Fast of Esther

The Fast of Esther (Ta'anith Ester, תַּעֲנִית אֶסְתֵּר) is a fast on Purim eve commemorating two communal fasts undertaken by the Persian Jewish community of Shushan in the Book of Esther, for the purpose of praying for salvation from annihilation by an evil decree, which had been the instigated by the royal vizier, an anti-jewish enemy of the Amalekite nation. This fast, unlike other fasts, is a custom. It is not mentioned in the Talmud, however is mentioned in the Midrash and other later sources from the days of the Gaonim. Therefore it is considered less severe than the other fasts. Esther asked Mordechai to have the Jews fast and pray on her behalf for 3 days and 3 nights, before she approached her husband, king Ahasuerus to beg for the life of her people. Another is presumed to have occurred on the 13th of Adar, the day before the Jews fought a battle to defend against their enemies, who had been given an irrevocable permission to murder Jews for one day a year on the 14th of that month, which is now a Jewish holiday of Purim on account of their victory. Before approaching the king unbidden at risk of her life Esther told Mordechai () Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day; I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish. The fast is from dawn to dusk. It is a common misconception that this fast dates to the time of Esther. states "They had established for themselves and their descendants the matters of the fasts and their cry", but this refers instead to the fasts mentioned in . The first mention of the fast of Esther is as a minhag that is referenced in the Gaonic period. A 2010 study examines the origin of the fast and the reason for its arising in the Gaonic period. The fast is observed on the 13th day of the Hebrew month of Adar (when the year has two Adar months, it is observed only in the second Adar).