דף נושא: תענית

It is a positive Torah commandment to cry out and to sound trumpets in the event of any difficulty that arises which affects the community, as [Numbers 10:9] states: "[When you go out to war... against] an enemy who attacks you and you sound the trumpets...."
[This commandment is not restricted to such a limited scope; rather] the intent is: Whenever you are distressed by difficulties - e.g., famine, plague, locusts, or the like - cry out [to God] because of them and sound the trumpets. This practice is one of the paths of repentance, for when a difficulty arises, and the people cry out [to God] and sound the trumpets, everyone will realize that [the difficulty] occurred because of their evil conduct, as [Jeremiah 5:25] states: "Your sins have turned away [the rains and the harvest climate]." This [realization] will cause the removal of this difficulty. Conversely, should the people fail to cry out [to God] and sound the trumpets, and instead say, "What has happened to us is merely a natural phenomenon and this difficulty is merely a chance occurrence," this is a cruel conception of things, which causes them to remain attached to their wicked deeds. Thus, this time of distress will lead to further distresses.
This is implied by the Torah's statement [Leviticus 26:27-28]: "If you remain indifferent to Me, I will be indifferent to you with a vengeance." The implication of the verse is: When I bring difficulties upon you so that you shall repent and you say it is a chance occurrence, I will add to your [punishment] an expression of vengeance for that indifference [to Divine Providence]. In addition, it is a Rabbinic ordinance to fast whenever there is a difficulty that affects the community until there is a manifestation of Divine mercy.
On these fast days, we cry out in prayer, offer supplications, and sound the trumpets only. In the Temple, we sound both the trumpets and the shofar. The shofar blasts should be shortened and the trumpet blasts extended, for the mitzvah of the day is with the trumpets. The trumpets are sounded together with the shofar only in the Temple, as [can be inferred from Psalms 98:6]: "Sound trumpets and shofar blasts before God, the King."

What is the customary order of fast days? Normally the sacred ark in the synagogue, which was mobile, was kept in a locked room. However, on fast days they remove the ark to the main city square and place burnt ashes upon the ark, as a sign of mourning. And they also place ashes on the head of the Nasi, and on the head of the deputy Nasi, and each and every member of the community likewise places ashes upon his head.The eldest member of the community says to the congregation statements of reproof, for example: Our brothers, it is not stated with regard to the people of Nineveh: And God saw their sackcloth and their fasting. Rather, the verse says: “And God saw their deeds, that they had turned from their evil way” (Jonah 3:10). And in the Prophets it says: “And rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God” (Joel 2:13). This teaches that prayer and fasting are insufficient, as one must also repent and amend his ways in practice.

Laws of supplications for rain prayed for in the Land of Israel, and it has thirteen clauses: 1. The order of fasts observed in the Land of Israel for rain: When the 17th of Marcheshvan arrives and no rain has fallen, the scholars begin to observe fasts. Only the advanced students fast three times, on Monday, Thursday, and Monday. All students are eligible for this, and the rules of these fasts are like those of an individual fast. 2. When the first day of the month of Kislev arrives and no rain has fallen, the court decrees three communal fasts: on Monday, Thursday, and Monday. The entire community enters the synagogues, prays, cries out, and entreats, following the customary practice during all fasts. 3. If these passed by and were not answered, the court decreed three additional fasts on the public: Monday, Thursday, and Monday. On these days, one must refrain from eating from dawn, and it is forbidden to engage in work during the day, but not at night. Bathing the entire body in hot water is prohibited. Therefore, they immerse in lukewarm water, but they may wash their face, hands, and feet in hot water, and the rest of the body in cold water is allowed. They are also forbidden from anointing themselves with oil, except if it is to remove dirt. They are forbidden from marital relations on these days. They are also forbidden from wearing leather shoes in the city. However, they pray in synagogues and supplicate like on other fasts. 4. If these passed by (and were not answered) seven additional fasts are decreed by the beis din on the public: Monday and Thursday, Monday and Thursday, Monday and Thursday, and Monday. Everything that is prohibited on the three [previous] fasts is also forbidden on these. These are permitted [additional practices] for which they blow the shofar to awaken the public. They recite additional blessings, pray in the streets of the city, rebuke the people, add six blessings in the morning and afternoon prayers, wear sackcloth, and on Monday evening, they start [the fast] a bit. (Those familiar in selling food and drink) (B"Y in the name of Rashi) in order for people to find for purchase for the Friday night meal, on Thursday, all day, those who sell food open their shops due to the honor of Shabbat. If a shop has two entrances, they open one and close the other. If a shop has a small side entrance, they open it as usual on Thursday, and there is no concern. 5. Pregnant women and nursing mothers fast, but not during the first three and last seven months [of pregnancy]. However, they should only eat enough to sustain the fetus, (and it is forbidden for them to take on additional stringencies and fasting) (Responsa Teshuvot Shaul, Siman 498). 6. After decreeing these thirteen fasts, if they were not answered, no additional fasts are decreed. These matters apply when fasting for rain, as when these [fasts] pass, the rainy season has already elapsed, and there is no benefit in fasting for rain. However, for other calamities, they fast and continue until they are answered. 7. When fasting for rain, and these thirteen fasts have passed without being answered, they diminish in business transactions and building for joy (unless a wall is inclined to fall) (Tur). And they reduce engagements and marriages unless the commandment of procreation and multiplication is not fulfilled. They also reduce greetings between one person and another, and scholars should not greet each other except with a nod or a slight inclination to the head. And when an ignoramus extends a greeting, they respond to him with soft speech and a bowed head. However, scholars alone return the greeting. They fast on Monday and Thursday, and Monday, until the arrival of the Nisan equinox. And it is permissible to eat at night, engage in work, and other matters. They cease fasting on Rosh Chodesh, Chanukah, and Purim. Once the Nisan equinox has arrived, and it is when the sun reaches the beginning of the zodiac sign of Taurus, they no longer fast because rain is not expected at this time. It is considered a sign of a curse since significant rainfall does not occur at the beginning of the year 8. All this order applies when there is no rainfall at all, but if rain falls in the fourth part [of the rainy season (the term 'the fourth part' refers to the rain that falls to stimulate the growth of every plant and herb of the earth. It is called 'a quarter' because it penetrates and goes beyond the ground, as it is written, 'For as the rain comes down, and so on, and gave seed to the sower and bread to the eater.) when the herbs sprout and begin to wither, they fast and cry out until rain falls or until the plants dry up. Similarly, if the time for Passover arrives or is approaching, which is the time of the blossoming of the trees in the Land of Israel, and there is no rainfall, these individuals fast and cry out until suitable rain falls for the trees, or until their season passes. Similarly, if the festival of Sukkot arrives, and there is not enough rain to fill the cisterns, pits, and caves, they fast until the appropriate rain for filling them falls. And if they do not have water for drinking, they fast for rain at any time when they do not have water to drink, even during the hot days. If there is a break in rainfall between one rain and another for 40 days, it is considered a drought. They fast, cry out until rain falls, or until their season passes.

On the twenty-fourth day of this month, the Israelites assembled, fasting, in sackcloth, and with earth upon them. Those of the stock of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. Standing in their places, they read from the scroll of the Teaching of the LORD their God for one-fourth of the day, and for another fourth they confessed and prostrated themselves before the LORD their God.

“Yet even now”—says GOD—
“Turn back to Me with all your hearts,And with fasting, weeping, and lamenting.”Rend your heartsRather than your garments,And turn back to the ETERNAL your God.
For [God] is gracious and compassionate,Slow to anger, abounding in kindness,And renouncing punishment.Who knows but [God] may turn and relent,And leave a blessing behindFor grain offering and drink offeringTo the ETERNAL your God?

Is such the fast I desire,A day for people to starve their bodies?Is it bowing the head like a bulrushAnd lying in sackcloth and ashes?Do you call that a fast,A day when GOD is favorable? No, this is the fast I desire:To unlock fetters of wickedness,And untie the cords of the yokeTo let the oppressed go free;To break off every yoke.It is to share your bread with the hungry,And to take the wretched poor into your home;When you see the naked, to clothe them,And not to ignore your own kin.

There are days when the entire Jewish people fast because of the calamities that occurred to them then, to arouse [their] hearts and initiate [them in] the paths of repentance. This will serve as a reminder of our wicked conduct and that of our ancestors, which resembles our present conduct and therefore brought these calamities upon them and upon us. By reminding ourselves of these matters, we will repent and improve [our conduct], as [Leviticus 26:40] states: "And they will confess their sin and the sin of their ancestors." These days are the following:
The Third of Tishrei. This is the day on which Gedaliah ben Achikam was slain and the ember of Israel that remained was extinguished, causing their exile to become complete.
The Tenth of Tevet. This is the day Nebuchadnezzar, the wicked, the King of Babylon, camped against Jerusalem and placed the city under siege.
The Seventeenth of Tammuz. Five tragedies took place on this day:
a) The Tablets were broken;
b) In the First Temple, the offering of the daily sacrifices was nullified;
c) [The walls of] Jerusalem were breached in [the war leading to] the destruction of the Second Temple;
d) Apostmos, the wicked, burned a Torah scroll; and
e) He erected an idol in the Temple. On the Ninth of Av, five tragedies occurred:
It was decreed that the Jews in the desert would not enter Eretz Yisrael;
The First and the Second Temples were destroyed;
A large city named Betar was captured. Thousands and myriads of Jews inhabited it. They were ruled by a great king whom the entire Jewish people and the leading Sages considered to be the Messianic king. The city fell to the Romans and they were all slain, causing a national catastrophe equivalent to that of the Temple's destruction.
On that day designated for retribution, the wicked Tineius Rufus plowed the site of the Temple and its surroundings, thereby fulfilling the prophecy [Micah 3:12], "Zion will be plowed like a field." These four fasts are explicitly mentioned in the prophetic tradition [Zechariah 8:19]: "The fast of the fourth [month], the fast of the fifth [month]...." "The fast of the fourth [month]" refers to the Seventeenth of Tammuz, which is in the fourth month; "the fast of the fifth [month]," to Tish'ah B'Av, which is in the fifth month; "the fast of the seventh [month]," to the Third of Tishrei which is in the seventh month; "the fast of the tenth [month]," to the Tenth of Tevet, which is in the tenth month.

In the days of Mordechai and Esther, the Jews joined together on the thirteenth day of Adar to defend themselves and take revenge against their enemies. They had to ask for compassion from God, blessed is His Name, that He should help them. And we find that whenever the Jewish people were at war they fasted, in order to invoke Divine assistance. Moshe Rabeinu, peace be upon him, also fasted on the day he went into battle against Amalek. This being the case, we may assume, that in the days of Mordechai and Esther, they also fasted on the thirteenth day of Adar. Therefore, all Jews have accepted this day as a public fast day. It is called Ta'anis Esther [Fast of Esther]. It is meant to remind us that the Creator, blessed is His Name, sees and hears the prayers of every person in his time of trouble, when he fasts and repents with all his heart, as He answered our forefathers in those days. Nevertheless, this fast is not as obligatory as the four fast days mentioned in Tanach (see Chapter 121 above). Therefore, you may be lenient when it is necessary. Thus pregnant and nursing women, or even a person who is slightly ill with an eye irritation should not fast, if fasting would be greatly discomforting to them. A woman within thirty days after giving birth, and a bridegroom during his seven days of Sheva berachos, do not have to fast, but they should make up for it later. But all others who are in good health should not separate themselves from the community. Even if you are traveling and fasting is difficult, nevertheless, you are required to fast.

We follow the version in Tractate Semachot: Firstborns fast on the eve of Passover. And the reason is to remember the miracle, that they were saved from the plague of the firstborn. And Avi HaEzri wrote that the firstborn from the father should also fast, just like the plague was also against them. However, the head of the household does not need to fast [if he is not a firstborn]. Even though the plague was [also] against them, we are not stringent to that degree. A delicate person should fast in order that he can eat matza with relish [that night]. And it is found like this in the Gemara (Pesachim 108a:2,5): Rav Sheshet would fast the entire eve of Passover[...] It was since he was delicate; if he would eat during the day, he would not be able to eat at night.

These are the days on which one is not allowed to fast, and on some of them it is not permitted to mourn. From [on] the 1st [until the 8th] of Nisan was established the Daily offering,- mourning is forbidden.