Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, p. 413ff.

Celebration Rather Than Fasting

The Rambam concludes his discussion of the laws of the commemorative fasts with the statement:[1]

In the future, all of these fasts will be nullified in the era of Mashiach. Moreover, they will become festivals and days of rejoicing and celebration, as it is written:[2] "So says the L-rd of Hosts: 'The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth month, the fast of the seventh month, and the fast of the tenth month[3] will be [days of] rejoicing and celebration and festivals for the House of Judah; and they will love truth and peace.' "

The source for the Rambam's statement is the Tosefta,[4] but the wording employed by that source is slightly different: "These days will become festivals for Israel in the future as it is written...." The Rambam's change of wording thus raises the following questions:

1. Why does the Rambam couple his statements, "these fasts will be nullified.... Moreover, they will become festivals," instead of using the concise wording employed by the Tosefta?

2. Why does the Rambam omit the phrase "for Israel" employed by the Tosefta? Seemingly, it is a necessary addition. For the simple meaning of the prooftext employed by the Rambam implies an exclusion - that the fast days will become festivals only for "the House of Judah" and not for the other ten tribes. However, in the era of Mashiach, the entire Jewish people, even the ten tribes, will celebrate these festivals.[5]

3. What purpose is served by including the conclusion of the prooftext: "And they will love truth and peace"?

Sharing Happiness

It can be explained that the resolutions of the second and third questions are interrelated. The Rambam mentions "truth and peace" to offset the exclusion implied by the term "the House of Judah."

To explain: There is reason to say that the celebrations on the fast days in this future era should be restricted to "the House of Judah," because it is they who suffered the most difficulty through our extended exile. The ten tribes were exiled beyond the Sambation River[6] and remained there untroubled. The "House of Judah," by contrast, has experienced countless travails in its exile. Since it is the experience of the sorrows of exile which make the celebrations of the Redemption greater, one might think that it is only they, and not the other ten tribes, who will celebrate on these days in the Era of the Redemption.

To counter this supposition, the Rambam mentions the final clause of the prooftext: "And they will love truth and peace." Because of the peace and unity that will permeate the Jewish people in the Era of the Redemption, the happiness that will be experienced by "the House of Judah" will be shared by the other ten tribes.

From Tears To Joy

The concept that it is the experience of the sorrows of exile which make the celebrations of the Redemption greater enables us to appreciate three dimensions of the commemoration of the fast days in the Era of the Redemption:

1. There will be no need to fast. As our Sages comment[7] on the prooftext quoted above: "If there is peace, there is no fasting." In the everlasting peace of the Era of the Redemption, the fasts will be nullified entirely.[8]

2. The days will become festivals. This is a direct result of the nullification of the sorrows of exile. For departing from a situation of sorrow and difficulty itself leads to joy.

3. The negative dimension of the fast itself will become transformed into good, as it is written:[9] "And I will transform your mourning to happiness, I will comfort you, and I will grant you joy from your sorrow."[10]

Fasting As A Catalyst

The Rambam states[11] that "fasting is one of the paths of teshuvah." Thus we find parallels to the three concepts stated above with regard to teshuvah motivated by love:

1. Through teshuvah motivated by love, a sin can be purged entirely.[12]

2. Teshuvah motivated by love prompts a person to increase his good deeds more than is necessary to receive atonement for any one particular sin.[13] Not only is the negative dimension of the sin removed, teshuvah provides an impetus to good.

3. Teshuvah motivated by love transforms one's sins into merits,[14] i.e., not only does teshuvah prompt a person to increase his merits as a whole, it also transforms his previous conduct into merit.

Teshuvah is also the catalyst which will bring about the Redemption, as the Rambam writes:[15] "The Torah has promised... that Israel will turn to G-d in teshuvah, and immediately she will be redeemed." Not only will teshuvah lead to the Redemption as a whole, but it will precipitate many of the particular dimensions of the Redemption, including the transformation of the commemorative fasts. Thus the three motifs mentioned with regard to teshuvah are reflected in the three positive dimensions of the commemoration of the fast days that will be revealed in the Era of the Redemption.[16]

Making The Bitter Sweet

On this basis, we can resolve the first question mentioned above. The Rambam mentions both the negation and the transformation of the commemorative fasts, for each represents another dimension of the uniqueness of the Era of the Redemption. By stating that the fasts "will be nullified in the era of Mashiach," the Rambam emphasizes the first level, the removal of the sorrow for which we are required to fast. As a direct result, we will experience joy, the second of the factors mentioned above. But by mentioning in a second clause that these fasts "will become festivals and days of rejoicing" and by quoting the prooftext which states that "The fast[s]... will be [days of] rejoicing and celebration," the Rambam points to the most complete transformation: that the negative dimension of the fast days itself will become a positive influence.[17]

The two clauses in the Rambam's expression also relate to a concept of a greater scope. As explained on several occasions,[18] according to the Rambam, there will be two periods in the Era of the Redemption:

1. One period of which it is said:[19] "There is no difference between the present era and the era of Mashiach, except [Israel's] subjugation to the [gentile] powers." In that era, "there will be no change in the order of creation. Instead, the world will follow according to its pattern";[20] and

2. A second period following the Resurrection of the Dead when the natural order will give way to a miraculous pattern.

It is possible to explain that the first clause cited above, that the fasts will be nullified - and as a natural consequence, they will be characterized by happiness - will be fulfilled in the first period of the Era of the Redemption. In the second period, when all good will reach its fullest expression, the fasts themselves will be transformed into days of celebration. May this take place in the immediate future.

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) Mishneh Torah, the conclusion of Hilchos Taanios.

2. (Back to text) Zechariah 8:19.

3. (Back to text) I.e., the fasts of the Seventeenth of Tammuz, Tishah BeAv, Tzom Gedalia, and the Tenth of Teves.

4. (Back to text) Tosefta, the conclusion of tractate Taanis.

5. (Back to text) See the Metzudos David to Zechariah, loc. cit., which explains that it is only "the House of Judah" which will celebrate these festivals in the Era of the Redemption, for they are the ones to whom the calamities recalled by these fast days occurred, and they are the ones who commemorated them each year.

   The Chasdei David, commenting on the Tosefta, loc. cit., however, explains that in the Era of the Redemption, the entire Jewish people will celebrate these festivals.

6. (Back to text) Bereishis Rabbah 73:6.

7. (Back to text) Rosh HaShanah 18b.

8. (Back to text) In contrast, in the era of the Second Beis HaMikdash, there was no obligation to fast on these days. Nevertheless, after the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, the fasts were reinstituted (Rosh HaShanah, loc. cit.).

9. (Back to text) Yirmeyahu 31:12.

10. (Back to text) This verse is quoted by the Tur as a prooftext for the same concept stated by the Rambam at the conclusion of the laws of commemorative fasts. For a comparison between the treatment of this subject in the Rambam and the Tur, see Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, p. 414ff.

11. (Back to text) Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Taanios 1:2. As he explains later in that source (5:1), the same concept also applies with regard to the commemorative fasts.

12. (Back to text) Rashi, Yoma 86a.

13. (Back to text) Maharsha, Chiddushei Aggadah, Yoma 86b.

14. (Back to text) Yoma, op. cit.

15. (Back to text) Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah 7:5.

16. (Back to text) The above also explains the reason for the Rambam's inclusion of the concept of the transformation of the commemorative fasts in the Mishneh Torah. On the surface, the Mishneh Torah is a text of law and not one of philosophy or homily (see the Rambam's Introduction). Nor does the Rambam necessarily seek a conclusion of a positive nature to all the divisions of the Mishneh Torah (see, for example, the conclusion of Hilchos Eivel). What then is the halachah implied by the statement that the commemorative fasts will be transformed into festivals?

    It is possible to explain that since the Rambam includes the laws applicable in the Era of the Redemption in the Mishneh Torah, he finds it necessary to explain that in that era, these dates will be observed as festivals. From a deeper perspective, however, one can say that the Rambam's intent is to inspire a commitment to teshuvah powerful enough to transform the negative dimension of the fast days themselves into positive forces.

17. (Back to text) To emphasize this concept, the Rambam chose this prooftext, although it raises certain questions as explained at the outset.

18. (Back to text) See the essay entitled "Two Periods in the Era of the Redemption," in I Await His Coming (Kehot, N.Y., 1991) where this concept is explained at length and sources are annotated.

19. (Back to text) Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim 12:2.

20. (Back to text) Ibid.,:1.