Important Dates Archives

The day after Rosh Hashanah, the Fast of Gedaliah (Tzom Gedaliah), marks one of the pivotal events in Jewish history that many tend to overlook. And while many Jews do still fast during the day, even those who do are usually unaware of the day’s significance. This is probably because we have to put ourselves in the shoes of our ancestors to really appreciate what it’s about.

A short history of the Fast of Gedaliah

The way most people learn about the Fast of Gedaliah is by telling the first part of the tragic story and leaving out the second part.

In the first part of the story, the Jews are banished from the land of Israel by the Babylonians. The First Temple — which had been built by King Solomon, and had been standing for 410 years since — was also destroyed. We mark the days surrounding those events with fasts that are more well-known, including Tisha B’av and the Seventeenth of Tamuz. The tragedies surrounding those events are referred to in the famous words, “If I forget you, oh Jerusalem…” and “On the rivers of Babylon…” and many others. That was in 586 BCE.

In that year of 586 BCE, the downtrodden Jews have been strewn all around, but mostly live in the Babylon area (where some will stay until the creation of the modern State of Israel). However, the most downtrodden and poorest Jews had been allowed by the Babylonians to stay in Israel – they weren’t worth the bother.

Fast forward one year to 585 BCE and the poor Jews who had remained in Israel are slowly building the Jewish State back up. Not only that, but the Babylonians are supportive of the small country and even provide military support. The Babylonians appointed a leader to run the Jewish State, named Gedaliah, and he began to enjoy growing levels of success. Jews from the diaspora even began making their way back to the country. Things were looking up and there was hope. That is, until Gedaliah was murdered by fellow Jews and the country fell apart.

And that’s where the story, as it’s told, normally ends. But the next part of the story is probably the most important.

The rest of the story

In the next part of the story, the Jews asked the prophet Jeremiah to ask God whether to give up and go off to Egypt or to stay. When he did, guess what? Jeremiah came back with an answer. From God. To STAY. But the Jews who were there were so broken that they gave up and left anyway.

That’s the tragedy.

We gave up. At that point, we still could have picked ourselves up and kept going. We had a stamp of approval from God Himself via a trusted prophet with a perfect track record of being right. But we gave up. That’s a tragedy and that’s something to focus on fixing while fasting. The Fast of Gedaliah marks the day when we gave up because we’d lost hope.

It’s no surprise, then, that today’s rebuilt Jewish State is built on hope. Its national anthem “HaTikva” means “The Hope.”

Hope renewed

Today, we don’t have prophets to tell us God’s will.

But what we do have is today. We can take stock and consider what there is to learn from our rich, and often tragic, history. And we can connect to the mission our forefathers and foremothers started, continued, sometimes failed at, sometimes lost touch with, but never completely gave up – even though they sometimes ran out of gas.

And that’s an important theme in Jewish fast days. Getting stronger and renewing our hope and faith.

Thank you for reading, and remember that it’s not just about the knowledge, it’s about what you do with it. If you happen to be fasting while reading this, have a good, meaningful fast.

The 17th of Tamuz is a Jewish day of fasting. This is a fast day that gives us the strength to identify our shortcomings and fix them.

Historically, the “celebration” of the Golden Calf occurred on this day. A statue of a calf was created out of gold and myriads of people danced and celebrated with it.

The reason this is so perplexing is that the Children of Israel had witnessed open miracles such as the splitting of the Red Sea and the plagues in Egypt and the giving of the Torah yet, they still weren’t quite secure in their beliefs yet — hence the golden calf.

By taking a step back, it’s possible to be understanding of what the Children of Israel were going through at the time. After having witnessed miracles and experienced intense levels of spirituality, they may have missed having those feelings. And, according to Jewish oral tradition, they certainly missed the security that comes with having a figurehead, Moses, who had always been around and had now, seemingly, disappeared up the mountain. When life gets difficult we naturally crave the good feelings we once had and long for stability and security.

Which is what the Golden Calf was all about. Insecurity.

When the Children of Israel weren’t getting what they wanted, when they wanted it, from G-d, they became impatient and channeled their frustration and insecurity into a materialistic festival. They created a golden calf and danced and celebrated the temporary thrill. How fun it must have been to have an immediate feeling of resolution to their problems. Like a drug.

So they found a way to feel better without having to wait for it, which is something we’ve all done before. And what is really the big deal with that, anyway? They didn’t seem to be hurting anyone, just having a good time.

But there was more to it than that.

They weren’t just blowing off some steam – they were setting a new trajectory. Their insecurity had caused them (i.e., given them an excuse) to undermine their relationship with G-d and the moral and ethical foundations of Jewish culture.

When Jews fast on the 17th of Tamuz we step back from the frenzy of life by temporarily numbing the body’s power to override our better judgment. More than that, it helps us take stock of ourselves and see the damage we’re doing, and have done, without our fragile egos getting in the way. And once we’ve come that far, we can resolve to make specific changes, to reset the trajectory confidently, without fear, without confusion, and without insecurity.

Insecurity in a relationship, whether it be interpersonal or with G-d, can signify the beginning of a downward spiral. If the one who feels insecure uses their insecurity as an excuse to cheapen the sanctity of the relationship, all parties involved get hurt. The 17th of Tamuz is about lifting ourselves up and out of our insecure ways of thinking to reverse the downward spiral.