Fast For Me
I and my handmaidens will also fast likewise
Persia. Iran. Is Achashverosh wise or a fool. The commonalities are flying fast and furious.
One thing that is not in question is that Israel is at war. (And let us not forget to show gratitude to America and all the soldiers who are putting their lives on the line.)
My teenager asked, as he does most years, “Why does there have to be a fast before Purim?” This seems to be a commemorative fast; before Esther risked her life to go to the king without an appointment, she asked Mordechai to gather the all Jews in Shushan and have them fast “for her.”
But why do we commemorate this?
I’ve always understood it to be there to teach us that when we are at risk of extermination, it can go in 2 ways.
The “remnant” path: “Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them and I will not abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them; for I am Hashem their God. (45) But I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God. I am Hashem" (B’Chukosai). “You shall be left few in number whereas you were as the stars of the sky for multitude; because you didn't listen to the voice of Hashem your God” (The curses in Devarim). “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land to which you pass over the Jordan to possess. You shall not prolong your days on it, but shall utterly be destroyed. (27) Hashem will scatter you among the peoples, and you shall be left few in number among the nations, where Hashem shall lead you away…(31)For Hashem your God is a merciful God; He will not fail you or destroy you, or forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them” (Devarim 4).
We have no shortage of sources that we will survive AS A REMNANT, not in the land, scattered about.V’NaHafoch Hu/The “complete turnaround” path: This is the path of Teshuva. The Purim story is a celebration of a threat of mass extermination, and Esther’s machinations stopped it…but first she asked the Jews to fast “for her.” Esther’s plan was successful after the people fasted for 3 days and there was a complete turnaround from grief to happiness and from mourning to celebration.
What Does Fasting Do? What Does Fasting on Someone’s Behalf Do?
Not eating doesn’t do much except make us hungry and weak. We have to understand the goals of fasting. Ralbag states it simply: “Fast ‘on my behalf,’ and the purpose of the fast is prayer (self-evaluation) to Hashem on her behalf, that He grant her favor before the king in a way that he would extend the golden sceptre.”
Esther is putting herself into danger on behalf of the people who are in danger of extermination, and it is incumbent upon the people to be aware of the danger she and they are all in, and to realize how powerless humans are in this situation.
Malbim likewise says “they should ask for Mercy for her.” Hoil Moshe says the fast is a gathering to cry out to Hashem. And of course on the day they gather to cry out they would refrain from food and drink; here [the fasting] is mentioned more explicitly and from here we learn to do this for other cases.
It seems clear to me that when we have an already established fast day and we are in the middle of active war, that we cry out and ask for mercy on behalf of those who are fighting and behalf of those who are in danger and on behalf of the danger to the Jewish people’s existence.
Mishna Berura on Taanis Esther
The Mishna Berura does not say the fast of Taanis Esther is related to Esther asking all the Jews of Shushan to fast on her behalf. He says it is because of the war:
We fast on the 13 of the month of Adar - Because in the days of Mordechai and Esther they gathered on the 13 of Adar to fight and stand for their lives and they needed to ask for mercy and they pleaded to be helped by Hashem to take revenge from their enemies. We find that on the day of war they were fasting as the Rabbis says that Moshe Rabbeinu, of blessed memory, fasted on the day [the Israelites] fought with Amalek and therefore certainly also in the days of Mordechai they were fasting on the same day; and therefore the Jews began a custom of fasting on the thirteenth of Adar. And they called this fast Taanit Esther to remember that God looks and listens to every person in their time of distress when they fast and repent to God with all of their heart just as they did in those days:
Copying and pasting this morning's WITATM here because we wrote on the same topic.
What I'm Thinking About This Morning ⏩: Taanis Esther During Our War With Iran
Why do we fast today? Most people answer based on the Rambam:
"In these times, all of Israel is accustomed to fast on the 13th of Adar in commemoration of the fasts that were observed during the days of Haman."
Two years ago, I wrote a Substack article titled The Ambiguous Vibe of Taanis Esther, in which I pointed out three incongruities:
The Jews at the time of Esther fasted for three days, whereas Taanis Esther is only one day.
Only the Jews in Shushan fasted, whereas Taanis Esther is observed by all Jews, not only those who observe Shushan Purim.
Esther's fast was on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of Nisan, but Taanis Esther is on the 13th of Adar.
The first two incongruities can be justified on the basis of pragmatic halachic considerations, but the third is a bigger problem. What sense does it make to commemorate a historical event on a completely different calendar day?
I offered an alternative answer that addresses all three incongruities. The earliest mention of Taanis Esther appears in the She'iltos of the Geonim. The explanation there states that "the 13th [of Adar] is a time of gathering for everyone, as it is stated: 'And the rest of the Judeans who were in the king's provinces gathered to stand up for their lives … on the 13th day of the month of Adar.' What is ‘gathering’? A day of fasting. What is ‘a day of gathering’? That they gather on it, engage in a fast, and ask for [divine] mercy."
In other words, when we went to war with our enemies on the 13th of Adar, all the Jews fasted and engaged in teshuvah, asking Hashem for mercy and to help us defeat our enemies. They recognized that even though Hashem responded to our tefilah and teshuvah during Esther's fasts and delivered us from Haman's plot, we still needed Him.
Unless I'm mistaken, this 13th of Adar marks the first time in 2,500 years that our people have been at war with Persia/Iran. I love the Rambam, but I believe the explanation offered by the She'iltos is more pertinent to our observance of Taanis Esther this year.
May we all use this taanis to engage in teshuvah, turn to Hashem, and merit His mercy.