In the Jewish calendar, there are six days on which one must fast. Two of them, Yom Kippur and Tishah b’Av, are major fasts that last a full day, from sunset on the evening of the first day until sunset on the second day. The other four are minor fasts and last only from sunrise to sunset on the same day. Of all these, Yom Kippur is the only one commanded in the Torah. The other five were established by the rabbis.

Tisha b’Av, the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, the fast of Gedaliah (the 3rd of Tishrei), and the fast of the 10th of Tevet, have their origins in the destruction of the first Temple in Jerusalem at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. The siege of Jerusalem began on the 10th of Tevet, the Babylonians entered the city on the 17th of Tammuz, and the destruction of the city on the 9th (Tishah). These fasts were suspended during the Second Temple period, but were reinstated after the Temple was destroyed. Today, with the creation of the State of Israel and the unification of Jerusalem, some branches of liberal Judaism hold that these fasts are no longer justified.

The Fast of Gedaliah commemorates the assassination of Gedaliah ben Ahikam. Gedaliah was a wise, gentle, and modest man who was appointed governor of the Land of Israel by Nebuchadnezzar, seeking to ensure that the country would not be completely desolate. He sought to ensure that the peasants would remain and continue farming the land. Under Gedaliah’s administration, the Jewish community began to prosper, and some exiles returned to their homeland. He ruled from Mizpah, where the prophet Jeremiah also lived.

But Gedaliah could not continue his mission. He was assassinated by Yishmael Ben-Nataniah with the help of the king of Ammon. Yishmael Ben-Nataniah murdered Gedaliah, his followers, and even the Babylonian guards who were there. This massacre is what we remember in the Fast of Gedaliah, and it had very important consequences in the history of the Jewish people. Finally, the fourth minor fast is that of Queen Esther, commemorated the day before Purim. It commemorates her fast before entering with King Achashveri to pray for the lives of the Jews.

In ancient times, in the Middle East, it was customary to use prayer and fasting to ask favors from the gods. In the Bible, on many occasions, a special fast was declared to ask God for His help in resolving a particular matter. But our sages and prophets emphasized the fact that fasting is not an end in itself, but rather the means through which man must demonstrate sincere repentance. The prophet Isaiah (58:3) distinguishes between a fast that is not accompanied by true repentance and therefore is not accepted by God, and a true fast that leads to God’s merciful forgiveness.

In the time of the Second Temple, some viewed fasting as an ascetic exercise, depriving oneself, for religious reasons, of the normal pleasures and satisfactions of life. This attitude was condemned by the rabbis. They even viewed Torah study as diminished if fasting was performed at the same time. Afflicting our bodies with fasting should be done to give us time to reflect on our actions, with the desire for inner change, and not to turn it simply into an external, ceremonial ritual.

By Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: Encyclopaedia Judaica and other sources.