The minor fasts: Gedaliah, Tenth of Tevet, and Fast of Esther

The Jewish calendar includes several minor fasts, observed from dawn to nightfall. The Fast of Gedaliah recalls the assassination of the governor of Judea after the First Temple's destruction; the Tenth of Tevet commemorates the start of the siege of Jerusalem; the Seventeenth of Tammuz the breaching of the walls; and the Fast of Esther precedes Purim. These days combine abstinence, penitential prayers, and introspection.