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Are "minor" fasts such as Taanit Esther ("Fast of Esther"; i.e. the day before Purim) or Tzom Gedaliyah ("Fast of Gedaliyah"; i.e. the day after Rosh Hashanah) optional or obligatory?

Under what conditions is one permitted to skip a minor fast?

Lee
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Ani Yodea
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  • "Are they optional or pretty much have to be followed?" Are those mutually exclusive? – Double AA Sep 28 '14 at 22:25
  • I like the old version better. – Double AA Sep 29 '14 at 14:37
  • Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/63949 – msh210 Dec 21 '15 at 19:18
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    In the comments, there is some dispute regarding the meaning of the word "optional" as you use it in your question. The answer below interprets it to mean that any individual can decide whether or not they want to fast, and they don't have any halachic compulsion to fast if they don't want to. (As such, the answer indicates that the fast is not optional and that normative halacha generally requires any given adult individual to fast - aside from some exceptions, such as people who are pregnant, nursing, ill, or otherwise cannot healthily tolerate fasting). Is this what you mean by "optional"? – Fred Dec 21 '15 at 22:55
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    Some halachic background regarding the status of the fasts of Tzom Gedalya, 10th of Teves, and the 17th of Tammuz: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/40796. – Fred Dec 21 '15 at 23:04
  • Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/17986. – Fred Dec 21 '15 at 23:07
  • Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/69636 – msh210 Mar 23 '16 at 17:31
  • See Harav Dawidh Bar-Hayim's videos on the subject: https://youtube.com/watch?v=7FqKkbN0HwQ and https://youtube.com/watch?v=Bv_MA25Xbt0 – Lee Feb 28 '18 at 06:42

1 Answers1

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Fast days are not optional. The "minor" means that they start at daybreak rather than the night before (as do tish'a b'av and yom kippur). Note the rules quoted below for when one may skip the fast (because of illness).

Yom Kippur is required by the Torah and Ta'anis Esther is connected to Purim not the destruction of the temple. Once the temple will have been rebuilt, the requirements will change, but that does not effect what we do nowadays.

There are circumstances in which one may "vow" a fast on the following day as part of the mincha prayer but that is not the case of the fasts that you were asking about.

ArtScroll footnotes 10 and 11 to Rosh Hashannah 18b1

Ritva concludes that according to all views, these fasts have been accepted by the nation and neither a community nor an individual has the right to disregard them. See also Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 550:1

Fast Days

The following rules apply to all fast days aside from Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av, which have their own rules (see our Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av guides).
...
If you are pregnant or nursing and are in pain or feel weak, do not fast on this day. If you’re ill, consult with a rabbi. But even if you are exempt from fasting, skip the delicacies and sweets for a day.

Minor Fasts Ta'anit Tzibur (תענית צבור in Hebrew)

There are five minor fasts on the Jewish calendar. With one exception, these fasts were instituted by the Sages to commemorate some national tragedy. The minor fasts (that is, all fasts except Yom Kippur and Tisha b'Av) last from dawn (first light) to nightfall (full dark), and one is permitted to eat breakfast if one arises before dawn for the purpose of doing so (but you must finish eating before first light). There is a great deal of leniency in the minor fasts for people who have medical conditions or other difficulties fasting. (emphasis mine)

Double AA
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sabbahillel
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    Actually, fast days are fundamentally optional, so this is wrong. – Double AA Sep 28 '14 at 03:07
  • @DoubleAA leniency in why one is allowed to forgo the fast does not make it "optional" which means one can decide not to fast without any reason. – sabbahillel Sep 28 '14 at 13:15
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    Thats not why i said they were optional. It's because the halacha is they are optional. (I'm not sure I agree with your definition of "optional" in general btw.) – Double AA Sep 28 '14 at 13:30
  • @DoubleAA it means one can decide not to on one's own, which is not the case here. Fasting is required unless specific exeptions set forth in the halacha are met. That is not "optional". – sabbahillel Sep 28 '14 at 16:39
  • Actually fasting nowadays is fundamentally optional as i mentioned above. In case the English isnt clear, i can translate to: רצו מתענים רצו אין מתענים which sounds like optional to me. – Double AA Sep 28 '14 at 18:34
  • @DoubleAA, what's your source for saying רצו מתענים רצו אין מתענים ? – Ani Yodea Sep 28 '14 at 19:04
  • @AniYodeya It's a direct quote from the Talmud RH 18b. – Double AA Sep 28 '14 at 20:03
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    @DoubleAA It is a line from a dispute in the time of the second temple and about megilla Taanis. it is not discussing the "minor fasts" that we observe today. In any case see Art Scroll Gemoro 18b1 botes 10 and 11. The situation was in the time of the Tannaim and the question was about sending the messengers. During that time, the tzibur had not fully accepted the fasts. The quote dealt with each community could decide not each individual. In our time the entire tzibur has accepted them as mandatory – sabbahillel Sep 28 '14 at 22:07
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    @Ani Yodeya I added the citation from the Ritva and Shulchan Oruch on the fact that it is now globally mandatory. – sabbahillel Sep 28 '14 at 22:12
  • Your answer's narrow viewpoint is very misleading, and hence poor. – Double AA Sep 29 '14 at 14:44
  • @DoubleAA, can you explain why it is misleading? – Ani Yodea Sep 29 '14 at 14:45
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    @AniYodeya I have already. He doesn't even quote the Gemara where the Ritva is not the only opinion on the matter. Leaving out opinions usually leads to a misleading sense of consensus. – Double AA Sep 29 '14 at 14:51
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    @Ani , DoubleAA I did not have the time to copy in the complete comments which go into more detail. I just quoted the final answer (as to what is done nowadays) to answer the question. The complete comments go into detail as to why it was communities and not individuals that decided in the time of the mishnah (when messengers were sent) and why we treat it as the entire Jewish community that treated it as obligatory since we now use the fixed calendar. This discussion would be a separate question. The final answer is based on the Ritva and the Shulchan Aruch. – sabbahillel Sep 29 '14 at 17:08
  • @sabbahillel Again: there are opinions that it is community based, there are opinions that it is individual based, there are opinions that it was only an option at the time of the Tannaim, there are opinions any community can change its mind, and there are opinions that even nowadays people can choose not to fast (in private at least, due to Minhag concerns). This discussion is not a separate question but the basis of a complete answer to this one. As it is now your answer is extremely narrow and hence weak, as above. – Double AA Sep 29 '14 at 17:11
  • When using an Art Scroll book on halacha, always read the Hebrew footnotes -- that is where the heterim are to be found. The English discussion is always strict. – Bruce James Dec 30 '15 at 20:56
  • @DoubleAA By the way, Even Ritva (Megillah 2a) himself states that taanit Ester must be verbally accepted (a seemingly somewhat paradoxical stance as he holds that one is required to fast anyway by force of custom. Perhaps he holds that the custom wouldn't actually carry halakhically binding weight) – mevaqesh Jul 28 '16 at 08:53
  • @sabbahillel " I just quoted the final answer (as to what is done nowadays) to answer the question" The OP did not mention anything about what is done nowadays in particular. – mevaqesh Jul 28 '16 at 08:54