Laws of the Fasts for Women - Rabbi Menachem Mendel Harel shlita

00:02 Speaker 1 You’re listening to “Lemaan Yishme’u,” a podcast from Machon Halacha Chabad.

00:09 Speaker 2 The prophet says: “Thus says Hashem: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth month,” and so on, “will become times of joy and gladness and happy festivals for the house of Judah.” The prophet foretells that the four fasts accepted in the wake of the destruction will, in the future, be abolished and become Yom Tov, days of joy and gladness. The first of the four fasts marks the day the king of Babylonia laid siege to Jerusalem: the fast of 10 Teves. The second is the fast of 17 Tammuz, when the wall was breached and the city was broken into. The third is Tisha B’Av, when both Batei Mikdash, the House of our G-d, were destroyed. The fourth and final fast is Tzom Gedaliah. Gedaliah ben Achikam, who had remained in Eretz Yisroel with those who had survived, was killed on Rosh Hashanah, so a fast was instituted immediately after Rosh Hashanah, because it was then that the remnant of Judah still in Eretz Yisroel went into exile. These fasts are meant to awaken a person’s heart to do teshuvah before his Creator. When a person fasts and feels the discomfort of the fast, his heart, too, is humbled and awakened. When he reflects on the meaning of the day, he is moved to do teshuvah and return to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That is the point of a fast. A fast is not just about not eating; it is meant to awaken the heart to why the fast came about, and through that, to correct the cause of the fast. When we correct the cause, we thereby correct the result—the destruction and the exile—and then the Geulah comes. At this time, we wait with expectation, faith and confidence that Moshiach Tzidkeinu will arrive immediately, take all the Jewish people to Eretz Yisroel, to the holy city of Jerusalem, and build the Beis Hamikdash there in its place. Then the fasts will turn into joy and gladness and happy festivals. But as long as we are waiting for that moment, the laws of the fasts apply in full, each fast according to its particular rules. In general, it is important to know that the fasts fall into several categories. The most stringent fast

03:18 Speaker 2 of the four is Tisha B’Av. Then come the three fasts of 10 Teves, 17 Tammuz and Tzom Gedaliah. Some poskim are more lenient regarding Tzom Gedaliah. After those comes Taanis Esther, which is not one of the four fasts. In fact, it is described more as a fast of joy, a fast of thanks to Hashem for answering the Jewish people in their time of distress. Through their fasting and crying out, and in the merit of the fast through which they returned to Hashem in teshuvah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu accepted their prayers and they defeated their enemies. So this fast even has more of an element of joy. The practical difference is that the stringency of each fast determines how strict we must be in a given situation—whether someone is exempt from a fast or may be lenient, depending on which of the fasts mentioned above it is. There are general laws that apply to fasting, and each fast also has its own particular details. Let’s first discuss what applies to fasts in general. The fasts of 10 Teves, 17 Tammuz, Tzom Gedaliah and Taanis Esther are daytime fasts only—from dawn until nightfall. Eating and drinking are permitted the night before. There are no preparatory days before these fasts, like the Nine Days before Tisha B’Av, and once the fast ends, its restrictions do not continue. This differs from Tisha B’Av, which has laws that continue after the fast. As we mentioned, all the fasts are, as the Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya, a time especially suited to a wondrous revelation of the Divine will upon every Jewish man and woman who fasts. So it is also a time to give more tzedakah. First and foremost, because “Zion will be redeemed through justice, and those who return to her through tzedakah.” Tzedakah hastens the Geulah, which is what we pray for on a fast day. As we said earlier, quoting the prophet, we ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu to turn the fasts into times of joy and gladness and happy festivals. That will happen

05:53 Speaker 2 with the Geulah, very soon indeed. Another reason is that we do not keep for ourselves the money we would have spent on a meal; we give it to the poor. In other words, a person has not merely fasted and saved some money—he has used that money to sustain a poor person. So the fast, which diminishes his own flesh and blood, together with giving the money he could have spent on food to the poor, certainly makes for a great deed as part of the fast, drawing down a great blessing from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The fasts we mentioned—10 Teves, 17 Tammuz, Tzom Gedaliah and Taanis Esther—begin at dawn and end at nightfall. Eating and drinking are permitted the night before. At the same time, according to some poskim, once a person goes to sleep, he may no longer eat. So before going to sleep, one should make a condition: if I wake up during the night, before the fast begins, and want to eat or drink, I may do so. This condition allows the person to eat and drink before the fast begins. If someone forgot to make the condition, he cannot eat, but he may drink until dawn. If someone accidentally ate or drank after the fast began—whether in the morning, at midday or in the afternoon—there is no such thing as saying, “I’ve broken my fast.” Halacha asks: If a person ate garlic and his breath smells unpleasant, should he eat more garlic so his breath smells even worse? Does making one mistake permit him to make another? As we said, the fast lasts from the beginning of the day until nightfall. So if someone accidentally ate or drank, it was a mistake. There are certain practical implications, depending on how much he ate or drank, for matters such as being called up to the Torah and the like. But as for permission

08:27 Speaker 2 to continue eating and drinking, if the person is healthy, there is absolutely no permission to do so. The mistake has already happened; he or she cannot continue eating and drinking. All these fasts are observed only when they fall on a weekday. If they fall on Shabbos or Friday, they are postponed. The fasts of 17 Tammuz and Tzom Gedaliah are postponed from Friday or Shabbos to Sunday. Taanis Esther is moved earlier. But 10 Teves is observed on whichever day of the week it falls—so much so that even if it fell on Shabbos, we would fast on Shabbos. Why is 10 Teves so stringent? Because that is when the troubles began. Since the troubles began on that day, when the king of Babylonia laid siege to Jerusalem, it was treated with great stringency. The prophet says of it: “On this very day, the king of Babylonia laid siege to Jerusalem.” The words “on this very day” are used here, and the words “on this very day” are used regarding Yom Kippur. Just as we fast on Yom Kippur regardless of which day of the week it falls on, so too we fast on 10 Teves regardless of which day of the week it falls on. In practice, under the fixed Jewish calendar, 10 Teves can never fall on Shabbos, but it can fall on Friday. Once every few years, 10 Teves falls on Friday, and when it does, we fast until nightfall. What is the practical difference? Some communities daven early on Fridays during the year, at what is called plag, and make Kiddush early. But when 10 Teves falls on Friday, they cannot do that. Everyone waits until nightfall, and only then can they make Kiddush. A common issue generally arises in Tishrei, when people fly to 770 on Tzom Gedaliah. Ideally, the best thing is not to buy a plane ticket for a public fast day. Why? Because

10:52 Speaker 2 When someone flies from Israel to the United States, the day gets longer. Even after the fast has ended in Israel, for the person on the plane it is still daytime. What should he do? The halachic authorities differ on how to rule in such a case, but the view of most authorities is that, in the first instance, as long as it is daytime and the sun is shining, wherever he may be, it is still the fast day for him. So the recommendation is not to buy a ticket for such a date. If someone has already bought a ticket and is now unsure what to do about the fast, he should call a rabbi for guidance. The rabbi will need to understand his health situation and so on, and will tell him how to proceed. A fast day is a day for awakening to teshuvah, so it is not a day for outings or vacations. On the contrary, a person should strengthen his recitation of Tehillim and study subjects connected with the fast day and its meaning. One should therefore definitely avoid going on outings or to swimming pools for pleasure on a fast day. But someone with a health need—for example, a person whose doctor has instructed him to walk every day, and who takes that walk somewhere scenic—may do so on a fast day as well. Likewise, someone who needs to swim in a pool for medical reasons may go swimming even on a fast day. As noted, we are speaking here only about the fasts of 10 Teves, 17 Tammuz, Tzom Gedaliah, and Taanis Esther. We are certainly not speaking about Tisha B’Av, which has entirely different laws. Our custom is not to rinse out the mouth on a fast day, as stated in Hayom Yom. Therefore, we do not brush our teeth on the morning of a fast day. But—and this “but” is important—some men or women are very troubled by their breath because it has a very strong odor, and this makes them very uncomfortable. So

13:12 Speaker 2 in such a situation, one may permit the use of mouthwash—specifically mouthwash, rather than brushing one’s teeth as usual. The reason is that mouthwash is very bitter and not fit even for a dog to drink. If a person accidentally swallows a few drops, that would not be considered drinking on a fast day. But when someone brushes with toothpaste and then rinses out his mouth, he may well swallow water, which means he has drunk on a fast day, something one should not do in the first instance. On the other hand, on these fast days one may bathe and use perfume or deodorant. There is no restriction on that for the fasts we are discussing. On these fast days, it is very important that someone who owns a restaurant not open it. But if it is a restaurant where people who are ill come to eat, and the owner knows that it primarily serves such people and is the only place where they will eat, he should consult a rabbi. Usually, in such a situation, there is room to permit him to open, at least partially. Another situation in which a restaurant may open is if it is the only kosher restaurant in the area and the people coming to eat will eat somewhere regardless: if they come to this restaurant, they will eat kosher food, but if it is closed, they will go somewhere non-kosher. In that situation, he may open the restaurant so that they will eat kosher food. A woman may prepare food for children on a fast day. There is no problem with preparing food for children. And as we said earlier, washing is permitted as usual, so it is certainly also permitted to wash dishes, wash the floors, and put on loads of laundry. On these fast days, there is no prohibition against doing any of the ordinary tasks of life, including those connected with food and drink. What is prohibited on all the fasts we have mentioned is eating and drinking, or activities done for pleasure. Everything else is permitted.

15:35 Speaker 2 On a public fast day, the prayers up to Shemoneh Esrei are as usual. We say Tachanun, of course, including in Korbanos. Since the purpose of the fast is to pray to Hashem, to awaken ourselves and ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu for mercy in the merit of our fasting, the Aneinu prayer was added to the fast-day prayers. At Shacharis, Aneinu is said only by the chazzan during his repetition of the Amidah. There are communities that also say it in the silent Amidah at Shacharis, but our custom is that at Shacharis only the chazzan says it, in his repetition. At Minchah, everyone who is fasting says Aneinu in Shema Koleinu. The chazzan says Aneinu as a separate blessing in the Amidah, as set out in the siddur. At Minchah, an individual—even a woman praying alone at home—also says Aneinu within Shema Koleinu. One should look in the siddur to see where Aneinu is added; the concluding blessing is Shomeia Tefillah. Even someone who is not fasting, or a woman who is not fasting, adds Aneinu within Shema Koleinu at Minchah. The prayer concerns the public fast itself. A person who is not fasting is not refraining from the fast because he rejects it; he is not fasting because the Torah and halachah exempt him from fasting today. But he is still part of the fasting community. Since a fast day is a time of Divine favor, the special prayer of Avinu Malkeinu was also instituted after Shemoneh Esrei. “Our Father, our King, we have sinned before You. Our Father, our King, we have no king but You,” and so on. In it, we ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu for abundant mercy and for everything concerning the life of each individual Jew and the life of the Jewish people as a whole. This prayer is said both individually and with a congregation. In other words, a woman praying by herself at home, even without an Aron Kodesh, may say it. Likewise, a person praying alone at home says

18:07 Speaker 2 this prayer. Even if he is praying alone in a shul, he says it without opening the Aron Kodesh. Only a congregation opens the Aron Kodesh for Avinu Malkeinu. In addition to Avinu Malkeinu, we recite Selichos. Unlike the Selichos before Rosh Hashanah, during the days of preparation for Rosh Hashanah, which are customarily said early in the morning before davening, the Selichos for the fast days are said during davening. It is very important for a woman who has the time to say these Selichos. The siddurim contain Selichos for 10 Teves, 17 Tammuz, Tzom Gedaliah, and Taanis Esther. One should follow the order of the Selichos as printed in the siddur and say them accordingly. Usually, on weekdays, a woman davens at home rather than in shul with a minyan. She therefore skips all the passages of “And Hashem passed before him and proclaimed”—the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy—and does not say them. She may say all of “Keil Melech” and “Keil Erech Apayim,” but she skips the verse containing the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. Someone who wishes may read it silently with her eyes. That is also an option, but the words are not said aloud except with a congregation and a minyan. Who is obligated to fast, and who is exempt? Every man over the age of thirteen and every woman over the age of twelve is obligated to fast. It is important to mention that there is no reason for children under the age of thirteen or twelve to observe these fasts—not even a week before their thirteenth or twelfth birthday. These fasts are for those who have passed those ages: thirteen for men and twelve for women. But someone who is ill is exempt from fasting. So a person suffering from various illnesses, certainly if

20:35 Speaker 2 We may be talking about a chronic illness, G-d forbid, but even if it is a milder illness, the person is exempt from these fasts, whether a man or a woman. There is no reason to be stringent and fast where we were not commanded to fast. Pregnant and nursing women are therefore exempt from these fasts. I’ll name them again: 17 Tammuz, 3 Tishrei, 10 Teves, and the Fast of Esther. There is no reason for them even to begin the fast, particularly pregnant women and women who are actively nursing. As for a woman who is not actually nursing but is still within two years of giving birth, she should generally consult a rabbi to assess her specific situation and whether there are grounds to permit her not to fast. Sometimes a person is generally healthy but has a certain physical weakness that could cause them to become ill as a result of fasting. In other words, this person needs to eat regularly, with regular meals every day; otherwise, they experience severe weakness that could lead to illness. In that situation, the person should eat small amounts at a time, what we call measured amounts. But as I said, if they feel themselves growing weak and becoming ill even while eating measured amounts, they should call—generally, it is best to call a rabbi and ask how to proceed. But if, for some reason, there is no one to ask, they should know that if illness and weakness come upon them, they are immediately exempt from the fast and may eat and drink normally. This is very common among women, especially young women who become very, very weak, also because of women’s health issues. So if she feels great weakness as a result of the fast, again, it is best to call a rabbi and consult him about her specific situation. But if she cannot reach a rabbi, and she becomes weak—how can we gauge the weakness? If the weakness means she has to lie down because her whole body has become completely weak, then

22:57 Speaker 2 in that situation she may eat and drink. But it is always best to consult a rabbi before taking action, to determine what applies in the specific case. Finding a fast difficult—saying, “It’s hard for me to fast”—does not count as illness. Every man and woman should plan wisely before the fast and prepare for it properly. Of course, if they are healthy, they may take fast-aid supplements or other things that help strengthen the body before the fast so they can fast. On the one hand, we are lenient with someone who is ill, and we exempt pregnant and nursing women from the outset; we also allow someone who becomes ill not to continue fasting. At the same time, simply wanting not to fast because fasting is difficult is not grounds for an exemption. Each person should therefore do what they can to observe these fasts properly and share in the community’s distress. Ultimately, it is important to remember that through these fasts, a person expresses their sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem and their desire that Hakadosh Boruch Hu have mercy on us and redeem us. So someone who is halachically exempt is exempt, and there is no need to be stringent. Someone who is obligated to fast cannot simply grant themselves a leniency. It is important to know that a bride and groom whose seven days of sheva brachos include a public fast must fast like everyone else. And I’ll mention a point I did not mention earlier: even someone who is permitted to eat and drink on a fast day, and needs to do so, should eat and drink only what is necessary to sustain the body, not delicacies or sweets and the like. They eat the food they need to sustain themselves, but treats are unnecessary even for someone exempt from the fast. Of course, if, G-d forbid, someone has diabetes or a similar condition and needs to eat sweet things, they certainly may. I mean an ordinary case—someone with a

25:12 Speaker 2 common illness, or a woman exempt from the fast because she is pregnant or nursing, does not need to eat sweets to sustain the baby and so on.