An End to Fasting
Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, p. 413ff.
The Rambam concludes his discussion of the laws of the commemorative fasts with the statement:1
In the future, all of these fasts will be nullified in the era of Mashiach. Moreover, they will become festivals and days of rejoicing and celebration, as it is written:2 “So says the L-rd of Hosts: 'The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth month, the fast of the seventh month, and the fast of the tenth month3 will be [days of] rejoicing and celebration and festivals for the House of Judah; and they will love truth and peace.’ ”
The source for the Rambam’s statement is the Tosefta,4 but the wording employed by that source is slightly different: “These days will become festivals for Israel in the future as it is written….” The Rambam’s change of wording thus raises the following questions:
a) Why does the Rambam couple his statements, “these fasts will be nullified…. Moreover, they will become festivals,” instead of using the concise wording employed by the Tosefta?
b) Why does the Rambam omit the phrase “for Israel” employed by the Tosefta ? Seemingly, it is a necessary addition. For the simple meaning of the prooftext employed by the Rambam implies an exclusion — that the fast days will become festivals only for “the House of Judah” and not for the other ten tribes. However, in the era of Mashiach, the entire Jewish people, even the ten tribes, will celebrate these festivals.5
c) What purpose is served by including the conclusion of the prooftext: “And they will love truth and peace”?
It can be explained that the resolutions of the second and third questions are interrelated. The Rambam mentions “truth and peace” to offset the exclusion implied by the term “the House of Judah.”
To explain: There is reason to say that the celebrations on the fast days in this future era should be restricted to “the House of Judah,” because it is they who suffered the most difficulty through our extended exile. The ten tribes were exiled beyond the Sambation River6 and remained there untroubled. The “House of Judah,” by contrast, has experienced countless travails in its exile. Since it is the experience of the sorrows of exile which make the celebrations of the Redemption greater, one might think that it is only they, and not the other ten tribes, who will celebrate on these days in the Era of the Redemption.
To counter this supposition, the Rambam mentions the final clause of the prooftext: “And they will love truth and peace.” Because of the peace and unity that will permeate the Jewish people in the Era of the Redemption, the happiness that will be experienced by “the House of Judah” will be shared by the other ten tribes.
The concept that it is the experience of the sorrows of exile which make the celebrations of the Redemption greater enables us to appreciate three dimensions of the commemoration of the fast days in the Era of the Redemption:
a) There will be no need to fast. As our Sages comment7 on the prooftext quoted above: “If there is peace, there is no fasting.” In the everlasting peace of the Era of the Redemption, the fasts will be nullified entirely.8
b) The days will become festivals. This is a direct result of the nullification of the sorrows of exile. For departing from a situation of sorrow and difficulty itself leads to joy.
c) The negative dimension of the fast itself will become transformed into good, as it is written:9 “And I will transform your mourning to happiness, I will comfort you, and I will grant you joy from your sorrow.”10
The Rambam states11 that “fasting is one of the paths of teshuvah. ” Thus we find parallels to the three concepts stated above with regard to teshuvah motivated by love:
a) Through teshuvah motivated by love, a sin can be purged entirely.12
b) Teshuvah motivated by love prompts a person to increase his good deeds more than is necessary to receive atonement for any one particular sin.13 Not only is the negative dimension of the sin removed, teshuvah provides an impetus to good.
c) Teshuvah motivated by love transforms one’s sins into merits,14 i.e., not only does teshuvah prompt a person to increase his merits as a whole, it also transforms his previous conduct into merit.
Teshuvah is also the catalyst which will bring about the Redemption, as the Rambam writes:15 “The Torah has promised… that Israel will turn to G‑d in teshuvah, and immediately she will be redeemed.” Not only will teshuvah lead to the Redemption as a whole, but it will precipitate many of the particular dimensions of the Redemption, including the transformation of the commemorative fasts. Thus the three motifs mentioned with regard to teshuvah are reflected in the three positive dimensions of the commemoration of the fast days that will be revealed in the Era of the Redemption.16
On this basis, we can resolve the first question mentioned above. The Rambam mentions both the negation and the transformation of the commemorative fasts, for each represents another dimension of the uniqueness of the Era of the Redemption. By stating that the fasts “will be nullified in the era of Mashiach,” the Rambam emphasizes the first level, the removal of the sorrow for which we are required to fast. As a direct result, we will experience joy, the second of the factors mentioned above. But by mentioning in a second clause that these fasts “will become festivals and days of rejoicing” and by quoting the prooftext which states that “The fast[s]… will be [days of] rejoicing and celebration,” the Rambam points to the most complete transformation: that the negative dimension of the fast days itself will become a positive influence.17
The two clauses in the Rambam’s expression also relate to a concept of a greater scope. As explained on several occasions,18 according to the Rambam, there will be two periods in the Era of the Redemption:
a) One period of which it is said:19 “There is no difference between the present era and the era of Mashiach, except [Israel’s] subjugation to the [gentile] powers.” In that era, “there will be no change in the order of creation. Instead, the world will follow according to its pattern”;20 and
b) A second period following the Resurrection of the Dead when the natural order will give way to a miraculous pattern.
It is possible to explain that the first clause cited above, that the fasts will be nullified — and as a natural consequence, they will be characterized by happiness — will be fulfilled in the first period of the Era of the Redemption. In the second period, when all good will reach its fullest expression, the fasts themselves will be transformed into days of celebration. May this take place in the immediate future.
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