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What are the days on which Jews fast, and why?
Fasting means abstaining from food as a sign of mourning
or in amendment of sins. A major fast involves refraining
from food, water, sexual intercourse, and leather-soled
footwear. The physical abstention is regarded not as an
end in and of itself but rather as a means to spiritual
affliction and self-abasement. The regulation of Yom
Kippur specifically mentions that it shall be observed
"from evening to evening;" for twenty-five hours. The
only other fast to which this applies is Tishah B'av,
observed in commemoration of the destruction of the Temple.
The period of fasting on all other fasts lasts, as aforementioned,
from sunrise to nightfall.
Fasting is obligatory for males over thirteen and girls
over twelve (the ages at which they become bar and bat
mitzvah). Exceptions are made, naturally, for the sick
or when health might be endangered. There are fasts besides
Yom Kippur -- Tishah B'av and the five minor fasts. Public
and private fasts were also instituted. These were to
ward off calamities (most often a severe drought), hoping
that through days of supplication and a call to penitence,
whatever disaster was happening at the moment would cease.
They are:
The Fast of Gedaliah. Commemorate the killing of the Jewish governor of Judah, a
critical event in the downfall of the first commonwealth.
The Fast of Tevet. Mark the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem on this day, which has
also been proclaimed a memorial day for the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust.
The Fast of Esther. Remember the three days that Esther fasted before approaching King
Ahashverosh on behalf of the Jewish people. See Purim, above.
The Fast of the Firstborn. Observed on the day preceding Passover, only do so if you're
a firstborn male; honor the fact that you were saved from the plague of the firstborn in
Egypt.
The Fast of Tammuz. Mourn the date when the walls of Jerusalem
were breached.
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