In Masechet Rosh Hashana (18b), Rav Papa interprets the above
pasuk in Zecharia to mean that the status of 17 Tammuz, 9 Av, 3
Tishrei and 10 Tevet is conditional. In times of “peace” they are to
be holidays of great rejoicing, in times of “royal edicts” against the
Jews, they are to be public fast days, beginning in the evening and
requiring abstinence from eating and drinking, washing, anointing
with oil, wearing shoes and engaging in marital relations. When the
period is neither one of “peace” nor one of “royal edicts”, Rav Papa
states that a choice exists, if they so desire – they fast and if they
so desire – they do not. (The Gemara excludes 9 Av from the third,
intermediate category - mandating a fast even in the absence of
“royal edicts”.)
Among the commentaries, there exists a plethora of opinions as to
the definition of “peace” – all revolving around the question whether
or not the restoration of the Beit Hamikdash is a prerequisite of
“peace”, and regarding the meaning of “if they so desire” – who is
the they in that phrase? Obviously, the responses to these
questions have practical ramifications in our day and age. It is not
within the purview of this essay to elaborate on these issues.
Rather, the question which this essay will confront is , what possible
connection could fasting on the fasts commemorating the
destruction of the Holy Temple have to whether or not “royal edicts”
are extant at the time? How, according to some opinions, could
these days be rendered holidays of great rejoicing if the Beit
Hamikdash remains in ruins? These seem to be historical fasts. As
long as the historical cause is in place, one should fast, regardless of
the difficulties he experiences in his daily life.
A possible approach to this problem is one developed by Rav
Soloveitchik in his mid-1950’s Zionist essay, “Kol Dodi Dofek”. There,
the Rav discusses two typologies in man’s attempt to deal with the
existence of evil in the world – the man of fate and the man of
destiny.
The man of fate when encountering evil, reacts in two stages. First,
he contemplates the question – why? Why do bad things happen to
good people? Why does evil exist in the world if God is all-powerful
and all-good? These questions trouble him and allow him no rest. As
a result, he arrives at stage two. Through the process of
harmonistic philosophizing, he devises a formula in which the bad is
not as bad as was thought at first, and actually fits very well into
the human scheme of justice. If man suffers, it must be the result of
some indiscretion of which he is guilty, for God is just and would not
afflict the righteous. In his quest for harmony, he ends up distorting
reality and through his philosophizing - confusing good and evil.
The man of destiny avoids questions to which no answer exists. He
is painfully aware of the existence of evil and makes no attempt at
self-delusion. His reaction to evil is almost halachic. Given the
situation, what does God want of me? If God is afflicting me, what
should my reaction be? The man of fate is passive, contemplating
events in the past, making no attempt to change or ameliorate
them. The man of destiny is active: What actions can one take in
order to reform the evil which exists? He is not concerned with
re-writing the past; he is concerned with improving the future.
As a result, we are not commanded to fast today solely because of
the past. Judaism is forward-looking, recognizing the past and
looking to learn its lesson in order to create a brighter present and a
greater future. Therefore, in determining the nature of these days,
whose beginnings are most certainly grounded in well-defined
historical events, we must take inventory of our present situation in
determining their status in the present.
The Rambam in Hilchot Ta’aniot 5:1 writes: “There are days on
which all Israel fasts because of the tragedies which occurred on
them in order to arouse the hearts to open the pathways of
repentance and to serve as a reminder of our evil actions and the
actions of our ancestors which were like our own now, until they
caused them and us those troubles. In remembering those matters
we will return to do good as it is said, ‘And they shall repent their sin
and the sin of their fathers, etc.’”
In dealing with tragedy, personal or national, it is only natural that
questions arise. We must not ignore the past but we must avoid
being paralyzed by it. The challenge is to look beyond the questions
and seek out ways in which we can better ourselves and in that way
perhaps better the general situation. As God prescribed in Devarim
4:30 (in the Torah portion read on the morning of Tisha B’Av):
“When you are troubled and all of these [afflictions] torment
you...you shall return to the Lord your God".
