For some people, the concept of fasting for 24-25 hours can be a difficult aspect of Tisha B’Av or any of the other holidays observed with fasting throughout the year.
Obviously if one has health reasons or other reasons not to fast, that is a personal decision between that individual and his understanding of his faith and relationship with the Lord. Some choose to fast, perhaps others not so much, but it is a personal decision that some choose to take on once a year on Tisha B’Av in honor of the history that has taken place on this day which can be reviewed in previous Shalom Adventure articles.
“After all, rather than fasting all day, shouldn’t I be out trying to fix the brokenness that is all around us? As Jews we are commanded to not remain indifferent to the sufferings in our midst, but instead to do the holy work of Tikun Olam (the repair of the world),” one person wrote about the concept of fasting on this day.
“Fasting all day isn’t fixing anything in the world - it’s only making me grouchy, tired and short tempered! But then, while studying here in Jerusalem where my family and I are for the summer, I heard a teaching that radically transformed my understanding of this day: on Tisha B’Av, we fast and we mourn so that for one day a year we can do nothing but call out the injustices and the brokenness all around us. On every other day we are commanded to be involved in their repair, but on this day we instead just cry.”
Written by Erin Parfet
