Questions tagged [fast-days]
Days where Jews refrain from eating and drinking.
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Isaiah 58 and the way we fast
I certainly don't want to offend anyone, but if it is asked in Isaiah 58 whether it is this manner of fasting that G-d has chose; when one starves oneself, practices self-denial, afflicting one's soul ...
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Why was God's injunction through Zechariah, on rejoicing, not followed?
With the return home from Babylon, the Temple rebuilt, and idolatry vanquished, God said, through the prophet Zechariah, that from now on the four fast days commemorating the destruction of the First ...
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Voluntary fast requirements?
If one accepts to take on a voluntary fast, is there a specific minimum or maximum time one must fast for (I.e. sunrise to sunset)? Also with voluntary fasts is it acceptable for one to take upon a ...
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1answer
92 views
Why this common greeting: Tzom kal?
Tzom kal (easy fast) is a common greeting before the 9th of Av, but why? It runs counter to the adage, "No pain, no gain". The no pain adage seems similar to L'fum tzaara agra – according ...
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107 views
Must one fast if her stomach hurts?
If someone's stomach hurts on Sheva asar b'tammuz, should she fast? Or do these extenuating circumstances free her from her obligation?
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119 views
Is there a source for Pidyon Haben seuda equivalent to 84 fasts?
In this answer, @Motel quotes an oft-quoted idea that partaking of a seudas Pidyon Haben is equivalent to fasting for 84 days. This is fabled to be alluded to in the words 'פדיום' (Bamidbar 3:49), ...
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1answer
203 views
Chatam Sofer on Tenth of Tevet falling on the Shabbat
Abudarham argued that should we not use a calculated calendar and should Tenth of Tevet fall on the Shabbat, we would be required to fast instead of postponing it. He learns this from the common ...
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1answer
158 views
Looking for Ibn Ezra Riddle
I'm looking for the Hebrew of an Ibn Ezra riddle related to fast days: "the short, the long, the black, the white, the man, the woman."
Does anyone have a source, or the Hebrew for this?
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Why do rabbinical fasts which start on Erev Shabbos still end at tzeis hakochavim if we are forbidden from fasting on Shabbos?
Why do rabbinical fasts(i.e. all fasts apart from Yom Kippur) which start on Erev Shabbos still end at tzeis hakochavim if we are forbidden from fasting on Shabbos?
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Halachic ramifications of using a digital lollipop
A device known as the digital lollipop sends electric signals to the tongue, stimulating taste. It can theoretically represent any taste, when correctly coupled with a smelling device, similar to how ...
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1answer
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The prohibition of eating before davening starts when? [duplicate]
One is not supposed to eat before davening Shacharit , though the halacha has various exceptions or special cases.
What is considered "before"? If I wake before dawn and start my day, does ...
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Why celebrate on Rosh HaShanah while on Yom Kippur we afflict ourselves
On the day of Rosh Hashanah we will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur it will be sealed. So why don’t we fast or repent more on Rosh Hashanah and celebrate Yom Kippur because the judgement is sealed? Why ...
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If one vowed to fast for a set period of time, would he continue at sunset after Shabbat?
So say someone had vowed to personally fast for a certain amount of time, and a portion of this time overlapped with Shabbat. Now it is known that we are forbidden from fasting during Shabbat, except ...
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Smoking versus snuffing tabac on Tisha Beav [duplicate]
In SA OC 554 the Caf Hachyim SK 3 rules that to smoke hookah is prohibited almost before Chats it, if not as a mean to treat constipation. But in SK 4 he allows to snuff tabac.
My question is if to ...
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1answer
302 views
Is it permissible to learn Hilchot Teshuva on Tisha Beav?
The Shulchan Aruch paskens (OC 554) that it is forbidden to learn most parts of Torah on Tisha Beav, except for a few small sections about aveilut.
The question is: the Shulchan Aruch doesn't ...
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Why specifically a date on Yom Kippur?
Often times a kezayis or beitza is the amount of food necessary to transgress a food related prohibition. Why is a date specifically the quantity one must eat to be liable on Yom Kippur?
Shulchan ...
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Who SHOULD accept a taanit dibbur?
If one is home with his family (especially these days when everyone is home, all day), would it be fair to his family members not to speak to them (besides strict divrei Torah)?
EDIT:
In what cases ...
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"Anenu" for taanit le'shaot - fasting half day
If one would practically only be missing breakfast, could he say anenu in shacharit and finsh the fast (and not in mincha by which time he has eaten)? or must anenu in shacharit go together with ...
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Who is "the author of the Shulchan Aruch" in this teshuvah of Rashbash?
The Rashbash (R' Shlomo Duran, the son of the Rashbatz, d. 1467) has a teshuvah (#360) written during an epidemic (unfortunately all too relevant now). At the time when he wrote this teshuvah, the ...
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2answers
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Does the COVID19 epidemic in NYC qualify as "Dever B'ir - a Plague in the City"?
Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, 576) defines dever r"l or pestilence as an epidemic killing 3 people in 3 days (not 3 people in 4 days; not 3 people in 2 days) for a city of 500 working age men. How is ...
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What is the difference between a sickness and a plague?
Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, Siman 576) discusses fasting and praying for Dever (a plague), and also for a sickness (choli). What is the difference between sickness and plague?
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Fasting in Nissan for epidemic
In general we refrain from observing fast days during the month of Nissan (S"A O"C 429:2). There are some exceptions, like a taanis chalom.
For a communal distress such as a deadly epidemic a ...
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2answers
508 views
Taanis bechorim when unable to attend a siyum [duplicate]
This year, due to coronavirus related isolation measures, the probability is that a bechor would be unable to attend an actual siyum on erev pesach.
Can a bechor see a siyum online or must he fast on ...
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Day of Yosef’s Sale
I saw in a medrash - but can’t recall where - that the brothers sold Yosef on the tenth of Teveis.
Does any which medrash I could find this in?
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Fast days and אל ארך אפים
I have heard various opinions about saying Keil erekh apayim before the Torah reading on fast days.* Most say that we should only do that if the public fast day falls on Monday or Thursday. What are ...
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Is water included in the mitzvah of fasting?
Generally speaking, when the Torah is discussing the concept of fasting, whether on individual fasts or public fasts, it mentions the prohibition of neither eating, nor drinking.
But water has a ...
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1answer
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Holocaust Remembrance Fast Day
Rabbi Yom Tov Schwarz (See: “EYES TO SEE: Recovering Ethical Torah Principles Lost in the Holocaust”) argues that the Jewish people (led by the Torah observant community) should designate a fast day ...
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2answers
80 views
Why fast 3 days and not more or less?
Starting with the Mishna in Ta'anis 1.4 we learn that there are occasions (lack of rain in this case) when we fast BeHaB, i.e. Monday, Thursday, and Monday.
הִגִּיעַ שִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר בְּמַרְחֶשְׁוָן ...
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1answer
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Do communities set public fast days for hurricanes or other natural disasters?
I hear occasionally about fast days in Israel when there's no rain. Some examples are in this answer. From one of the links there, R' Mosheh Lichtenstein is not in favor of fasting for rain in a ...
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What happens if an individual accidentally says Aneinu before Re'eh instead of during Shema Koleinu?
Let’s say that a congregant, who’s normally supposed to say Aneinu in Shema Koleinu instead of before Re'eh, accidentally says it as a stand-alone Beracha before Re'eh. He doesn’t realize until well ...
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1answer
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Accidentally ended שמע קולנו with העונה בעת צרה
What should you do if, on a fast day, you said Aneinu in Shema Koleinu and then accidentally continued with the conclusion for Aneinu, ברוך אתה ה' העונה בעת צרה, instead of finishing with כי אתה שומע?
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When does a private fast begin?
When does a private fast (תענית יחיד) begin? At sunset or at dawn? Is it considered a fast like Yom Kippur (24 hr.) or like a half-day fast?
Are there any sources that address this?
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Can a single fast be used for multiple purposes? [duplicate]
Brachos daf 31b says that one who fasts on Shabbos should fast another day to atone for his fast. Suppose the next day is a previously ordained fast (e.g 17th of Tammuz, etc.), does that fast count to ...
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1answer
214 views
Restaurants opening on fast days
Assuming a kosher restaurant or a café that attracts significant quantity of non-Jewish customers, what is their policy on fast days?
Do they keep open? If so, what do they do with Jews, who have ...
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2answers
106 views
Can a public fast day be used for a Yahrtzeit fast?
Some people have a minhag to fast on a yahrtzeit (see Shulchan Aruch OC 567,7-9). If the day of the yahrtzeit occurs on a public fast day such as 17 Tamuz, can the fasting done then count for the ...
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Talmudic concept of a sensitive individual--"istus?"
There is a Talmudic term I've heard mentioned in passing but have not been able to locate. It relates to the concept of a person who is especially sensitive to physical discomfort in situations such ...
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How much time passes before we understand that the drought hasn’t ended?
In ta’anis (1:5-7) the Mishnayos discuss how and when to fast for rain in a drought, for example:
הִגִּיעַ רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ כִּסְלֵו וְלֹא יָרְדוּ גְשָׁמִים, בֵּית דִּין גּוֹזְרִין שָׁלשׁ תַּעֲנִיוֹת ...
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1answer
214 views
What happens if someone misses a day of Bahab?
Let’s say that someone, for whatever reason (say he forgot it was Behab), accepted upon himself to fast Behab but didn’t fast one of the days (say, for instance, he fasted Monday but not Thursday).
...
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1answer
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Why not start BaHaB on Iyar / Marcheshvan 3?
Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 492 discusses the custom some have to fast on Monday, Thursday and Monday (BaHaB) following the months of Nissan and Tishrei. Rama in his gloss notes that the custom is to ...
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is it permitted to swallow spit on a fast day?
is it permitted to swallow spit on a fast day or must one spit? this would lead to worse dehydration and if the motivation isn't eating but ridding the saliva in one's mouth without becoming ...
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Fasting to increase chances of getting prayer answered
It used to be that rabbis made the community fast to increase their chances of getting their prayers answered. This was done particularly if rain was late in coming. (The first thing God promises if ...
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1answer
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How the 72 hours straight fast was possibly allowed?
We know that the danger of fasting two consecutive days is the reason Yom Kippur (and all other fasts) is not celebrated two days outside Israel.
And still Ester commanded on the 3-day fast (Ester 4,...
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1answer
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Why was Ta'anis Esther established? The story has a happy ending!
I understand why we fast the other public fast days (Tisha B'av, 17 Tammuz, Tzom Gedaliah). All of these fasts commemorate events which we are still affected by (primarily lack of a Beis Hamikdash).
...
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2answers
179 views
Relief from fasting while traveling?
I fly multiple times a week nearly every week for work. It has happened a few times that I had to travel on a minor fast day and I was at times surprised to see visibly religious people eating and ...
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1answer
129 views
Do we fast when someone trips and falls while holding a Sefer Torah?
When dropping a Sefer Torah, the custom is to fast, but what is the minhag if I trip and fall while holding a Sefer Torah?
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281 views
Are you allowed to Vape on a fast day?
I was told that Vape has sugar in it. Are you inhailing enough for it to constitute a Shiur, and so not be able to Vape on a fast day?
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1answer
235 views
Accepting a fast upon oneself after the prayer of Mincha
If someone wants to do a personal fast (taanit) and forgot to receive it during Mincha. Can he still receive it after Mincha before the day is out? What should he recite?
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Does Judaism forbid fasting on Fridays and Saturdays? If so, where is this rule written and what is the reasoning behind it?
I was reading the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, and I came across the following:
Judith had lived as a widow in her house for three years and four months.
She pitched a tent for herself on ...
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1answer
48 views
Is one forbidden to fast between Yom Kippur and Sukot?
I heard once that one shouldn’t fast between Yom Kippur and the end of Sukot , not sure its reason or if it’s an accurate statement
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84 views
What's the point of fasting?
What does fasting do? Is it to put us in a certain mindset? If so how does it do so? Does the pain itself atone? If so how and why? Or is it some other reason?
