Why We Fast

Why do we fast ? Isn’t the point of a fast supposed to make us like angels therefore we don’t eat? But all I can think about is how hungry I am nd thirsty ? Would it not be better to spend the day doing volunteering and helping those around us?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

There are basically six fast days during the year. The principle purpose of the fast days is to arouse us to repent and become better people. With most fast days there is also the added theme of “mourning” for the destruction of Jerusalem, as fasting is a form to convey mourning. We are to ponder our sins and the sins of our ancestors on these days which led to the destruction of Jerusalem and hopefully be inspired to change our ways. Most of the fast days were instituted by the prophets. Only Yom Kippur is mentioned explicitly in the Torah.

 One should use the Day of the Fast to work on oneself to do Teshuvah and become better people. (Taanit 22a).

The Yom Kippur fast is a fast for repentance, and since it is a commandment in the Torah to fast it is important to realise that the pain and hunger one feels during the fast. It may also be difficult to concentrate, nevertheless, it is all part of the Mitsvah and not to become discouraged since you are doing a mitzvah the whole time every second. As it is written in the seforim that the pain is a Kapporah and cleanses the soul so one will then merit a new sweet new year clean from all sin.

there is also the theme of “angels” as we fast on Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur the Jewish people are compared to angels. Just as angels do not eat, drink, wear shoes, engage in marital relations, or enjoy all the other physical and material pleasure humans enjoy, so too, on Yom Kippur, the Jewish people elevate themselves to the level of angels, so to speak.

I will also add the fasting in general, and on Yom Kippur in particular is meant to recall that Moses did not eat or drink while on Mount Sinai when he was seeking forgiveness for the sins of the Jewish people.

No. Fasting is not fun. But we need an occasional wake up call to focus on the spiritual rather than the material. Judaism has dozens of ways in which we get closer to G-d. Sometimes it is through eating, sometimes it is through learning, and sometimes it is through fasting, among dozens of other ways we serve G-d throughout the year.

Rambam, Hilchot Taaniyot 5:1, Drashot Maharal, Shabat Shuva.