This week's edition of Temple Talk was recorded on the Fast Day of the Tenth of Tevet, commemorating the siege laid against Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, which led to the destruction of the First Holy Temple.

Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Chaim Richman discuss the significance of this day and explore the Jewish concept of fasting. What is accomplished by fasting? Our hosts engage in a lively discussion of this week's Torah portion, Vayechi, which concludes the book of Genesis, finding startling parallels between the beginnings of the Egyptian exile which are foreshadowed in our Torah portion, and the contemporary Jewish reality today.

The patriarch Yaakov's happiest years, those 17 years he lived in Egypt reunited with his son Yosef, quickly turned into one of the darkest periods of Jewish history. Tune into this week's Temple Talk.