What is the reason for the fast? Based on the name of the fast, one would think that the fast is to remember Esther’s fast before she went to see Achashverosh (Megillat Esther 4:16), and Megillat Esther (9:31) records that “the people at that time accepted upon themselves and their children the matter of their fastings.” There are several problems with this explanation. First, according to the Midrash (Esther Rabbah 8:6, see also Talmud Megillah 15a) Esther fasted in Nisan, and one would think that if we fast to remember her fast, we would fast in Nisan and not Adar. Two, her fast was for three days, while we fast for one day. Finally most importantly, it used to be forbidden to fast on the 13th of Adar. On this day, Judah ha-Maccabee had a great victory over Nicanor, a Greek general, and Megillat Ta`anit (first century prior to the destruction of the second Bet ha-Mikdash) records that because of this victory it was forbidden to fast on the day. The victory over Nicanor happened several hundred years after the story of Purim, which means that if there was a fast on the 13th of Adar from the time of Purim, then the fast was annulled with Judah ha-Maccabee’s victory or the fast of Esther was initially observed on a different day.
The Rosh (1250-1327, Megillah, pages of Rosh 1:1) quotes Rabbenu Tam (1100-1171) that the reason for the fast of Esther is that surely the people in the time of the Megillah fasted on the 13th of Adar as part of their prayers before they went to defend themselves from Haman and their enemies. This supposition is troubling. It does not resolve the problem that eventually it became forbidden to fast on the 13th of Adar and also it is odd that the fast is called the fast of Esther when according to this approach there is no connection with Esther. Also, if there was always a fast on the 13th of Adar, then as Avraham Korman (2001, pp. 34-36) asks, why was this fast was not mentioned in the Talmud? Furthermore, it contradicts the ruling in the Shulchan Arukh (Orah Chayyim 571:3) that a person is not supposed to fast in times of danger in order not to weaken one’s self to fight the danger.
Masekhet Soferim (9th century? 17:4 and 21:1) records that by Purim there was a three day fast, Monday, Thursday and Monday, and the custom of the Rabbis in Israel was to have the three day fast after Purim. This custom to fast for three days matches up with Esther’s three day fast. This three day fast is recorded by the Shulchan Arukh (Orah Chayyim 686:3), but to the best of my knowledge nobody does this fast.
Masekhet Soferim (21:2,3) questions why the three day fast was not done in Nisan, and answers that one does not fast in Nisan since the mishkan was established in the desert in Nisan and in the future the Bet ha-Mikdash will be re-built in Nisan. We see from the question that the three day fast was really supposed to be in Nisan since this is when it is believed that Esther fasted.
Daniel Sperber (1990, pp. 192-199) notes that a different three day fast, the fast of “Behab,” in the beginning of the month of Iyar, also seems to be based on Esther’s three day fast. This fast was also moved from Nisan, but in this case, a month later to Iyar.
In our discussion, “The fast of the firstborn son,” we argue that the fast of the firstborn son of erev Pesach was also due to Esther’s fast, but it was condensed from three days to one day, probably because of desire not to fast in the month of Nisan. This fast is also first mentioned in the time of the Geonim.
We see that by the time of the Geonim, there were three different set of fasts related to Esther’s fast, and either in conjunction with these fasts or as a different custom/ option, there developed the custom to fast on the 13th of Adar because of Esther’s fast. Of all of the possibilities this day was the most connected with the celebration of Purim, and since by the time of the Geonim, Megillat Ta`anit was annulled (see Rosh Hashanah 18b and Shulchan Arukh, Orah Chayyim 573:1), it was no longer forbidden to fast on this day. This fast on the 13th of Adar became accepted maybe because it seemed strange to people to fast for Esther after they had already celebrated Purim.
Why in this period of the Geonim did these four fasts develop to re-call Esther’s fast? My guess is that this was part of the fight with the Karaites. The Karaites could have pointed out that Megillat Esther (9:31) records that people accepted upon themselves to fast, but nobody until then was fasting. In response to this claim, four different customs developed when to fast to re-call Esther’s fast: A one day fast on 13th of Adar (today’s Ta’anit Esther), a three day fast after Purim, a one day fast by the firstborn sons on erev Pesach and/ or a three day fast in the beginning of Iyar.
Bibliography:
Korman, Avraham (1917-2002, Tel Aviv), 2001, Techelet Avraham, Tel Aviv.
Sperber, Daniel, 1990, Minhagei Yisrael: Sources and history, Vol. 1, Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook.
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