Concerning the fast day of Asarah B'Tevet, it is known what the Beit Yosef brings down on the Tur Orach Chaim סימן תקנ from the Avudraham in Hilchot Taaniyot, that the ta'anit of Asarah B'Tevet is so strict that if it would come out on Shabbos, you would have to fast on Shabbos. You wouldn't be able to push off the ta'anit for a day after Shabbos like we do by other taaniyot, that if it comes on a Shabbos we don't fast on Shabbos, we fast on Sunday, it is a נדחה, but on the fast of Asarah B'Tevet, the Avudraham holds that if it would come out on Shabbos, we would have to fast on Shabbos. And he says: מפני שנאמר בו בעצם היום הזה כמו ביום הכיפורים. Because concerning Asarah B'Tevet, it says in תנ״ך בעצם היום הזה. And actually, the pasuk says twice the word בעצם היום הזה, which means in the middle of that day or in the essence of that day, which is the same expression as the Torah says concerning Yom Kippur. So just like Yom Kippur the din is that if Yom Kippur comes out on Shabbos it is דוחה שבת, it pushes away Shabbos and you have to fast even on Shabbos, so too, if Asarah B'Tevet would come out on Shabbos, we would have to fast on Shabbos. Now, the truth is, as we explained last year concerning Asarah B'Tevet, that technically it cannot come out on Shabbos. But this is only now when we have a fixed calendar, so it is fixed so that Asarah B'Tevet cannot come out on Shabbos. But when they were מקדש על פי הראייה, when they were מקדש and made Rosh Chodesh according to the witnesses, then Asarah B'Tevet could come out on Shabbos. And since this concept of קידוש על פי הראייה also continued after the חורבן בית המקדש, so it was a time when they used to fast on Asarah B'Tevet and still it could come on a Shabbos, so according to the Avudraham, they would actually fast on Shabbos. And even though it seems that Rashi and the Rambam do not agree to the Avudraham, they hold that if Asarah B'Tevet comes out on Shabbos you don't fast on Shabbos, but the shita of the Avudraham is that you do fast on Shabbos. And the truth is that even according to Rashi and the Avudraham, we see to a certain degree that Asarah B'Tevet is דוחה שבת, because Asarah B'Tevet could come out on a Friday, and the din is that we have to fast on Friday till צאת הכוכבים, which is Shabbos already. And therefore, even if a person was מקבל שבת earlier than the zman, nevertheless, he has to finish the ta'anit of Asarah B'Tevet till צאת הכוכבים. Even though by him it's Shabbos already, and on Shabbos you're not allowed to fast normally, but because it's Asarah B'Tevet, you have to fast till צאת הכוכבים, which means into Shabbos. So here we see that according to everybody, to a certain degree, Asarah B'Tevet is דוחה שבת.

Now, the reason why Asarah B'Tevet is so strict is understood because Asarah B'Tevet was the beginning of all the tzarot. All the problems, the galut and the churban that came later, all started with Asarah B'Tevet. Being that on Asarah B'Tevet, that's the time when Nebuchadnezzar surrounded Jerusalem, he besieged Jerusalem, this is the beginning of everything that happened later. On שבעה עשר בתמוז הובקעה העיר, when he cracked the wall of Jerusalem, but that came as a result of what happened on Asarah B'Tevet. And later on, on Tisha B'Av the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, but all this came after what happened in the beginning on Asarah B'Tevet. And even though this was only concerning the first Beit Hamikdash, but if not for the churban of the first Beit Hamikdash, we wouldn't have the churban of the second Beit Hamikdash. So it comes out that everything, including the churban of the second Beit Hamikdash, started with Asara b'Tevet. And therefore, being that Asara b'Tevet is the beginning, therefore it's the strictest. But what we do have to understand is that even though we're saying Asara b'Tevet should be the strictest because that's the beginning of all the צרות, why is it that the strictness of Asara b'Tevet expresses itself in these two inyanim: that it is similar to Yom Kippur, and also the din is that according to the Abudraham it is דוחה שבת? Since in Torah everything is exact, and therefore when we find that the chumra of Asara b'Tevet expresses itself specifically in this concept, in this inyan, that it is similar to Yom Kippur, obviously there must be something similar in Asara b'Tevet to Yom Kippur. It is not just that it happened that the chumra is that it's like Yom Kippur, but there has to be some depth in this concept that it's like Yom Kippur. And the same is concerning the second inyan, that we say that the chumra of Asara b'Tevet is according to the Abudraham that it's דוחה שבת, there must be something within the inyan of Asara b'Tevet which is stronger than Shabbos, and therefore Asara b'Tevet is דוחה שבת according to the Abudraham. Now lichorah, what is the connection between Asara b'Tevet and Yom Kippur, and what is the connection between Asara b'Tevet and Shabbos, and not and even more than that, that it's stronger than Shabbos It is דוחה שבת. And the truth is, Asara b'Tevet, as we said, is the beginning of all the צרות, which means that as far as the chumra of galut and חורבן, Asarah b'Tevet is the strongest. And therefore, when we look at galut and churban as a ירידה, this is the greatest ירידה, being that this is the foundation, the beginning of all the ירידות that came later, so obviously this is the depth of the ירידות, this is the lowest ירידה possible.

But we have a כלל that Hashem does not cause any ירידה unless it's a yeridah letzorech aliyah, that from the ירידה, from the lowering of a very low מדרגה, we will come out to a much higher מדרגה, higher even than it was before the ירידה. And therefore, we must say that in Asarah b'Tevet there must be something which is so great, which is the עליה that is according in the level of the ירידה of Asarah b'Tevet. בכלל, we say this concerning all the תעניות. The תכלית of all the fast days is, as the Rambam says at the end of Hilchot Ta'aniyot, that יהפכו ימים אלו לששון ולשמחה ולמועדים טובים, and eventually these fast days will be turned into ששון ושמחה, happy days, joyous days, into מועדים טובים, into ימים טובים. This is based on the פסוק in זכריה קפיטל ח׳ פסוק י״ט, which means that not only will these fast days become בטל, but they will be changed to ימים טובים, which means that these days will not only become ordinary days, but they will become special days. So the ירידה that we have now in these days, that these days are lower than other days, they are sad days, fast days, they will be turned into happy days, into ימים טובים, which means that this ירידה will bring to an עליה. If not for the ירידה, if they wouldn't be special fast days, then they would constantly, always, even after משיח comes, be ordinary days, but because they are fast days now, when משיח will come they will become special days. So this ירידה that's within these days will be turned into an עליה that these days will become higher than they would be if there would be nothing special, if they wouldn't be a fast day לכתחילה. Since Asarah b'Tevet is the strictest out of all the תעניתים, to a certain extent even stricter than Tisha b'Av, because Tisha b'Av if it comes on a Shabbos we don't fast on Shabbos, but Asarah b'Teves if it would come on a Shabbos, according to the Abudraham we would fast on Shabbos, so this is the strictest, so obviously this is the greatest yeridah, so we must say that the aliyah that we reach through Asarah b'Teves is the greatest aliyah. What is bichlal the aliyah that we could expect to reach through the yeridah? When we're talking about the taaniyot, obviously we're talking about galut and churban, because these taaniyot, they represent the concept of galut, of exile and churban. What kind of aliyah can come out through the concept of galut and churban? But the peshat is, as the Rambam says, that the whole idea of taaniyot is לעורר הלבבות, לפתוח דרכי התשובה, to awaken the hearts, to open the ways of teshuvah, which means that through fasting on these days a Yid gets nis'orer, gets awakened to do teshuvah, and therefore he reaches a higher madregah than if not for these fast days. How does it express itself? It expresses itself as follows. As long as the Yidden had the Beit Hamikdash, and the Yidden lived in Eretz Yisrael, and as the Gemara in ברכות דף ג׳ עמוד א׳ uses the lashon, they were סמוך על שולחן אביהם, they were at their father's table. At that time, Godliness was very revealed. They were in a very high madregah, they saw the miracles that took place in the Beit Hamikdash, and they were actually close to Hashem. When a person is in a matzav, in a situation where he feels close to Hashem, Hashem shows His closeness to the Yid, so then you do not see the depth of the connection between a Yid and Hashem, because after all, Hashem is revealed to him, he feels close to Hashem, so therefore he is close to Him. But we don't see how deep this closeness is. But when there is a galut, there is a churban, and Godliness is not so revealed, we do not feel close to Hashem, and nevertheless a Yid does teshuvah and shows that he nevertheless wants to be close to Hashem, this shows the depth of the connection between a Yid and the Oybershter, between the Yid and Hashem. When this connection is revealed, it is not so great, but when the connection is hidden, and nevertheless a Yid awakens himself to do teshuvah and becomes close to Hashem at a time when it is not revealed, at a time when it is hard to be close to Hashem, and nevertheless a Yid is close to Hashem, this shows that the connection between a Yid and Hashem is so deep that it could overcome all the obstacles. When there are no obstacles and he is close, this doesn't show that it's so deep, because it's possible that Only at that point he is close. If something will happen and he will not feel the closeness, then he will not be close to Hashem. At a time when there are obstacles, and it's hard to be close to Hashem, and still a Yid does teshuvah and returns to Hashem and shows that he is close to Hashem, that expresses the depth of a Yid's connection to Hashem. And this is the aliyah that could come out through the yeridah of the galut and the churban which is expressed in the fast days. That even though we are in galut, and it's hard to be close to Hashem, it's a time when Hashem says אנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא, Hashem says, \"I will cover my face,\" which means even though Hashem is always with us, Hashem is בכלל משגיח by hashgachah pratit over the whole world, and especially over the Yidden, but still Hashem says it is בהסתר, it is covered up. And still a Yid says that he wants to become close to Hashem and he does teshuvah and returns to Hashem, this brings out the depth of his closeness even more than it was at the time when there was no galut, at the time when the Yidden were in Eretz Yisrael and we had the Beit HaMikdash. So this is the aliyah you could reach through the yeridah. Since we said that עשרה בטבת is the greatest yeridah, so therefore this aliyah that we're saying here is stronger concerning עשרה בטבת, which means that in עשרה בטבת a Yid has this ability of showing his closeness to Hashem even more than in any other time of the year. Because since this is the greatest yeridah of the whole year, even greater than Tishah B'Av, and if on this day a Yid does teshuvah and shows that he is still connected to Hashem, this connection is deeper than any other connection that he has any other time of the year.

And this is the similarity between עשרה בטבת and Yom Kippur. We know that Yom Kippur is called אחת בשנה in the Torah, and Tosafot says that the reason it's called אחת בשנה because that's the time when the יחידה שבנפש is revealed. We know that every Yid has a neshamah which is part of Hashem, and this neshamah has different parts. The עצם הנשמה, the depth of the neshamah, is called the יחידה שבנפש. In קבלה ספרים, it is referred to as the יחידה שבנפש. In הושענות we say an expression יחידה ליחדך. יחידה means it is one, it is one and always is connected to the yichud, to the unity of Hashem. On Yom Kippur, this part of the neshamah is revealed, which means this essential, deep connection a Yid has to Hashem is revealed on Yom Kippur. And that's the reason why on Yom Kippur we daven five tefilot, because we know there are five parts to the neshamah, as it says in the מדרש, חמישה שמות נקראו לה, there are five names, which means five levels to the neshamah: nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah, and yechidah. So yechidah represents the depth of the neshamah, the deepest, essential connection that a Yid has to Hashem. Yom Kippur is the day when this is revealed, and that's why on Yom Kippur the כהן גדול goes into the קדש הקדשים. It is the holiest day of the year, and the holiest person goes into the holiest place as a shaliach of כלל ישראל, and he's there all by himself with Hashem as a representative of כלל ישראל, because that's the time when a Yid is essentially connected to Hashem. All year round a Yid is essentially connected to Hashem, but on Yom Kippur this is revealed. This is the reason why on Yom Kippur Hashem forgives for all the aveirot, because when this עצם ההתקשרות, this essential connection between a Yid and Hashem is revealed, so then Hashem overlooks everything else. As long as this is not revealed, Hashem looks down at the Yid and says that you did an aveirah, how could I feel close to you, how could I love you? But when the essential connection is connected, that is beyond anything that a Yid does, just like a child and a father, that when the father gets this feeling of the essential love he has to his son because he is his son, just because of that, so then no matter how his son acts, his father will love him and overlook all the aveirot he did. And the same is with Hashem on Yom Kippur, this essential connection is revealed. And that's why concerning Yom Kippur it says בעצם היום הזה. It uses the word בעצם, עצם is essence, that's the day when the essence is connect- is revealed, the essence of the Yid with the essence of Hashem. And that's what happens on Asarah b'Tevet, being that we said that the lower you go, the further you are away from Hashem, the harder it is to be close to Hashem, and then when a Yid does teshuvah, because that's the concept of a ta'anit, to do teshuvah, and shows that as even though he is far, nevertheless, the connection is so deep that he still could do teshuvah, this reveals the עצם ההתקשרות, the essential connection between a Yid and Hashem, so this is similar to Yom Kippur. Just like on Yom Kippur we said that the essence, the essential connection is revealed, on Asarah B'Tevet, the essential connection is revealed too. And that's why we see something else too. Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month. Asarah B'Tevet is also the tenth day of the month. The pasuk says concerning Asarah B'Tevet in Melachim II, and also in Yechezkel, and in ירמיה, החודש העשירי בעשור לחודש. It's the tenth day of the tenth month. So here we see the concept of ten twice. Why is it that Yom Kippur is on the tenth day of the month? So one of the explanations is, because being Yom Kippur is the day when the essence of the התקשרות of a Yid to Hashem is revealed, this is the greatest and the most fulfilling thing possible. And the number ten shows on שלימות המספר, the full amount, the full number. A full cycle is ten. And that's why Yom Kippur is on the tenth day of the month. Asarah B'Tevet is also on the tenth day of the month for the same reason, because Asarah B'Tevet represents this essential connection between a Yid and the Aibershter. And in one way it is even more than Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the seventh month, or we could say the tenth day of the first month if we start counting from Tishrei. But concerning Asarah B'Tevet, it says it is the tenth day of the tenth month, twice the number ten. This shows that the שלימות that we have in this essential connection between the Yidden and the Aibershter on Asarah B'Tevet is doubly strong, even stronger than Yom Kippur, similar to where it says in the pasuk, נחמו נחמו עמי, or אנכי אנכי הוא מנחמכם, it says twice, because the נחמה we get for the גלות and חורבן when a Yid does teshuvah is a double connection that we have to Hashem. This is the connection between Asarah B'Tevet and Yom Kippur. And in the next shiurim, Yirtzeh Hashem, we're going to explain the connection between Asarah B'Tevet and this din, that according to the Abudraham, it is דוחה שבת.