TO FAST OR NOT TO FAST; THAT IS THE QUESTION

 

TO FAST OR NOT TO FAST; THAT IS THE QUESTION

Sometime not long after 530 BCE on the 13^th of Adar it was established throughout the entire Persian Empire that anyone who hated Jews was permitted to kill us. Because we were in grave danger and were in need of Divine Mercy to help overcome this potential massacre we fasted on that day. Although not in the Talmud and not a Halacha, we still fast on the 13^th today. It is a custom, a Minhag, and a very strong one at that. We call it The Fast of Esther.

However there is a Talmudic alternative to the Fast of Esther.

Megillat Taanit מגילת תענית‎, "the Scroll of Fasting," is an ancient text that enumerates 35 days on which the Jewish nation either performed glorious deeds or witnessed joyful events. These days were celebrated as Feast-Days, not Fast-Days. Public fasting was forbidden on all of them.

Ironically, one these Feast Days falls on the 13^th of Adar. This Feast Day is called the Day of Nicanor. It commemorates a military victory by Judah Maccabee some years after his restoration of the Temple. You can find a description of Judah’s triumph 1 Maccabees 7:39 and in 2 Maccabees, chapters 13-15. A brief description of the Feast Day is also found in the Talmud, Tractate Ta’anit 18b. Nicanor was a Greek Seleucid military general who was killed after he threatened to desecrate the Temple and was pursuing Judah Maccabee.

I think it comes down to what do you want to do? It is a challenge on how to mark the day. For me, personally, I am going to read 2 Maccabees, chapters 13-15 and have a bite to eat and drink. I will celebrate the restoration of Israel as a sovereign State and the Return of us Jews to our Land.