Historical background
During the time of King Ahasuerus, Haman the wicked managed to decree (as will be explained in detail later) – to destroy and kill all the Jews on the 13th of Adar. Mordecai the Jew asks Queen Esther to approach the king and try to cancel the decree, but she hesitates.
After convincing her, she asks of him: ‘Go, gather all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink for three days.’
Mordecai arouses a sense of repentance in the hearts of the people, and they begin a three-day fast – the 14th, 15th, and 16th of Nissan (they even fasted on the night of the Seder!) in order to remove the evil of the decree.
After a series of downfalls, Haman receives his due and is hanged on a tall tree fifty cubits high. Esther pleads with King Ahasuerus to cancel Haman’s decree, and the king issues an ‘urgent decree’ to all his Jewish subjects in which he grants special permission to defend against their enemies and kill them.
On the 13th of Adar, the very day Haman planned to exterminate the Jewish people, the Jews fought all their enemies and killed them. Those who could not fight stayed in the synagogues and prayed to the Lord that the war would pass peacefully.
To commemorate these days of fasting, our sages of blessed memory established the 13th of Adar as a fixed annual fast day, on which the Jews will gather together, pray, awaken to repentance, approach the Creator of the world, and strengthen their commitment to fulfilling the Torah and its commandments.
The Fast
One must not eat or drink from the ‘break of dawn’ of the day of ‘Fast of Esther’ until ‘the stars come out’ of it, and even someone who mistakenly ate or drank during the fast, must continue to fast until its end. Also, one should not rinse the mouth or brush the teeth.
The times for the beginning and end of the fast can be found on the Hebrew calendar or online.
- Pregnant women, nursing women, or people who find it difficult to fast due to health reasons and the like – should consult with a rabbi who will instruct them on how to behave.
The ‘official’ day of the ‘Fast of Esther’ is the 13th of Adar, but in years when the 13th of Adar falls on Shabbat, we advance the fast to Thursday, the 11th of Adar.
