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Orthodox Conversion to Judaism |
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The Fast days |
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These are the fast days of our calendar. One should study the laws pertaining to the upcoming fast in detail before the fast day. |
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Fast of Gedaliah (Tishri 3) |
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This fast commemorates the slaying of Gedaliah Ben Akhikam, whom Nebuchadnezzar appointed governor of Judah after the first destruction of the Temple (Jeremiah 40/7, II Kings 25:22). His death was the final blow to hopes that the Jewish state might survive the Babylonian domination. This fast begins in the morning and ends at sundown. |
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Yom Kippur (Tishri 10) |
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The day of repentance. The holiest and most solemn day of the year. Its central theme is atonement and reconciliation. There are prohibitions on eating, drinking, bathing, and conjugal relations. Yom Kippur services begin with Kol Nidrei, which must be recited before sunset. A Talit is donned for evening prayers - the only evening service of the year in which this is done. The Ne'ilah service is a special service held only on the day of Yom Kippur, and deals with the closing of the holiday. Yom Kippur comes to an end with the blowing of the shofar, which marks the conclusion of the fast. |
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The Fast of Esther (Adar 13) |
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The fast of Esther is the day before Purim on the 13th of Adar. The fast is observed in memory of the fasy observed by Mordechai and Esther and all of Israel. It was on that same day that the enemies of the Jews had planned to subjugate and destroy them. The fast is called by Esther's name because she was the one to request the observance of a fast to Mordechai as it says; Go and gather all the Jews who are found in Shushan and fast over me, and do not eat and do not drink three days, night and day, and I and my maidens will also fast thus (Esther 4:16). Don't worry, the fast we observe is not for three day period, nor is it on the same date. The original fast was observed by Esther and the entire Jewish people on the 14th, 15th and 16th of Nissan, immediatly after Mordechai was informed of Haman's decree and of the letter of annihilation which Haman wrote on the 13th of Nissan. We fast on the 13th of Adar in memory of the day of the mobilization for war against the enemies. |
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More fast days: Tamuz 17, Tevet 10, Av9 |
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