2) On the thirteenth of Adar the Jews gathered together to defend their lives…Yisrael accepted this day as a fast day…
The Magid Meisharim told the Beis Yosef, zt"l one reason why we fast before Purim, "…to inoculate from the natural pitfalls of indulging in rich food and alcohol. [Fasting] prevents one from sin often caused by abundant food and drink and levity.”
The Tsefanas Paneach adds that the fast subdues the Amalek within and we have a chance to fulfill in a holy manner the halacha to get so drunk on Purim that we will not know the difference between Arur Haman and Baruch Mordehai.
The Liutey Halachos states that fasting can bring us to feel holy embarrassment which is the prerequisite of holy humility and drawing powerful vitality into one’s day. This holy bashfulness enables one to internalize that all food is from Hashem and undeserved. How can one consume more food than required? Doesn’t one realize that the entire strength of the yetzer hara stems from overeating?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Spirit of the Law: Fast of Esther
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1 comment:
Although it is often stressed how ´sex´is the most powerful drive, hardest to control, as a woman i have experienced how it is much harder to deal with ´food´ after all. With sex one can stop.. not so with food..
Of course, for a woman hormones play a role too in this )certain times come with ´cravings´', and unlike man, women tend to be less inclined to ´porn´ generally than men.
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