{"id":44736,"date":"2017-11-30T14:00:14","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T14:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/?p=44736"},"modified":"2020-09-08T15:51:07","modified_gmt":"2020-09-08T15:51:07","slug":"four-fasts-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/holidays\/four-fasts-now\/","title":{"rendered":"The Four Fasts, Then &#038; Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0<em>Gemara<\/em>\u00a0in Maseches Rosh HaShana (18b) says that there are three categories regarding the four fasts (of\u00a0<em>Asarah\u00a0<\/em><i>b\u2019Teves<\/i>,\u00a0<em>Shiva Asar b\u2019Tamuz<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Tisha b\u2019Av<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>Tzom\u00a0<\/em><i>Gedaliah<\/i>) : 1) when there is\u00a0<em>gezeiras malchus\u00a0<\/em>(persecution) all four fasts are obligatory as fasts, 2) when there is no\u00a0<em>gezeiras malchus<\/em>\u00a0but also not\u00a0<em>shalom<\/em>\u00a0only\u00a0<em>Tisha b\u2019Av<\/em>\u00a0is obligatory, and the rest are optional, 3) when there is\u00a0<em>shalom<\/em>\u00a0all four are\u00a0<em>Yamim Tovim<\/em>.\u00a0 These different situations directly impact the status of the four fasts.\u00a0 However, it is a\u00a0<em>machlokes Rishonim<\/em>\u00a0regarding how to understand this.<\/p>\n<p>Rashi holds that the time period of the second\u00a0<em>Beis Ha\u2019Mikdash<\/em>\u00a0was considered a time of\u00a0<em>shalom<\/em>\u00a0and therefore all four \u201cfasts\u201d had the status of\u00a0<em>Yomtov<\/em>, even\u00a0<em>Tisha B\u2019Av<\/em>.\u00a0 Nowadays, it depends.\u00a0 When it is a time of persecution, it is obligatory to fast on these four days, and when it is a time that there is no persecution, three out of the four are optional; and just Tisha b\u2019Av remains obligatory since it is a day of extreme sorrow.\u00a0 That is how most\u00a0<em>Rishonim<\/em>\u00a0hold, just that they add that\u00a0<em>Klal Yisrael<\/em>\u00a0has already accepted upon themselves to fast nowadays even when there is no persecution.<\/p>\n<p>Within this approach, there is the opinion of the\u00a0<em>Ramban<\/em>\u00a0who holds that, essentially, there is no difference between\u00a0<em>Tisha b\u2019Av<\/em>\u00a0and all the rest.\u00a0 Therefore, holds the\u00a0<em>Ramban<\/em>, when it is a time of persecution \u2013 which makes it a full-fledged obligation (and not just a\u00a0<em>minhag<\/em>) \u2013 the other three fasts are a full twenty-four hours and all five\u00a0<em>inuyim<\/em>\u00a0apply, just like by\u00a0<em>Tisha b\u2019Av<\/em>. The reasons, maintains the Ramban, that nowadays we do not observe the other three fasts on the same level of severity as Tisha b\u2019Av is that since it is not a time of persecution, they are voluntary. Although Klal Yisrael indeed accepted upon themselves to observe them, that minhag was only to observe them without their full severity. The Gra seems to concur with this opinion of the Ramban.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>Rambam<\/em>, though, says differently.\u00a0 If you read it carefully, it is clear that the breakdown according to the\u00a0<em>Rambam<\/em>\u00a0is as follows: 1) the time of the first\u00a0<em>Beis Ha\u2019Mikdash<\/em>\u00a0was considered a time of\u00a0<em>shalom<\/em>\u00a0(when all four \u201cfasts\u201d were\u00a0<em>Yamim Tovim<\/em>), 2) the time of the second\u00a0<em>Beis Ha\u2019Mikdash<\/em>\u00a0was considered a time of no persecution but also not\u00a0<em>shalom<\/em>, and 3) nowadays, since we live with the\u00a0<em>churban<\/em>, it is inherently always considered time of persecution.<\/p>\n<p>So we see from the\u00a0<em>Rambam<\/em>\u00a0two\u00a0<em>chiddushim<\/em>: number one, that during the time of the second\u00a0<em>Beis Ha\u2019Mikdaash<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Tisha b\u2019Av<\/em>\u00a0was observed as a fast!\u00a0 This is corroborated by the fact that the\u00a0<em>Rambam<\/em>\u00a0says this explicitly in\u00a0<em>Pirush Ha\u2019Mishnayos<\/em>\u00a0(in the first\u00a0<em>perek<\/em>\u00a0of\u00a0<em>Rosh Ha\u2019Shana<\/em>).\u00a0 But even without that, it is clear from the\u00a0<em>Rambam<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0<em>Yad Ha\u2019Chazakah<\/em>\u00a0that this is how he holds, if you read it carefully. This demands some sort of explanation. Why would Tisha b\u2019Av already be considered a day of such extreme sorrow even before the second Beis Ha\u2019Mikdash was destroyed? It is possible to posit that it is because the second Beis Ha\u2019Mikdash was not on the level of the first Beis Ha\u2019Mikdash (as the Gemara in Yoma 21b says that 5 things were lacking in the second Beis Ha\u2019Mikdash: the aron ha\u2019kodesh, the keruvim, the Heavenly fire, hashraas ha\u2019Shechina, and ruach ha\u2019kodesh \u2013Editor-). Therefore, it was still necessary to mourn the loss of the first Beis Ha\u2019Mikdash. It is worthwhile to note that the straightforward reading of the Gemara in Maseches Taanis<\/p>\n<p><em>Chiddush<\/em>\u00a0number two of the\u00a0<em>Rambam<\/em>\u00a0is that he holds not like the\u00a0<em>Ramban<\/em>\u00a0who says that when it is a time of persecution the other three fasts are just as severe as\u00a0<em>Tisha b\u2019Av<\/em>\u00a0and have all the same restrictions. How do we see that the\u00a0<em>Rambam<\/em>\u00a0does not agree with this? Because the\u00a0<em>Rambam<\/em>\u00a0says that nowadays it is inherently always a time of persecution \u2013 which means all four fasts are totally mandatory and not subject to\u00a0<em>minhag<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 and yet he does not assign the other three fasts the same\u00a0<em>halachos<\/em>\u00a0as\u00a0<em>Tisha b\u2019Av<\/em>.\u00a0 Only\u00a0<em>Tisha b\u2019Av<\/em>is a full 24 hours and has all five\u00a0<em>inuyim<\/em>, but the other three fasts only are during the day and do not have all the other restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>There is a well-known statement of the Maggid Mi\u2019Mezeritch that the Shechina is in exile during the period of the Three Weeks, and that it is about this that the pasuk in Eichah says, \u201call of her pursuers caught up to her bein hametzarim\u201d. Meaning, during the time of Bein HaMetzarim (the Three Weeks), it is relatively easy to attain connection with the Shechina. This concept is echoed in the Maharsha\u2019s statement in Maseches Bechoros (daf 8) that the 21 days of the Three Weeks correspond to the 21 days that commence with Rosh Ha\u2019Shana and conclude with Shemini Atzeres.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Audio recording\u00a0and notes of Reb Danny Fast)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span class=\"_5yl5\">Provided courtesy of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vayigdalmoshe.com\/\">VayigdalMoshe.com<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Gemara\u00a0in Maseches Rosh HaShana (18b) says that there are three categories regarding the four fasts (of\u00a0Asarah\u00a0b\u2019Teves,\u00a0Shiva Asar b\u2019Tamuz,\u00a0Tisha b\u2019Av, and\u00a0Tzom\u00a0Gedaliah) : 1) when there is\u00a0gezeiras malchus\u00a0(persecution) all four fasts are obligatory as fasts, 2) when there is no\u00a0gezeiras malchus\u00a0but also not\u00a0shalom\u00a0only\u00a0Tisha b\u2019Av\u00a0is obligatory, and the rest are optional, 3) when there is\u00a0shalom\u00a0all four are\u00a0Yamim Tovim.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133194,"featured_media":40600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[345,358,360,338],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asarah-btevet","category-fast-of-shiva-asar-btammuz","category-fast-of-tisha-bav","category-tzom-gedaliah"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Four Fasts, Then &amp; 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