Asara B'Tevet

Today was Asara B'Tevet, the Fast of the 10th of Tevet. Yehezkiel, one of the prophets, predicted that there would be a siege of Jerusalem on the 10th day of the 10th month in the year (when you count from Nissan) in which the actual siege happened. Today I learned from one of my teachers that Asara B'Tevet is a day in which we are actually fasting for three reasons: 1) the siege of Jerusalem, 2) it was on the 8th of Tevet that 70 scholars were forced to translate the Torah into Greek, and 3) on the 9th of Tevet Ezra, the last prophet, passed away.
So the big question in class today was: What is this fast all about? Obviously three very important occurrences happened on or around the 10th of Tevet, but what is the big idea behind the fast? While there are always a number of answers to the ame question, one of the ideas that was discussed really stuck with me. The idea that the 10th of Tevet is exactly 98 days after Rosh Hashanah, depending on how many days are in each month sometimes the 98th day can land on the 8th or 9th of Tevet as well, and there are 98 curses given in the Torah. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are times of judgement, but many people are unaware that the 10th of Tevet is also a time of judgement. It is the day in which it will be decreed whether or not the Beis Hamikdash (temple) will be rebuilt. It was the day on which it was decreed by H-shem that the Beis Hamikdash would be destroyed, which is the reason for the siege of Jerusalem, which eventually led to the destroying of the Beis Hamikdash. On this day of Asara B'Tevet, we have the ability to be judged by H-shem, and it is possible that He may decree that we start the period of time in which Moshiach comes and the Beis Hamikdash is rebuilt.
Chazal say that if you live in a time period where you do not get to live with the Beis Hamikdash, it is as if you lived in a period of time when the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed. I really got to thinking about this today, and I truly believe that with each action we perform, and each tefilla we daven we have the ability to get one step closer to Moshiach. We must always be aware that our actions matter, and especially on this day of Asara B'Tevet, H-shem is judging us, and the entire Jewish people rely on the judgement.
So may this Asara B'Tevet be the last in which we have to fast. May the next Asara B'Tevet be one with the Beis Hamikdash rebuilt, Moshiach and a large celebration commemorating the day!