Choosing the Future Over Trauma: A Torah Case for Responsibility on Asarah B’Tevet

Overview

• Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz draws on Vayigash and Vayechi to show Yosef focused on settlement in Goshen and preserving identity rather than revisiting past wrongs.
• Yehuda is presented as the model of areivut, accepting full responsibility for Binyamin without excuses or blame.
• The piece portrays Asarah B’Tevet as a preventative, forward-looking fast, citing Avudraham and Chatam Sofer to explain its distinctive character.
• It notes that Asarah B’Tevet marks the start of Jerusalem’s siege that culminated in the Temple’s destruction on Tishah B’Av.
• Applying these lessons to current pain, the author urges strengthening homes and communities through Torah, mitzvot, prayer, mutual help, careful speech, integrity, and teaching children, referencing the Sydney Hanukkah massacre and the ongoing war that began on Simchat Torah.