The Deeper Messages of Asara B’Tevet

There is no break between Vayigash and Vayechi, Rashi describes it as a closed Parsha, because of the “closure” (emotional/spiritual) Bnei Yisrael felt when Yaakov died. Why describe the feeling as “closed”?

The three reasons we fast on Asara B’Tevet are 1) because the Torah was translated into Greek, Ezra passed away, and because siege was laid to the temple. Why do we fast/mourn over the translation of the Torah? Why do we commemorate Ezra’s passing and no one else’s? Why do we fast for the beginning of the destruction and not just the end?

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Recorded at OU Israel’s L’Ayla Rosh Chodesh Women’s Event