דאמר רב חנא בר ביזנא אמר ר"ש חסידא מאי דכתיב (זכריה ח) כה אמר ה' צבאות צום הרביעי וצום החמישי וצום השביעי וצום העשירי יהיה לבית יהודה לששון ולשמחה קרי להו צום וקרי להו ששון ושמחה בזמן שיש שלום יהיו לששון ולשמחה אין שלום צום
Rav Chana bar Bizna said in the name of Rabbi Shimon Hasida: What does it mean when it says (Zechariah 8:19) "Thus said the God of Hosts: The fast of the fourth and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be for the house of Judah joy and gladness"? In a time when there is peace, they shall be joy and gladness. When there is no peace, a fast.
Today's headlines:
- U.S. Is Seen In Iraq Until at Least '09
- 26 Dead in Iraq Bombing
- New Orleans Recovery Is Slowed by Closed Hospitals
- Israeli aircraft targets, damages building in Gaza City
- Israel confirms Hezbollah long-range missile arsenal restored
- IDF ignored court on removal of Hebron barrier
- Vandals daub IDF war memorial with swastikas on Tisha Be'av
...and now let's hear from the representative of the Conservative position why the messiah is practically here and we should only be "fasting" half a day.
ReplyDelete(which, come to think of it, would be a good idea for a rant, BZ)
I think I've done that rant already.
ReplyDelete(And if you're going to fast "half a day", we already have a standard way to do that -- sunrise to sunset, NOT sunset to noon.)
I "fast half a day" any time I sleep late on the weekend.
ReplyDeletebut you didn't rant on the half-a-day *practice*, only the *ideology*. whatever.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the c-movement canceled the minor fasts, too - while declaring service in the IDF a מלחמת מצוה. so get your affairs in order, people
Shkoyach to BZ for putting in the New Orleans headline. I saw it today and said to myself, "New Orleans is Megillas Eicha".
ReplyDelete