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The Torah Learning Library of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah

Category: Taanit

Why Do We Fast?

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 30, 2015

Why do we fast? The general understanding is that it acts as a spur for teshuvah, repentance. This explanation works for the fast days examined in the Talmudic tractate of Ta’anit – fasting during times of drought, locust, and the like – but what about the fast days that commemorate tragic historical events?…