Siman 686, Se'if 2 · The problem with the name "Taanis Esther"

Shulchan Aruch, Siman 686, se'if 2

"We fast on the thirteenth of Adar. And if Purim falls on Sunday, we move the fast up to Thursday."

(Shulchan Aruch)

The problem with the name "Taanis Esther"

• The fast described in the Megillah: Esther and all the Jews fasted for three days in the month of Nissan, either on the 13th, 14th and 15th of Nissan or on the 14th, 15th and 16th, depending on how you work out the calculation.
• The fast we actually keep: Our fast is a single day, the thirteenth of Adar.
• The gap between the two: They do not match in date, they do not match in the number of days, and they do not match in the reason. So the name "Taanis Esther" is inaccurate from the start, and there is really no connection between our fast and the fast that Esther decreed.

The minhag of Eretz Yisrael: three fasts after Purim

• The source: Maseches Sofrim records that our Rabbis in the West, meaning in Eretz Yisrael, would fast three days immediately after Purim: Monday, Thursday and Monday.
• The reason: It was a commemoration of the three fasts kept in Esther's day. Since we do not fast during Nissan, the original date was not an option, so they set the commemoration as close to Nissan as they could, right after Purim.
• Our minhag is different: We fast on the thirteenth of Adar, and the source for that practice is the Babylonian Talmud and the writings of the Geonim.

The source for fasting on the thirteenth of Adar

• No explicit source: Neither the Gemara nor the Midrashim contain a single word about a fast on the thirteenth of Adar. It is not mentioned in Maseches Megillah, where you would most expect it, and it is not mentioned in Maseches Taanis, which deals with fasts for rain and fasts declared in times of trouble.
• If anything, the opposite: In Megillas Taanis the thirteenth of Adar is Yom Nikanor, a festive day, not a fast day at all.
• The Geonim's explanation: It was the Geonim who anchored this fast in a single line in the Babylonian Talmud.

The derashah of "bizmaneihem" and the villages that read early

• The extra word in the verse: The verse says "to observe these days of Purim bizmaneihem," in their times, and not "bizmanam," in its time. From the plural "bizmaneihem" Chazal learned that there are additional days on which the Megillah may be read, beyond the 14th and the 15th.
• The villagers read early, on the market day: In the time of Chazal, the villagers, who had no minyan and no one who knew how to read the Megillah, were permitted to read on the 11th, the 12th or the 13th of Adar. This halachah does not apply nowadays, apart from exceptional cases.
• The Gemara's question: The plural "bizmaneihem" teaches two extra times, the 11th and the 12th. From where do we know that the 13th is also a valid day to read?

"The thirteenth is a day of assembly for everyone"

"The thirteenth is a day of assembly for everyone."

(Maseches Megillah)

• The explanation: No special derivation is needed for the thirteenth of Adar, since the Megillah itself says, "The Jews assembled in their cities to stand for their lives and had rest from their enemies."
• Why it is obvious that the Megillah could be read then: The 14th and the 15th are the days of rest from the fighting, in Shushan and everywhere else, but the 13th is the day of the battle itself, the day on which the whole story happened. It is therefore self evident that back then they permitted reading the Megillah on that day.

The Geonim's explanation: those who fought and those who prayed

• The question in the wording of the verse: Who exactly are "the Jews assembled in their cities"? The fighters were busy fighting. What were those who could not fight doing?
• The proof from the war with Amalek: The Geonim bring the Midrash on the war with Amalek, where Yehoshua goes out to battle at the head of the army while Moshe, Aharon and Chur go up to the top of the hill.

"And Moshe, Aharon and Chur went up to the top of the hill... and it was, when Moshe raised his hand, Yisrael prevailed."

(Shemos)

• What they did on the hilltop: They prayed, and Aharon and Chur supported Moshe's hands, one on this side and one on that side. According to the Midrash they did not only pray, they also fasted.
• The practical conclusion: Whoever can fight, fights; whoever cannot fight, prays and fasts. If so, a "day of assembly" is not only the day of the battle, it is also a day of fasting and prayer for those who did not go out to fight, and that was the thirteenth of Adar.
• A commemoration of that event: That is why the Geonim established a fast on the thirteenth of Adar, in memory of that fast.

An ancient minhag: three at the amud on a fast day

• The practice: There was an old custom that on a fast day the shaliach tzibbur stood at the amud with one man to his right and one to his left.
• Its source: It corresponds to Moshe who prayed, with Aharon and Chur supporting his hands, even though they were holding up his hands rather than standing beside him in prayer.
• Today: This custom has fallen away and is no longer practiced.

Conclusion: a fast of war, not the fast of Esther

• The character of the fast: According to this explanation it is the fast of a day of battle, kept by the entire nation that is not fighting, and not the fast that Esther decreed.
• Other names: Some of the early authorities do not call it "Taanis Esther" at all, but by another name, such as "Taanis Mordechai."
• How the name arose: Someone who reads the Megillah and does not follow the calculation of the dates sees that Esther decreed a fast, and attributes our fast to her. It is a distortion that developed over the generations, like people who say that Chavah ate an apple from the Tree of Knowledge, which has no basis at all.

The nature of this fast and its standing

A fast not mentioned in the sources

• The leniency: Since this fast is not mentioned in the Gemara or in the Midrashim, some are somewhat lenient with it.
• Compared with the fasts of the Churban: The fasts we keep over the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and the beginning of the siege of Yerushalayim are mentioned in the sources, and even in Tanach, at least with regard to the first Beis Hamikdash, and are therefore on stronger footing.
• Taanis bechoros: The fast of the firstborn is also not mentioned explicitly, but it has clearer hints, in the Yerushalmi and even a certain allusion in the Bavli, that the firstborn would fast on erev Pesach.

Two fasts that are exceptions

• They ended well: Most fasts are over destruction and over terrible events, whereas Taanis Esther and taanis bechoros both ended well: on Taanis Esther the Jews were victorious, and on taanis bechoros the firstborn of Egypt died and the firstborn of Israel were saved.
• Moved earlier, not later: The four fasts, when they fall on Shabbos, are pushed off to Sunday, while Taanis Esther and taanis bechoros are moved up to an earlier day.
• The reason: The rule is that we do not bring calamity forward, and therefore Tishah B'Av, a fast of calamity, is not moved earlier but pushed later. With these two fasts we do not say that, because they mark a victory of Israel, and there is no problem in bringing them forward.

Did they fast in Eretz Yisrael while the Beis Hamikdash stood?

• The claim: Some scholars argue that in Eretz Yisrael they did not keep Taanis Esther as long as the Beis Hamikdash stood, since Megillas Taanis was still in force, and the thirteenth of Adar is Yom Nikanor, on which fasting is impossible.
• In Bavel: Perhaps in Bavel they did fast, and perhaps they never accepted it; this is a dispute among the scholars.
• After the Churban: After the Churban, Megillas Taanis was annulled, and that is an entirely different story. About the earliest years we simply have no clear testimony.

Esther's fast in Nissan: a temporary ruling

• The difficulty: The fast Esther decreed fell out on Pesach, and it is forbidden to fast on Yom Tov and even on Chol Hamoed.
• The Gemara's answer: From the words "and Mordechai passed" the Gemara derives that he transgressed the law, as Rashi explains; that is, because of pikuach nefesh he permitted fasting on Pesach.
• Other answers: Some explain that they ate less than a shiur, and there are further answers as to how this fits with the laws of Yom Tov, but fundamentally it was a temporary ruling for that moment.
• What this means for us: For us there is no justification whatsoever to fast in Nissan. Had the fast been in another month we would have fasted on the very same date; since fasting in Nissan is impossible, the fast was set for the thirteenth of Adar.

The Mishnah Berurah's wording on the reason for the fast and its name

"We fast on the thirteenth of Adar, because in the days of Mordechai and Esther they assembled on the thirteenth of Adar to fight their enemies, and they needed to plead for mercy and supplication that Hashem help them take revenge on their enemies. And we find that on a day of battle they would fast, for our Rabbis of blessed memory said that Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, fasted on the day he fought Amalek."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 2)

• The basis: The Mishnah Berurah, and the Geonim before him, establish that we have no explicit testimony about a fast in the days of Mordechai and Esther, but since this is the way that the non fighting public prays and fasts, they certainly did so then as well.

"And it is called Taanis Esther in order to remember that Hashem sees and hears every person in his time of trouble, when he fasts and returns to Hashem with all his heart, as was done in those days."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 2)

• The reservation implicit in his words: The Mishnah Berurah himself is aware that the name does not really fit, since Esther is not the central figure of this fast; the whole Jewish people is. The name remained as it had already become established, and the lesson we draw from it is that a person in trouble should fast and pray to the Ribbono shel Olam to help him.

When Purim falls on Sunday

• The case: When Purim falls on Sunday, meaning the Megillah is read on Motzaei Shabbos, the thirteenth of Adar comes out on Shabbos, and fasting is impossible.
• The ruling: We move the fast up to Thursday, and not to Friday.

"To fast on Thursday; but on erev Shabbos we do not establish a fast in the first place... because on a fast day people are accustomed to say selichos and supplications, and on erev Shabbos this cannot be done, since they would then be unable to prepare for Shabbos."

(Mishnah Berurah, s.k. 3)

• Explaining the reason: On a fast day people stay longer in shul for selichos and supplications, leaving no time for Shabbos preparations. Nowadays the selichos and supplications of Taanis Esther are short, three piyutim, "Shema Koleinu" and a bit more, about ten minutes; but in their day they said far more, and it took a great deal of time.

The Sephardic minhag to fast on Friday

• The practice: The Radvaz and others report that in their locale the custom was to keep Taanis Esther specifically on Friday rather than Thursday, and that is what they did in such a year.
• The reasoning behind it: Friday is closer to Purim. As for the Shabbos preparations, they managed, either by shortening the selichos or in some other way.
• The period: This was the practice in earlier eras, and it is not our minhag.

One who ate on Thursday by mistake

"And one who was traveling and forgot that people fast on Thursday and ate, and at night came home and heard that everyone had fasted that day, should fast the next day, on erev Shabbos."

(Mishnah Berurah)

• What this proves: Strictly speaking, Friday is the proper time, and moving the fast up to Thursday is a concession for the sake of Shabbos preparations.
• In practice: Someone who missed Thursday cannot claim that he is exempt from the fast; he fasts on Friday.

Giving a shiur or a derashah on Taanis Esther

"The Maharil would not deliver a halachah lecture on Taanis Esther, because people are busy buying what they need for Purim."

(Mishnah Berurah)

• The reason: This refers to an ordinary year, when the fast is erev Purim. The fast itself is no obstacle to learning; some even say that when a person is not eating his mind is clearer. The issue is the pressure of preparations: the Purim seudah, mishloach manos and matanos la'evyonim, and one should not hold up those who are learning from making their preparations.
• The hint he cited: The Mishnah Berurah mentions that the Maharil gave a hint for this but does not quote it. The hint is from the verse in the Megillah, "Esther does not tell," that is, one does not say divrei Torah on this day.

"And it seems to me that all this applies to one who goes to the yeshivah, but the regular learning in the beis midrash is not included in this."

(Eliyah Rabbah, cited in the Mishnah Berurah)

• The distinction: A fixed shiur held every morning is not included in this. The case is someone who goes specially to a yeshivah or kollel and learns there for three, four or five hours, and thereby loses the chance to prepare what is needed for the seudah.
• Two reasons for the distinction: A set commitment to Torah is not cancelled; and with a fixed shiur you know it is one hour and then it is over, with no concern that it will drag on, unlike going off to the yeshivah, which has no clear beginning and no clear end.

We do not say Tzidkascha

"We do not say Tzidkascha on the Shabbos when Purim falls on the following day."

(Mishnah Berurah)

• The reason: Just as we do not say Tachanun on erev Purim when it is a weekday, so too we do not say Tzidkascha at Minchah on the Shabbos before Purim.
• Likewise: We do not say Tziduk Hadin on erev Purim, as we have already learned.

In passing · Asarah B'Teves, remembering Amalek, and taanis bechoros

1. Asarah B'Teves as the most stringent of the fasts

• The exception: Asarah B'Teves is the only fast that we do keep on a Friday; it is not moved from its place.
• The reason: Of it the verse says, "On this very day the king of Bavel drew near to Yerushalayim," and since it says "on this very day," its date is not shifted.
• The Abudraham's words: Had this fast fallen on Shabbos, we would have had to fast even on Shabbos, like Yom Kippur.
• How the calendar is arranged: The calendar was deliberately arranged so that Asarah B'Teves never falls on Shabbos, so that the question never arises. In any case, the very existence of the debate shows that in a certain respect it is more stringent than all the other fasts.

2. Why specifically Amalek: the parable of the boiling bath

• The question: Many nations fought against Israel. Why were we commanded to wipe out the memory of Amalek in particular?
• The parable: A scalding hot bath, steam rising from it, and nobody dares to get in out of fear. One man comes along and jumps in. He is badly burned, but in the process he cools the water, and from then on everyone gets in.
• The lesson: After the Exodus and the miracles performed for Israel, nobody had the nerve to fight them. Amalek was the first to fight, and it was Amalek who cooled things off.
• The wording of the verse: "Who happened upon you on the way," from the word "kar," cold, that he made Israel cold, no longer a consuming fire that the nations feared. And therefore, "you shall not forget."

3. A siyum masechta in place of taanis bechoros

• The practice today: The firstborn do not fast on erev Pesach; they take part in a siyum masechta instead. One who did not take part in a siyum must fast, exactly like the halachah stated here, that one who did not fast on Thursday fasts on Friday.
• The story Rav Sa'adi told: A soldier who was a bechor came to the rav and said that on erev Pesach he would not be able to get to a siyum because of an exercise, and asked whether he could fast instead.
• The inversion: The question itself reveals that people think the siyum is the primary obligation and the fast is the substitute; they have no grasp of what is primary and what is secondary.