Taanit Esther is different than other fast days. How so?
Other fasts that fall out on Shabbat, such as Tisha B’Av and Asara B’Tevet, are pushed off until Sunday. Why not make them earlier, on Thursday? Because, the Gemara says, אקדומי פורענותא לא מקדמינן when it’s a bad day, we push it off.
Yet when Taanit Esther comes out on Shabbat, we push it up, and make it earlier, on Thursday.
Why the change? Because Taanit Esther is different. Nothing bad happened on this day. That’s not why we fast.
We fast, Ramban says, to show us that when a Jew is in trouble, he cries out to Hashem, he fasts, and Hashem answers him.
The Megillah says part of the story is :
דברי הצומות וזעקתם
It’s not enough to say that Haman was wicked and we wiped him out or that we were saved because Mordechai was a Sadik that wouldn’t bow down.
There’s an important principle that we can’t omit.
If you leave out the fact that Jewish people fasted and prayed and were saved, you have missed the point, Ramban says.
The lesson of the Megillah is to know that when a Jew is in trouble, he fasts and calls out to Hashem. He uses very strong words:
אמת היא כי מי גוי גדול אשר אלוקים קרובים אליו ...בכל קוראינו אליו
It’s true, what the Torah says, who is the nation who G-d is close to them -whenever we call out to him.
The take away of Purim is that if we cry out to Hashem, he answers us. And that’s why we make it earlier. It’s a happy fast. We are happy because Hashem is close to us. We don’t cry. Our selichot for the day includes parts of Hallel. We can dance on Taanit Esther. We are happy that G-d is close to us. If we ask, He will take care of us.
It’s brought down in our sefarim that we should say Perek 22 of Tehilim (כב תהלים )on Taanit Esther and Purim, as this Perek was written by David HaMelech for Esther.
We should all understand the meaning of this chapter.
Esther starts off:
אֵ֭לִי לָמָ֣ה עֲזַבְתָּ֑נִי
Why’d you leave me G-d?
רָח֥וֹק מִֽ֝ישׁוּעָתִ֗י דִּבְרֵ֥י שַֽׁאֲגָתִֽי׃
I’m crying out to you, but I know You’ll come through
She continues....
בְּ֭ךָ בָּֽטְח֣וּ אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ בָּֽ֝טְח֗וּ וַֽתְּפַלְּטֵֽמוֹ׃
My fore-fathers relied on You and they were saved
אֵלֶ֣יךָ זָֽעֲק֣וּ וְנִמְלָ֑טוּ בְּךָ֖ בָֽטְח֣וּ וְלֹא־בֽוֹשׁוּ׃
They cried and they were saved. They weren’t let down.
She continues with a whole beautiful story. previously quoted:
כי אתה גחי מבטן
You took care of me from the womb.
(She was an orphan)
She adds:
יֹֽאכְל֬וּ עֲנָוִ֨ים ׀ וְיִשְׂבָּ֗עוּ יְהַֽלְל֣וּ יְ֭הוָה דֹּ֣רְשָׁ֑יו
יְחִ֖י לְבַבְכֶ֣ם לָעַֽד׃
Humble people will eat and be satiated and sing
And she finishes with...
כִּ֣י לַֽ֭יהוָה הַמְּלוּכָ֑ה וּ֝מֹשֵׁ֗ל בַּגּוֹיִֽם׃
Because we know Hashem is in charge of the world
These are beautiful words. It’s worth taking the time to say this Perek with Kavana.
The Hatam Sofer says that Esther was so sure that Hashem would make a miracle that she made the party beforehand. BeH we should all see this as Esther did.
That’s the power of Esther, the power of Taanit Esther and of Purim.
We should note that our fast wasn’t her fast. She fasted for 3 days when the decree happened. Then the Jews fasted, having gotten the lesson from Esther, in preparation for the fighting. They fasted, and we fast to show that we get the message- that we turn to G-d to pray when we are in need. We see from this that the best way to prepare for a big meeting, for example, is not by eating healthily. It’s by turning to Hashem and praying.
Furthermore, Rabbi Ades says from his father, the main reason to fast is so that you’re in the right mindset to pray to Hashem.
Let’s all pray and use these days well. May all our prayers be answered with Yeshuot for all.