A Torah scroll. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The day after Rosh Hashanah is known as Tsom Gedaliah — the Fast of Gedaliah. But who was Gedaliah?

After the Babylonians had conquered Judea in 586 BCE, its aristocracy and skilled citizens were taken into exile in Babylonia, leaving only a small colony in place to manage the conquered state for the Babylonians. The Babylonians appointed the saintly Gedaliah, from a very prominent family, the son of Achikam, as the caretaker governor on their behalf. Amongst others left behind (or escaped) was a small clique led by a man Ishmael ben Netanya from the old Royal Family.

They were agents of the rival Egyptian power, who were jealous of Gedaliah and plotted to assassinate him. Gedaliah had ignored a warning, and they succeeded. Then, fearing Babylonian reprisals, and against the advice of the prophet Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu), they took everyone left behind, including Yirmiyahu himself, down to Egypt where they laid the foundation of what became the major diaspora community after Babylon. Then, as now, we were divided.

But still it is hard to understand why this event, of all others, became the only fast added to Yom Kippur. It is still widely observed to this day. There’s always much to debate about history in general and there were and are always different narratives. But why of all the tragedies that happened, did this one become such an important date in the Jewish calendar — and in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?

Perhaps it is because this was the first time since Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan that there were no Israelites left in the “Promised Land.” And remember that the northern Kingdom of Israel had been exiled nearly 200 years earlier by the Assyrians.

Both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur combine elements that are both celebratory, happy, and commemorative as well as the more serious concerns of us as a people. The Talmud explains that in temple days, the Day of Atonement was also an occasion for celebration. After the temple rituals that started early in the day were over, there was a sense of joy. The crowds would pour out of the temple and dance and celebrate the relief of being forgiven. As the Mishna says, it was one of the two happiest days of the year.

The combination of the two is why we call these the Ten Days of Repentance, teshuvah, returning because that is the underlying theme. Atonement, teshuvah, works on two levels, personal, and national. An occasion for reflection and determination to do better.

Jews have increasingly referred to life in the United States of America as another golden age. And yet here we are, barely 100 years after the Holocaust, experiencing the most antisemitic wave of hatred, and forgetting the long history of anti-Judaism in the United States. People have also tried to draw a distinction between the hatred of Jews as a religion and the hatred of Israel as a nation. But we know that distinction is largely false — as the Holocaust and American antisemitism were prominent long before Israel was even established.

I think this is specifically why the fast of Gedaliah is important, since it reminds us of our history, but also our ability to respond to tragedy.

What an amazing history and tradition we have. May your fasting be productive. And may this year be better than the last one.

The author is a rabbi based in New York.