Ta'anit Raavad III – An Atoning Sacrifice in Our Times

Ta'anit Raavad III – An Atoning Sacrifice in Our Times

In Jewish tradition, several types of ta'anit (fasts) are known. The most common type is a public fast, whose restrictions vary depending on the day it commemorates. It prohibits eating, drinking, washing, wearing leather shoes, anointing oneself with oils, and marital relations. The second type of ta'anit is Ta'anit Dibbur—a fast, or abstention, from idle conversation. There is also a third, lesser-known type of ta'anit: Ta'anit Raavad. After the destruction of the Temple, the Sages of the Talmud likened the table at which Jews eat their meals to the altar. (Tosafot Sotah 15:11) In Rabbeinu Yonah's book Yesod HaTeshuvah, it is related that Ha-Raavad—Rabbi Avraham ben David Ha-Levi—taught that when a person refrains from eating a favorite dish in order to atone for his sins, it is considered as though he fasted and brought an atoning sacrifice. Thus, a wise person who eats only as much as necessary receives a reward as though he had fasted. One who eats for the sake of Heaven will not eat food that is tasty but harmful to the body. Rather, he will eat healthy food, even if he does not particularly enjoy its taste. The Mishnah Berurah continues this discussion in connection with Ta'anit Raavad: “Make it a lifelong practice to be able to stop eating while you are still not full, before you have completely satisfied your desire for pleasure.” The Sages said about this: “Avoid meals featuring dishes you especially enjoy, because in this way you will bring your yetzer hara to its knees and break the power of desire.” The same approach should be taken with regard to all the pleasures that exist in the world. Maran Rabbi Yosef Karo, in his book Maggid Meisharim (The Messenger of Truth), describes the instructions given to him and his students by the Maggid—an angel sent by the Creator to teach him Torah: “When, in the middle of a meal, you still feel hungry or thirsty, move the food away from you and do not continue the meal. If you train yourself to do this consistently, every meal will be counted for you as a sacrifice, and your table as an altar.”   (Based on the book Pele Yoetz by Rabbi Eliezer Papo, the book Tomer Devorah by the Ramak, with commentary by Rav Ben-Tzion Melamed)