Ta'anit BeHaB and Why People Fast on Monday and Thursday
There is a special tradition of fasting on Mondays and Thursdays.
One such fast is
Ta'anit BeHaB, when people fast on
Sheni-Hamishi-Sheni (Monday-Thursday-Monday)—after the holiday of
Sukkot (which falls in the month of Cheshvan) and after
Pesach (in Iyar).
In
Massechet Soferim (chapter 21), it is stated that this commemorates the three-day fast observed by
Mordechai and
Esther in Shushan, before Esther went to King
Ahasuerus.
The Kabbalists explain why these fasts were established specifically on Mondays and Thursdays, rather than on other days of the week: “The reason people fast on Mondays and Thursdays, and not on other days of the week, is that these are days of Et Ratzon (a time of favor). For when Moshe ascended Mount Sinai for the second time to receive the Tablets of the Covenant, he ascended on the
fifth day and descended on the
second day.”
There are three such
Ta'anit fasts during the year, and they are connected with the
“Ma'avar Tkufot”—the changing of the seasons. During this period, the angels in Heaven change, which is why drinking water at this time is considered dangerous. More details can be found here:
Arba Tekufot – The Secret of the Changing of the Four Seasons
On these days, it is also customary to recite
Slichot and say:
“Avinu Malkeinu”. A tradition has been handed down that
slichot should be recited with the kavanah of making it through the winter—the cold season—without becoming ill and remaining healthy.
This year,
Ta'anit falls on:
- י “yud”—10 Cheshvan,
- יג “yud gimel”—13 Cheshvan,
- יז “yud zayin”—17 Cheshvan.
(according to the Hidabroot website: https://www.hidabroot.org/article/209455)
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