounded the holy city, and lost the sense of God protecting them.

The Tenth of Tevet is the time we mourn the sense that we have lost our Divine protection. It is also the day on which we can repair the times when we look out at the world and respond as if we are besieged by ideas and cultures that threaten Israel, and we do not connect or even recall the sense of God protecting Israel at all times and in every place.

Application:
Use the Tenth of Tevet to study the concept of Divine Providence.

Reflect on Jewish history and how we have miraculously survived countless enemies.