The fast of Esther which takes place the day before the festival of Purim is a peculiar fast, what is the reason for this day? It seems strange that a fast should be adjoined to such a happy day like Purim. In the times of the story of Purim the Jewish people went to war against their enemies. As a result of this war the Jews probably fasted and therefore the Rabbis decided to institute a fast day nowadays too.
Many people mistakenly think that this fast is to commemorate the three days of fasting which Esther requested from the Jewish people in the story of Esther but this is not the case as these fasts took place in the month of Nissan.
The war which took place on this day was the result of a letter from king Achashverosh saying the Jews could have a day of fighting their enemies, it was dangerous, not like at the beginning of the Purim story where there was a decree to kill the Jews but because war is war.
How does this relate to us today? The fast of Esther is a recognition that even when there are no decrees against the Jewish people, when the going is good, there are always dangers, and we have to recognise that it is through connecting to God , whether that is through fasting, praying, good deeds or repentance, that God will save us. This fast wasn’t recorded or written down, it’s obvious! You are doing something dangerous and so you need God’s help and therefore it’s time for a day of concentrating on connecting and building a relationship with the Almighty.
The message here is don’t be too confident or sure of yourself, a day like the Fast of Esther reminds us we can’t walk around taking everything for granted, we have to do are bit.
The fast of Esther is specifically an introduction to Purim because Purim is misleading, In the story of Purim we were saved, miraculously, by God. It would be possible to read the Purim story and forget that we have any part to play whatsoever. On Purim it looks like we are saying that we don’t have to do anything, leave it to God. Therefore Purim is preceded by the fast of Esther. This reminds us that having faith is important, but don’t take things for granted, we have to do a calculation. Sure, God is there for us, but we have to understand, we have to earn out existence, we have to do things to merit the miracles. We exist through miracles and have to make sure that we are worthy of them.
