Hold the Gates

In Jewish tradition, a communal fast day is an auspicious time On High. This Divine favor then manifests itself in this world below, and can be intensified by man’s deeds. Maimonides writes that fasting is one of the paths of repentance, and hastens G-d’s promise: “These fast days will be transformed into days of joy and festivity.”

We fast on the 17th of Tammuz, because on that day the walls of Jerusalem were breached, leading to the destruction of both Holy Temples. Until then, the city walls remained intact. Once the walls were breached, however, the enemy was able to force its way in to the city.

The lesson: How vigilantly a person must safeguard the “fences of Torah,” the “protective walls” that surround his observance of Torah and Mitzvos. Chassidus discusses at length the whole concept of “setting fences around the Torah.” First and foremost there is the Biblical commandment: “Be holy, even in that which is permitted to you” – to be selective and refined even in that which Torah itself permits. This is a ‘fence’ commanded by Torah itself. It is a commandment on its own, but it also serves to protect all areas of one’s Jewish observance.